TEMPORARY, COUNTERFEIT, AND TRUE CONVERSION

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981)

WHAT do we mean by conversion? It is the first exercise of the new nature in ceasing from old forms of life and starting a new life. It is the first action of the regenerate soul in moving from something to something. The very term suggests that: conversion means a turning from one thing to another. The term is not used very frequently in the Scriptures, but the truth which the word connotes and represents appears constantly.

You will find that in the Scriptures the term itself is sometimes used in a more general way for any turning. For instance, it is sometimes used even of a believer. Our Lord rebuked Peter on one occasion and said, “When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren” (Luk 22:32). He meant: when you come back again, when you have turned back. Here the word does not refer to Peter’s original coming into the Christian life; he was already in it, but he was going to backslide, he was going to go astray and then come back. That is described as conversion, but in the consideration of biblical doctrines, it is well to confine the word conversion to the sense which is normally given to it when we talk together about these things, that is, it is the initial step in the conscious history of the soul in its relationship to God; it is the first exercise, the first manifestation, of the new life that has been received in regeneration.

This, of course, is something which is essential, and there are many statements to that effect. It is stated specifically in Matthew 18:3: “Verily I say unto you,” says our Lord, “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” But all the texts which we have already considered in dealing with the doctrine of regeneration are equally applicable here, texts such as, “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God” (1Co 2:14); and, “The carnal mind is enmity against God” (Rom 8:7). Men and women must come from that before they can be Christians; they must turn from that to this other condition. So conversion is essential. Nobody is born a Christian. We were all born in sin, “shapen in iniquity” (Psa 51:5); we were all “the children of wrath, even as others” (Eph 2:3); we are all subjects of original sin and original guilt, so we must all undergo conversion; and the Bible is quite explicit about this.

The next question, therefore, to ask is: How does it take place? What is the agency in conversion? And here the answer is quite simple. It is first of all and primarily the work of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit, does it through the effectual call….The call becomes effectual and it is that which leads to the next step—what you and I do. You notice that we are mentioning this for the first time, but in any definition of conversion you must bring in the human as well as the divine activity. The call comes effectually and because it comes effectually we do something about it. That is conversion: the two sides, the call—the response…but in dealing with conversion, of necessity we must give equal emphasis to the activity of human beings. Now in regeneration and in the union, we are absolutely passive; we play no part at all; it is entirely the work of the Spirit of God in the heart. But in conversion we act, we move, we are called, and we do it.

We come, then, to consider the characteristics of conversion; and this, I sometimes think, is one of the most important topics that Christian people can consider together. Why is that? Well, it is vital that we should consider the biblical teaching about conversion because there is such a thing as a “temporary conversion.” Have you noticed how often that is dealt with by our Lord Himself in His own teaching, how at times He almost seems to discourage people from going after Him? There was a man who said, “I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest,” and our Lord, instead of saying, “Marvelous!” said, “Wait a minute!” “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head” (Mat 8:19–20). “Do you realize what you’re doing?” He said in effect. “It’s a very foolish man who goes to war without making sure of his resources. It’s an equally foolish man who starts building a tower without making certain that he’s got sufficient material to finish it.”

Our Lord, because He knew the danger of a “temporary something” happening, was constantly dealing with it and seemed to be repelling people. Indeed, they charged Him with making discipleship impossible. Take that great sixth chapter of John where the people were running after Him and hanging on to His words because of the miracle of the feeding of the 5000, and our Lord seemed to be trying deliberately to repel them. So a large number, who thought they were disciples, went back, we are told, and walked no longer with Him. It is quite clear that our Lord was giving that teaching quite deliberately because He was drawing a distinction between the spirit and the flesh. He knew that they were carnal, and He was anxious to stress the vital importance of grasping the spiritual.

Take also the parable in Matthew 13—the parable of the sower—and our Lord’s own exposition of it. Notice particularly verses 20 and 21: “But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that, heareth the word, and anon1 with joy receiveth it; yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.” But notice what our Lord says about this same man: he, “anon with joy receiveth it [the Word].” That is what I mean by a temporary conversion. He seems to have received the Word, he is full of joy, but he has no root in him, and that is why he ends up with nothing at all. Now that is our Lord’s own teaching; there is the possibility of this very joyful conversion and yet there is nothing there in a vital, living sense, and it proves temporary.

