The original message: repent and be converted
Introduction
When the calling of God is discussed in Christian circles, the mind almost instinctively turns to ministry. Over time, the word “calling” has become practically synonymous with ministerial function. Yet when we search the Scriptures, we find that God’s calling has a far more fundamental dimension: it refers to the summons that the Holy Spirit has extended to every man and every woman to become part of the body of Christ — the flock of the Lord.
The Lord Jesus stated this plainly in the Gospel of John: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” This declaration speaks precisely of calling — the sovereign act by which the Spirit of God summons men and women to belong to the Lord’s flock. Everyone who confesses Jesus Christ today is within the Gospel not because they sought God first, but because God called them.
What is the virtue of that calling? What power or purpose does it carry? Sadly, this virtue is unknown to many believers. The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, reveals that he prayed constantly for them to receive a spirit of revelation and wisdom in the knowledge of God’s grace — and specifically in “the knowledge of the calling to which we have been summoned.” In the first chapter of Ephesians, Paul describes with three superlative terms “the exceeding greatness of the power of God” that worked in Christ Jesus when He raised Him from the dead, and declares that this very same power works in us. That, in essence, is the virtue of God’s calling.
The permanent danger: apostasy
To understand why knowing the virtue of God’s calling is so urgent, we must understand the danger facing everyone who confesses the name of Jesus: apostasy. This is not a phenomenon exclusive to the last days, though Scripture does warn that it will intensify alarmingly before Christ’s return. Apostasy is as old as humanity itself; its first recorded manifestation in the Scriptures is found in Genesis, chapter 3.
Apostasy can be defined as a satanic argument injected into human knowledge — especially into the minds of those who are seeking to walk according to God’s will. Its purpose is always the same: to snatch away sound doctrine. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had a word of revelation by which they walked. Yet a subtle line of reasoning led them to yield, and the result was the first and most devastating apostasy in history.
The apostle Paul, by the Spirit of God, warns in his second letter to the Thessalonians that before the manifestation of the Antichrist, apostasy will occur first. There is something or Someone restraining the Antichrist’s appearance, and that “something” is sound doctrine. As long as sound doctrine is being proclaimed and lived out, the full eruption of the Antichrist will be held in check. Apostasy, therefore, is directly aimed at removing sound doctrine from the human scene.
Paul wrote to Timothy with a warning that resounds with force in our own day:
“If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, and is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions…” (1 Timothy 6:3–4)
And in his second letter to Timothy he adds:
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” (2 Timothy 4:3–4)
The messages to the seven churches in Revelation confirm this reality. Of the seven churches founded in apostolic times, only two receive full approval: the church of Smyrna and the church of Philadelphia. The other five receive a rebuke and a demand for repentance. That proportion is not accidental; it reveals that the constant tendency throughout church history is to drift from sound doctrine and yield to diverse teachings.
Against this backdrop, one central question arises: How can a man or woman of God be kept free from apostasy? The answer is singular: by walking in sound doctrine and, more specifically, by returning to the original message of the Gospel.
The original message of the Gospel
The virtue of God’s calling consists in knowing and obeying the original message. In Hebrews 6:1, the apostle Paul calls it “the elementary principles” or “the beginning word.” What does that original message contain?
When John the Baptist begins his ministry as the forerunner of the Messiah, his proclamation is concise and penetrating:
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2)
When Jesus, after His baptism, launches His public ministry, He repeats the exact same proclamation:
“From that time Jesus began to preach and to say: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)
When the apostles preach from Jerusalem in the book of Acts, the message is the same:
“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” (Acts 3:19)
And when the apostle Paul summarizes his entire missionary labor, he declares:
“…but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.” (Acts 26:20)
The original message of the Gospel, from John the Baptist to the apostles, is always the same: repent and be converted. These two verbs are not synonyms; they represent two distinct, complementary, and inseparable processes. Confusing them is one of the clearest symptoms of the levels of apostasy that have penetrated our congregations.
What does it mean to repent?
To repent is not simply to feel remorse or sorrow over past mistakes. Repentance, as taught by the Scriptures, is a change of substance, a change of nature, a change of essence. The man is no longer the same; the woman is no longer the same. It is a radical transformation — not a personal effort at moral self-improvement.
This change of nature is operated directly by the intervention of the Holy Spirit, and it occurs in the moment when a man or woman acknowledges Christ Jesus first as Lord and then as Savior. The order is decisive and cannot be reversed.
Jesus as Lord before Savior
One of the most widespread doctrinal errors of our time has been inverting the order of the Gospel: people are invited to receive Jesus as Savior while the fundamental demand to acknowledge Him first as Lord is left out. Yet the Lord Jesus Himself was unequivocal:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)
Saying “Lord” in a nominal sense is not the same as having submitted to His lordship. The lordship of Christ Jesus involves something very concrete — and very costly: surrendering one’s free will to the Lord.
A popular saying circulates in Christian circles today: “The Lord is a gentleman because He respects our free will.” This expression, however well-intentioned, is not in accord with the Word of God. The man or woman who has genuinely come to Christ Jesus no longer has an autonomous free will; it has been surrendered to the Lord. Otherwise, they have not truly acknowledged Jesus as Lord — they have merely received Him as a helper to call upon in moments of crisis.
The apostle Paul expresses this with masterful clarity in his letter to the Galatians:
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
This declaration encompasses everything: dreams, plans, projects, the future, one’s profession, family, business. All of it lies crucified together with Christ. On the road to Damascus, Saul of Tarsus had to surrender his future and his career to the Lord before knowing where obedience would lead him. Only then could he ask: “Lord, what do You want me to do?” That question can only be spoken by someone who has truly surrendered their free will.
