The Necessity of Conversion

In this part of the sermon: The ninth affirmation focuses on maintaining a balanced New Testament perspective on conversion. Martin defines 'conversion' using Old and New Testament terms and explains the…

An artist's caricature of Mr. Nixon's nose is used to explain how distorting one aspect of a doctrine, even if it's a prominent one, can lead to an unbalanced and untrue representation, just as an elongated nose distorts a person's image.

New Testament perspective of the New Testament teaching. Now you know what an artist does who engages in caricature. They are essential or all of his essential features, but they usually, take the most prominent feature and they make it even more prominent by way of underscoring that that is a of that individual. If I may say the name without being thought unclean,

12:05 - 12:48 Read in full sermon

The point: Examine your expectations for your children, ensuring you don't assume they are converted simply by catechism and good behavior.

A car with a wheel out of balance is used to illustrate how an unbalanced doctrine of conversion might seem fine at low 'speeds' (early stages of faith), but will cause severe problems and 'tear apart' the spiritual life as one progresses.

to other aspects. We have a caricature, caricature in the mind of Christian doctrine. If I may change my illustration, it's like a wheel out of balance. And sometimes when that happens, you drive along, and if you stay under 35 miles an hour, everything's fine. But between

14:01 - 14:25 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Verily, I say unto you, except ye turn, except you be converted, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven.

The phrase 'He didn't throw these out like Rockefeller threw out his dimes' is used to emphasize the peculiar solemnity and weight Jesus attached to his 'magisterial sayings,' particularly 'Verily, I say unto you.'

He didn't throw these out like Rockefeller threw out his dimes. It was when the Lord Jesus wanted a peculiar solemnity to be attached to his words, that in John's gospel you have the double amen, amen, amen, verily, verily. In the synoptics, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, you have the single verily. Here is one of those magisterial sayings, it comes with magisterial solemnity and weight.

30:33 - 31:01 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Isn't this language so rich and vigorous compared to the insipid language of accepting Jesus and the insipid language if we had 27 decisions for Christ?

Examples of football players having chapel services before profaning the Sabbath and Kathy Lee Gifford's public persona are used to illustrate superficial 'Christianity' that incorporates Jesus as 'one more idol' without true conversion or reproof of sin.

Acceptance! And decisions in which men are still wedded to their idols. This just becomes one more idol on the shelf. Along with the idol of sports and sex and fame and popularity and Sabbath-breaking, they now incorporate Jesus.

42:45 - 43:03 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin summarizes the three scriptural proofs for conversion's necessity and shares his personal journey of vexation over nominal Christianity, leading him to Joseph Alleyne's…

Martin recounts his vexation during itinerant ministry (1956-1961) in mainline evangelical churches, observing little evidence of radical conversion despite claims of being 'saved,' leading him to question the foundation of their faith.

And as I was preparing for this message, you know my mind went back many, many years ago when having been deeply vexed traveling around the country in an itinerant ministry from the years of 1956 to 1961, preaching in middle America, mainline evangelical churches, little country churches or suburban churches, not big churches, churches sometimes with 50 people, some with 100, 200 members. And my soul being vexed as I saw all these people that claimed to be saved. And yet there was so little evidence of a thorough, radical conversion unto God.

48:12 - 48:55 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin summarizes the three scriptural proofs for conversion's necessity and shares his personal journey of vexation over nominal Christianity, leading him to Joseph Alleyne's…

He describes sitting at tables with deacons and pastors who talked about everything but the Lord, highlighting the lack of spontaneous spiritual conversation as evidence of a missing deep conversion.

So many of them saying, yes, I decided for Christ, in the dim, murky past, and that was the beginning, middle, and end of their experience of grace, to sit at their tables as guests in their homes. I wasn't put up in the fancy hotels. I could write a chronicle that would be both humorous and tragic on the beds in the places I've had to sleep and try to study and try to prepare to sit at the table and find it impossible to talk about my Lord. With deacons and pastors who talk about the Lord, the latest fish they caught, and talk about the sports, and talk about everything, but no spontaneous ta...

48:56 - 49:41 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin summarizes the three scriptural proofs for conversion's necessity and shares his personal journey of vexation over nominal Christianity, leading him to Joseph Alleyne's…

The 'cacophony of willful, stubborn, headstrong people' in church business meetings is presented as further evidence of a lack of Christ's rule in hearts, despite claims of being in the kingdom.

And I'd sit there vexed in my soul, and then I'd hear how in business meetings there was nothing but the cacophony of willful, stubborn, headstrong people giving their opinions on this thing and that thing and the other thing. And when I would say to these preachers, should it be that way, if Christ rules in the hearts of people, will it not be manifest? When they gather in His name to do His business and they'd say, ah, you're young and naive, you'll learn.

49:41 - 50:10 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin summarizes the three scriptural proofs for conversion's necessity and shares his personal journey of vexation over nominal Christianity, leading him to Joseph Alleyne's…

Martin's inability to get preachers in their own churches to pray with him daily for God's blessing on preaching is shared as a deeply troubling sign of spiritual deficiency and lack of true conversion.

And when I would see preachers who didn't pray and didn't study and I couldn't even get them to pray with me, I'd say, look, I have no kids to care for, I have no flock to care for, I'm your guest. You name the time and I'll be there daily to pray together that God will bless the preaching and use His Word. And time after time I couldn't get a preacher in his own church to pray. And as I was wrestling oh God, what's wrong?

50:13 - 50:41 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin summarizes the three scriptural proofs for conversion's necessity and shares his personal journey of vexation over nominal Christianity, leading him to Joseph Alleyne's…

He recounts how discovering Joseph Alleyne's book, 'Alarm to the Unconverted,' confirmed his growing conviction that something was radically wrong with the prevalent understanding of conversion, aligning him with historical Reformed thought.

And I was coming increasingly to the conviction that something was radically wrong. That something was wrong at the foundation. And I began to question could it be that the vast majority of these people have never truly been converted? It was at that time that a man who lived 300 years ago who had written a book that greatly influenced Whitefield and Spurgeon, that book was reprinted in a green cloth bound book.

50:41 - 51:09 Read in full sermon