There is also further teaching in the Scriptures about this same thing. Take Simon the sorcerer in Acts 8. We are told in verse 13, “Simon himself believed also: and…was baptised.” And yet look at the end of that man’s story. He was “in the gall of bitterness” (v. 23), and Peter simply said to him that he had better ask God to have mercy and grant him repentance. He seemed to be a true believer, but was he?

Then Paul speaks in 1 Timothy 1:19–20 of “holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck.” Now that is very serious teaching, and he says the same thing in 2 Timothy 2. Here Paul is writing to Timothy about certain people who seemed to have been believers but were now denying the resurrection, as a result of which, some frightened Christians thought that the whole Church was collapsing. “It is all right,” says Paul: “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his” (v. 19). God knows; He is not deceived or deluded. There is such a thing as temporary conversions, temporary believers, but they are not true believers. That is why it is so vital that we should know the biblical teaching as to what conversion really is.

What about the case of Demas, I wonder? There are many who would say that Demas was never a believer at all. I would not like to go so far. He may have been backsliding: “Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world” (2Ti 4:10). But, at any rate, he is a doubtful case. And then you come to that great classic passage in this connection in Hebrews 6, with a similar passage in the tenth chapter of that epistle. “It is impossible for those who were once enlightened… if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance” (Heb 6:4, 6).

Therefore, I deliberately use this heading of “temporary conversion.” There is obviously something wrong with these people, so we must ask questions. We must consider, we must have definitions, be- cause “All that glisters is not gold.” All that appears to be conversion is most certainly not conversion according to our Lord’s own teaching and the teaching of the inspired apostles. So I know nothing that is so dangerous, reprehensible, and unscriptural as to say, “But you mustn’t ask these questions.” No, no, let them come. Always ask: does the Scripture entitle us to say that? If we are to be true teachers of the Word, and helpers of others, and concerned about the glory of God, we must realize that there is such a thing as a temporary conversion which is based upon misunderstanding.

My second reason for being concerned about precise definitions is that there are not only temporary conversions but even counterfeit conversions. Now I draw a distinction, you will notice, between the two and the difference is that in the case of a temporary conversion, conversion is something that has happened as the result of the presentation of the biblical truth. In the case of a counterfeit conversion, it is a phenomenon which, though closely resembling and simulating Christian conversion, has been produced by some other agency that is not the truth. So we must draw the distinction.

This was never more necessary than today because there are so many people who seem to think that as long as there is a great change in the person’s life, it must be a true conversion. If a man gives up sins and lives a good life and does good, that, they say, is Christian. But it may not be. It is possible for a man to undergo a great, profound, climactic change in his life and way of living and experience which has nothing to do with Christianity. People may even come out of the world and join a church, and their whole life from the outside may apparently be different, but it may be a counterfeit conversion. It is a conversion in the sense that they have left one thing and have come to another, have given up sins and are now doing good, but it is counterfeit because they lack the necessary, essential relationship to truth. If you are only interested in phenomena, if you are only interested in someone who can get up and say, “My whole life is absolutely changed,” then you need only go to books on psychology. Psychology has been very popular now for many years, and it makes a most powerful attack upon the Christian faith—that is why I am so concerned about it. I heard a man say that if his Christian faith were attacked, it would not worry him. He would simply reply, “I don’t care what you people say; I don’t care what science says, I know because of what’s happening to me.”

Now my response to that was, “Yes, and every psychologist in your audience would smile. They would say, ‘We agree that you have had a psychological change and experience. But, of course, many things can do that.’ And they would continue to dismiss the whole of Christianity.”

No, the defense of the Christian faith must never rely simply upon some experience that you and I have had. The defense of the Christian faith is objective truth. So unless we are careful at this point in defining conversion, the danger is that we shall have nothing to say to those who have undergone one of these counterfeit experiences.

Then there is one other thing—and here we leave the counterfeit and the temporary and come to something which is more immediately practical. There are variable elements in connection with conversion, and because of these we must be very careful that we know what the essential elements are. Let me illustrate what I mean: take the time element, the time factor in conversion. Must it be sudden? Is it impossible for it to be gradual? Well, I would say that the Scripture does not teach that it must of necessity be sudden. The great thing is that it has happened, whether sudden or gradual. The time element is not one of the absolute essentials; it may have its importance, but it is not vital.

