Conversions in the Bible Pt. 1

Nathan Rages 4/3/12

Becoming a Christian is the most important thing that happens to anyone. I thought it might be edifying to go and examine some of the most clear cases of conversion that the Lord gives us in the Bible. I think we can fall into thinking about it in some kind of paradigm and start to think about salvation in a way that isn't biblical, but God has given us some very clear examples. These stories do vary quite a bit – there is not one formula or a four step process that everyone goes through. There are no magic words. The people involved are quite different – we have stories about jews, gentiles, men, women, evil immoral people, and nice religious people. Some stories are given a lot of detail, others we wish we had more! These stories should encourage us because they should show us that God can save anyone, and He changes people drastically! It is a wicked thought to think that someone is hopeless and beyond Jesus' help.

Let's think together – what are some of the notable conversion stories in the Bible?

• The Apostle Paul

• The Gerasene Demoniac

• The woman at the well

• Lydia (Acts)

• Nicodemus?

• The thief of the cross

• The Philippian jailer

• Ethiopian eunuch

• Those saved at Pentecost

• The whole Corinthian church

We are going to begin with the Gerasene Demoniac

• Mark 5:1-20

• Luke 8:26-39

• So Jesus gets out of the boat and here is the welcoming committee. What a sad, sad case this man presents to us.

• What are some things we are told about his condition?

  • Strong – he could not be bound with chains

  • He was naked, and had not worn clothes for a long time

  • He was homeless and living in the tombs

    • As a result he was probably dirty

  • He was possessed by thousands of demons

  • He was insane

  • He was tormented

  • One account says he was inflicting pain upon himself

  • There is also a sense that his condition is worsening – Mark's account says the chains could not bind him “anymore”

  • He was isolated

• So can you picture a more seemingly hopeless case than this guy? And yet, this is the man that ends up saved and the rest of the town ends up lost! They run Jesus off!

This is maybe one of the most detailed descriptions in the bible of demon possession. Not just that they can influence people's hearts and souls, but in this case they totally took this man over and did these horrible, destructive, cruel things to him. There is a lot of mystery to these things, but we want to be clear on what the Bible does teach.

• Demons are fallen angels, with distinct personalities. Apparently there are many of them.

• One practical thing to keep in mind about this is that there is a Spiritual realm going on all around us. These things are apart of reality.

• But we should also remember that these demons are under the complete power of Jesus. He doesn't negotiate with them, he is commanding them. Jesus is Lord over the demonic realm – as Christians, we do not need to fear the Devil if we stay close to Jesus. The Bible gives us great encouragement that if we are with the Lord, He will take care of us. Jesus healed many who were oppressed by the Devil.

• Here are some verses that encourage me about this topic:

  • 1 John 4:4 “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

  • Psalm 23

  • James 4:7 “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

    • All of the demons are more powerful than us. Why would the Devil flee from us? It is because of the power of God!

  • Psalm 4:8 “In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

What are we told about the Demoniac's new condition?

• Sitting at the feet of Jesus

  • Here was this guy being tormented and driven around – he couldn't settle down, there was no peace. But here he is finally able to sit down – and at the Lord's feet! A picture of submission and learning.

• Clothed

  • A picture of the shame of sin being covered by Christ

• In his right mind

  • He is thinking rationally again. That is really true of every Christian. We weren't necessarily insane or demon possessed, but a new Christian is seeing reality in a way they didn't before. Things make sense, they fit together. The world is a new world! Before you were saved you wrong about the most fundamental things in the universe. So you are in your right mind for the first time when you become a Christian

• He has a desire to follow Jesus

  • It is a good thing that he had this zeal and wanted to follow – but Jesus said no. Why might that be?

    • Even though Jesus was being run off, he left a witness.

    • You don't have to be a Christian for 20 years to be a good witness. This man had been a Christian for five minutes and Jesus was telling him to go back and tell others about what Jesus had done!

    • It also shows us the value of telling other people about what God has done for us!

    • Also, the principle that evangelism begins at home. It is often easier to talk to strangers. We tend to always want to go out to other places, but we need to tell our friends and family first. They saw what we were like before. It is also a humbling act.

• He goes out and tells the whole city about what Jesus did!

• There is obvious encouraging fruit from this man's life

  • People can be healed of demon possession and still be lost just like they can be healed of a broken leg and still be lost... But the changes in this guys' life went way beyond that.

Was your conversion less of a miracle than this one?

• We have to say EVERY conversion is a miracle! It always takes a special intervention from God whether you are insane and demon possessed or a mild, sane, lost religious person.