the first conversion is to accept Christ as your lord and savior througth the holy spirit, and the second conversion is repentance, giving up our sinful life in exhange for saintly life. I believe the second conversion is something that we continue to work out our whole lives. comments??
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' (faith alone) will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter." Matthew 7:21
2007-04-13 12:59:29 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Not two conversions but two works of grace. Two points of crisis. The first is becoming a Christian and the second is Sanctification. When we give our lives totally to God. We try not to sin, and when we do we immediately ask for forgiveness.
2007-04-13 13:06:51 · answer #1 · answered by Fish <>< 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The first "conversion" has historically been the "Outer Mysteries" of the religion you profess....this includes the rituals, dogma, and teachings of books such as the Bible. Many people don't go beyond this conversion. Just as many Baptisees (is that a word?) go down to the river to get the Holy Spirit, but come up having received nothing. The second "conversion" is when you leave the childish stuff behind, and get admited to the "Inner Mysteries" by receiving Gnosis or "knowledge".
The Pagans had it right, when the Christians came along and burnt all the great knowledge, we were thrown into what is commonly called "the Dark Ages" - About 1000 years of Christian "crap"
Did you know that the Ancients (about 3000 years BEFORE "Christ") had actually built the Pyramids, and the Parthenon, etc. Then along came Constantine and Eusebius (the "spin-doctor of religion), and pretty soon people forgot how to make brick houses.
Similarly, about 1000 years "Before Christ", a guy called Posidonius had created a beautiful revolving model of the (then known) solar system, which faithfully represented the orbits of the planets. By the end of the fourth century AD, it was sacrilegious NOT to believe that every night, God came and placed the stars in the heavens.
300 years "before Christ" the Alexandrian scholar Eratosthenes had correctly calculated the circumference of the Earth to within a few percent, but by the time the Christians arrived, it had become a heresy NOT to believe that the Earth was flat.
2007-04-13 20:19:21 · answer #2 · answered by Spikey and Scruffy's Mummy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the first conversion is to accept Christ as your lord and savior through the holy spirit, and the second conversion is repentance, giving up our sinful life in exchange for saintly life. I believe the second conversion is something that we continue to work out our whole lives. comments??
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' (faith alone) will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter." Matthew 7:21
AMEN AMEN
Preach it!!
(in other words Yes I believe you must first be saved and then continue to live according to God's word to stay saved.)
2007-04-13 20:04:29 · answer #3 · answered by Proverbs31woman 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
It's really all one conversion. What Matthew is talking about is people who say they believe that God exists and live a good life but never committed their faith and works to His will. Eph 2:8-9 We are saved by grace through faith, not of works (good deeds). If that were so sinful man could stand before Holy God and boast about the good deeds they did while on earth. Salvation is a gift from God. You either accept it and all that comes with it, or reject it (perish forever). You can not be good enough but some people think that is all they need. A good website to get a really good explanation is www.wayofthemaster.com.
2007-04-13 20:08:06 · answer #4 · answered by drivn2excelchery 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It takes some of us pretty long to work out the first one, too. But many non-believers can also repent and give up a sinful life. And if you truly accept Christ as your lord, shouldn't the repentance come pretty quickly? If there isn't much repentance, maybe there wasn't much acceptance to begin with. Maybe you've got to work on both for a lifetime.
2007-04-13 20:05:32 · answer #5 · answered by Otto D 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Becoming a Christian isn't the end, it's the beginning of being changed from the inside out. And the cool part is that you don't feel an external force making you do so. You WANT to; it feels good and produces a win-win environment.
Exercising our faith in action is what I think that God wants. He can't steer a parked car, so you have to put yourself out there. You've got to take risks about changing the way you act, speak, think. Some of the people who knew the 'old you' aren't certain what to make. You might lose friends, gain friends or even help friends change.
I do know for certain, the closer you become to God the more you will be tempted by Satan. God wants us to lead by example and show others that they can have the blessings and gifts that God has in store - all we have to do is "let go and let God".
2007-04-13 20:07:34 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
That's a great verse in Matthew! A lot of new Christians don't realize there is more to being a true disciple then saying a prayer and asking Him into your heart.
The Christian spirit fights a war against the flesh until the day he dies. But God's grace is sufficient, and Scripture tells us in Hebrews there is a "great cloud of witnesses" (the saints in Heaven) cheering us on.
Let us pray we will all "run with patience the race that is set before us" and perservere until then end. Then God will one day say to us "Well done, my good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your reward."
2007-04-13 20:06:22 · answer #7 · answered by Veritas 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think that's a fine way to put it - I often hear people say, you enter into the gate through baptism (and acceptance of Christ), but then you have to do a life time of "enduring to the end" and constantly repenting and bettering yourself.
Thanks for your thoughts.
2007-04-13 20:14:17 · answer #8 · answered by daisyk 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, I think what you say is true. But I don't know that I would call it 2 conversions. I think that becoming a Christian is the beginning and then you learn and grow on the journey.
2007-04-13 20:04:40 · answer #9 · answered by Misty 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Dedication and Baptism is what I think you are referring to.
After you have enough knowledge to reach your heart which will motivate you to dedicate your life to Jehovah and then symbolize that Dedication threw water Baptism thus showing all in attendance that you have Dedicated your life to the doing of Gods will and not your own.
2007-04-13 20:20:09 · answer #10 · answered by Here I Am 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