Secondly, must one’s conversion of necessity be dramatic? We all tend to emphasize these, do we not? They have human interest, we say, and we must be interesting. But must conversion be dramatic? Now if you read just one chapter in the Scriptures—Acts 16—you will see that you have no right to say that. Of course, if you only read the story of the Philippian jailer, then you will say conversion must be full of drama. But I am equally interested in the story of Lydia and there is nothing to suggest that about her conversion. Not at all! It may have been quite quiet, but it was equally a conversion. So here we have another variable element. Dramatic quality may be there, but it may not be. It is not essential.

Then there is the old vexed question of the place of feelings. Of course, they must be there, but there are feelings and feelings. They may be very intense, or they may not be, but they are still feelings. We all differ by nature and temperament, and in this matter of feelings we differ very much indeed. The most demonstrative person is not always the one who feels most….So it is not the one who is weeping the most copiously who is of necessity the most intensely feeling. Another person may be feeling so deeply that his feelings are down beyond the very possibility of tears, as it were. Feelings are variable and express themselves variously in different people. They must be present, but God forbid that we should insist upon a particular intensity or display of feelings.

And then there is the whole question of age. Some have said that unless you are converted when you are an adolescent, you will never be converted at all because the requisite psychological factors can never be there again. What utter rubbish! How unscriptural! I have never seen a more striking conversion than I once saw in a man aged seventy-seven: thank God for that! No, there is no age limit. Age does not make the slightest difference. We are talking about something the Holy Spirit produces. There is as much hope for the man who is shivering on the brink of the grave and of hell as for the adolescent—if you are interested in true conversion, that is. If you are interested in psychological experiences, then I agree, adolescence is the right time for it. Everything is very explosive at that point; you merely strike a match, and there it is. But we are not interested in psychological changes; we are talking about true, Christian, spiritual conversion. And there age, thank God, is a complete irrelevance.

Now we have considered these things because there is always a tendency to standardize the variable aspect of conversion. Sometimes it works out in the evangelist, in his desiring everybody to become a Christian in the same way, and he is doubtful of the converts unless they are all the same. But it may happen in us too; we all desire to be the same. That is always one of the dangerous things about reading of somebody else’s experiences; consciously or unconsciously, we tend to reproduce them. It is a part of our make-up and of our nature: we are imitators, and if we like a thing that we see in someone else, then we wish that to be true of us, too.

Then we also tend to concentrate on particular manifestations of conversion. The feelings, for instance, are only one aspect, yet we put all our emphasis on them. This can be extremely dangerous because feelings, as I have indicated, are one of a number of variables, and this way may lead to tragedy. Some people are always insisting upon the presence of a variable quality, which is not essential. Thinking it was essential, and not having experienced it, they say that they have never been converted. And this can lead to untold and unnecessary unhappiness….if we postulate4 something that is variable and insist upon it, we may do ourselves or somebody else great harm. We may tell other people that they are not converted because they do not conform to our particular standard. So we must be very careful that we do not go beyond Scripture and say things which the Bible does not say. Therefore, how vital, how essential it is, that we should have clear definitions in our mind.

What, then, are these permanent elements? There are two essential elements in conversion, and these are emphasized everywhere in the Scripture—in the Gospels, in the book of Acts, and in the epistles. Paul, fortunately, has put it all in a phrase for us, in Acts 20:21, on that moving occasion when he said farewell to the elders of the church at Ephesus. I have sometimes thought that if there was one scene in history more than any other at which I should like to have been present, it was just that. “I’m going,” Paul says, in effect, to the elders, “you’ll never see me again, and I want you to hold on to the things I’ve told you, and to remember what I did when I was with you.” What was this? “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” That is conversion. Those are the essential and the only essential elements in conversion: repentance and faith. Sudden or gradual, it does not matter. Repentance must be there; faith must be there. If one is missing it is not conversion. Both are essential.

At this point, let me ask a question: in which order do they come? Which comes first, repentance or faith? Now that is a fascinating question. There is a sense in which faith is bound to come before repentance, and yet I shall not put it like that and for this reason: when I am talking about faith, I mean it in the sense that the apostle Paul used it—faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, not faith in general. There must be faith in general before you can repent, because if you do not believe certain things about God, you do not act upon it, and there is no repentance. But I am referring to faith in the special sense of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. In that case, repentance comes before faith and Paul puts them in that order: “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Why must repentance come first? Well, you will find that it always comes first in Scripture. Who was the first preacher in the New Testament? The answer is John the Baptist. What did he preach? The “baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Mark 1:4). This was the message of the forerunner, and the forerunner always comes first. Then the second preacher was the Lord Jesus Christ, and if you turn to the Gospels and observe the first thing He ever said you will find that He again exhorted the people to repent and to believe the Gospel (Mark 1:15). So, exactly like John the Baptist, the first thing He taught was repentance.

Then what did Peter preach? Take the great sermon on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. Peter preached and the people cried out saying, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” This was the reply: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Act 2:37, 38). Repent. And, as I have already quoted to you, repentance was the message of the apostle Paul. He started with repentance. He did it in Athens: God “…commandeth all men every where to repent” (Act 17:30).

Repentance is of necessity the first message, and it surely must be. It is Scriptural, yes, but Scripture also enables us to reason. Let me put it to you like this: Why should men and women believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? It is no use just asking them to believe in Christ. They are entitled to ask, “Why should I believe in Him?” That is a perfectly fair question. And people do not see any need or necessity for believing in the Lord Jesus Christ if they do not know what repentance is. Of course, you may be inviting them to Christ as a helper, or as a friend, or as a healer of the body, but that is not Christian conversion. No, no, people must know why they must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Law is our schoolmaster (Gal 3:24) to bring us there, and the Law works repentance.

In other words, the primary point about conversion, the primary thing in the whole of Christian salvation, is to bring us into the right relationship with God. Why did Christ come? Why did He die? The answer is that He did it all to bring us to God. And if we think about these things in any way except in terms of being reconciled to God, our view is entirely false. I say it hesitatingly because I know the danger of being misunderstood, but there is far too much Christianity today, it seems to me, that stops at the Lord Jesus Christ and does not realize that He came and did everything in order to reconcile us to God. Indeed, it was God who was “in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself” (2Co 5:19). I think the greatest weakness in evangelical Christianity today is that it forgets God. We are interested in experiences, we are interested in happiness, we are interested in subjective states. But the first need of every soul, as we shall see, it to be right with God. Nothing matters but that. The Gospel starts with God, because what is wrong with everybody is that they are in a wrong relationship to Him.

So we must put repentance first; it is the original trouble, the main consequence of the Fall and original sin. God is orderly in His working, and He starts with the big thing, the first thing.

From Chapel Library, Free Grace Broadcaster # 195, Conversion. (www.chapellibrary.org/broadcaster) (From “Conversion” in Great Doctrines of the Bible, Vol 2, God the Holy Spirit published by Crossway Books. Used by permission.)

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CONVICTION AND CONVERSION

by William S. Plumer (1802-1880)

It may be proper here to make a few general remarks, explanatory of what is often the state of a sinner’s mind immediately before conversion.

He discovers that the Bible is a revealer of the secrets of his soul, a discerner of the thoughts and intents of his heart. He is ready to say, “Come see a book which hath told me all things that ever I did.” At such times God’s Word is as a glass, in which a man beholds his natural face. It reflects his image and shows him his sad deficiencies and his great deformity. He finds his heart to be exceedingly depraved. He is convinced that the imaginations of the thoughts of his heart are only evil continually. In this state of mind, David compared his pains to “broken bones” (Psa 51:8). If you have ever had a broken bone, you may have an idea of his meaning. Thoughts of it occupy the mind day and night. For a moment, company may seem to create a diversion of the thoughts, but soon they revert to the fractured limb. Such a one, awaking at a dead hour of the night, immediately thinks of the injured part. All attempts to shake off reflection concerning it are fruitless. In another place David says, “My sin is ever before me” (Psa 51:3). His mind dwelt upon his transgressions. Like a vast army of men, they were continually passing in solemn review. In this state of mind, one feels that God has a right to have mercy on whom He will have mercy, and to have compassion on whom He will have compassion. Whatever may be his theory on the subject, his heartfelt conviction is, that without wrong to him, God may withhold all the blessings of salvation. Yea, he feels that God would be justified in condemning him for ever and be clear in driving him to outer darkness.

Sometimes one in this state is greatly annoyed with wicked and even blasphemous thoughts. The object of the tempter seems to be to banish all hope of reconciliation with God. It sometimes happens to such a soul as to that young man of whom we read, “And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down and tare him” (Luk 9:42). When his prey is about to be taken from him, the old lion is greatly enraged. He cannot bear to witness the escape of a single soul.

One thus exercised will discover that the belief which he has hitherto had of the Bible is unavailing. It has been merely historical, cold, and powerless. Or it has been the faith of devils and has merely filled his soul with terrors. He now feels the need of a faith which is “of the operation of God” (Col 2:12). And even in the surrender which he is about to make, there is so much timidity and such a sense of unworthiness that commonly the most he can say is, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief” (Mar 9:24). Boldness in coming to the throne of grace is seldom enjoyed even by young converts.

One who has advanced thus far will probably be more than ever beset by the evil one. The Hebrews never fared so hard as just before they left Egypt and never were so hated as after they began to march towards Canaan. He is sadly disappointed that the measures he has adopted for relief have but sunk him the deeper in misery. Like that woman in the Gospel, he has spent all his substance on physicians and is no better, but worse. Prayer, hearing the Word, reading, conversation, and resolutions have all been found ineffectual; and even worse, they have brought more wrath on the soul because of the sin attending them.

In this state one might adopt the language of the psalmist: “My soul is full of troubles…I am as a man that hath no strength…Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deep. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves…I am shut up, and I cannot come forth. Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction….Lord, why castest thou off my soul? Why hidest thou thy face from me? …Thy terrors have cut me off” (Psa 88:3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 14). He feels that God must help him, or he must die in his sins. Like Peter sinking, he says, “Lord, save me” (Mat 14:30). Or like Hezekiah, he exclaims, “Mine eyes fail with looking upward. O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me” (Isa 38:14).

Such a man will grieve because he cannot grieve, and mourn because he cannot mourn, and weep because he cannot weep. He is astonished at his guilt and at his hardness of heart. He is convinced that an entire change of heart is in his case necessary to happiness here and hereafter. He also sees that if he shall ever be saved, it must be by an act of free, rich, sovereign grace. His boasted ability is found to be nothing. His strength is weakness. His merits are now not named. He feels that he deserves no good thing. His righteousnesses are as filthy rags. He is ready to come before the Lord with the language of self condemnation.

This state of mind is conviction, which involves always a sense of five things: sinfulness, guilt, ignorance, helpless- ness, and misery. This conviction is, of course, not alike pungent in all cases; nor is it necessarily accompanied with extreme agitations or terrors; but it is a clear view of one’s state as demanding the remedy provided in the Gospel. If the work of conviction should proceed and hope never come to the relief of the soul, the result would be the impenetrable gloom of despair, as in the case of the damned. Let a man see his lost estate and not see the Savior…and he will be a desperad in the government of God. Often the sinner desires that his convictions may proceed because he looks upon them as punishments for sin—as punishments richly deserved. If he had his way, he would not even now come to Christ. If he could weep and mourn and grieve and be melted as he wishes, he would be satisfied without any other atonement than that which he could thus make. At least, he would seek no other. In all His dealings with him, God’s plan is to shut him up to the faith of Christ; that through the Law he may be dead to the Law that he may be married to Christ. Ask such a one if he thinks he is under conviction, and he will probably reply in the negative. His views on that subject are very vague and erroneous. Indeed, he has no distinct idea of what conviction is, except that he believes it is a step towards salvation. He thinks he has no such feeling as in anywise prepares him for a change. It seems to him that he is losing instead of gaining ground.

The nearer he approaches to salvation, the further does he seem from it. The darkest hour is just before day. It was midnight when Pharaoh dismissed Israel (Exo 12:30, 31). In his Almost Christian, Mead gives a salutary warning: “Never rest in convictions till they end in conversion. This is that wherein most men miscarry; they rest in their convictions and take them for conversion, as if sin seen were therefore sin forgiven or as if a sight of the want of grace were the truth of the work of grace.” Conviction, however deep or distressing, is not saving.

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