Whoever has acknowledged Jesus as Lord does not make life decisions and then ask God to bless them. They do not plan, act, or move without first consulting the Lord. This is not a pious suggestion; it is the very essence of the original message of the Gospel. The Lord Jesus Himself rebuked His disciples when He said: “But why do you call Me Lord, Lord, and do not do the things which I say?”
A biblical example that illustrates this point with sharp clarity is Martha’s encounter with Jesus. The first time Jesus comes to the home of Martha and Mary, Martha gives the Lord instructions: “Tell my sister to help me.” That attitude — dictating to God what He should do — precisely reflects the condition of many believers today: they confess Jesus as Lord with their lips, but in practice, they are the ones issuing the orders.
Repentance, then, is this radical change: I am no longer the center; I am no longer the one who decides; I am no longer the one in charge. The results of this change of nature manifest themselves in daily life. The apostle Paul describes them in Ephesians 4, listing the transformations that genuine repentance produces: setting aside lying, governing anger, no longer stealing, eliminating corrupt speech, putting away all bitterness, wrath, clamor, and evil speaking. And he underscores that these changes are not the product of human effort, but the natural consequence of a life transformed by the Holy Spirit.
The reason many believers cannot leave behind what they were — even when they try sincerely — is that Jesus has not been established as their Lord. The problem is not a lack of willpower; the problem is one of order. They have wanted a Savior without first surrendering lordship. And because what was active in their past was never crucified, it eventually resurfaces. In the spiritual realm, everything remains active; there is no automatic line separating “before” from “after.” Only the power of the Holy Spirit, working when a person acknowledges Christ as Lord, can operate that change of nature.
The summary of this entire process is contained in Ephesians 4:22:
“…that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts…” (Ephesians 4:22)
To repent means to renounce what we were, to repudiate and abhor the old nature, to be stripped of it. That can only be accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit when a person surrenders their free will to the Lord.
What does it mean to be converted?
If repentance is an internal change of nature, conversion is the outward movement toward God. To be converted means to turn back to God. The book of Ezekiel declares this with eloquence:
“As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways…” (Ezekiel 33:11)
A person can repent — experience a change of nature — but if they are not converted, that is, if they do not turn to the Lord, what they end up forming is a philosophy of life. It is a value system that may set them apart in their community, that may even function quite well in social terms, but it is not a genuine walk with God. There are many people who are repentant but not converted; they live under a philosophy of life that resembles the Gospel but is not the Gospel.
The parable of the prodigal son, told by the Lord Jesus in Luke 15, illustrates these two processes with unmatched clarity. Verse 17 describes repentance:
“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!’” (Luke 15:17)
There is a change, a transformation in the young man’s consciousness. That is repentance: coming to himself, recognizing his state of lostness and his distance from the Father’s house. But immediately comes the conversion:
“I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.’” (Luke 15:18)
Conversion is the movement: I will arise and go. It is the decision to return to the Father. The process is not complete with the internal change alone; the cycle closes only when the son returns home.
So how does one seek God? How is that conversion carried out in practice?
We seek God in the Word. The Lord Jesus rebuked those who searched the Scriptures thinking that in them they had eternal life, yet would not come to Him. The Bible is not merely a reference book; it is the primary means by which we come to know the invisible God. If a person has no genuine hunger to read God’s Word, that absence is a sign that conversion — the turning to God — has not truly taken place.
We seek God in prayer. Throughout both the Old and New Testaments, the image of the believer prostrating themselves before God, calling on His face, seeking His presence, is the image of someone who has been converted — who has turned to the Lord with their whole life.
A telling warning must be sounded: if someone listens to sermons, pursues teachings, and accumulates messages but does not read the Bible, they are building a philosophy of life that will not lead them to salvation. In the same way, occupying a church pew for years is not a guarantee of conversion. Church membership is no substitute for a personal encounter with the living God.
The fruits of repentance and conversion
When the process is genuine — repentance and conversion — the fruits described by the apostle Peter in Acts 3:19 become a living reality:
First, sins are blotted out. Not merely covered or overlooked, but blotted out entirely. This is the redemptive work of Christ active in the life of the believer who has walked the path of the original message.
Second, times of refreshing come from the presence of the Lord. Today much is said about revival; it is sought through music, dance, and large-scale events. But genuine revival — times of refreshing from the Lord’s presence — comes only when there is true repentance and conversion. There are no shortcuts and no substitutes.
It must be stated plainly: the levels of apostasy present in many churches today are due, in large part, to the replacement of the original message with emotional experiences, positive thinking, and novelty teachings. The task of every minister, every man and woman of God, is to preach sound doctrine, to establish the original message, and to resist the trend toward themes that substitute entertainment or personal motivation for the Word of God.
Conclusion: the decision is ours
God called us. It does not matter when — three months ago or fifteen years ago. That calling was sovereign; it was the Spirit of God who issued it. And the virtue of that calling is immense: the very same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead wants to dwell in us, to manifest itself through us wherever we move.
But for that virtue to operate, we must return to the original message: repent and be converted. Repent — surrender your free will to the Lord, acknowledge Christ Jesus as your Lord before your Savior, crucify with Him your dreams, plans, and future. Be converted — turn back to the Lord, seek His face in the Word and in prayer, stop building a philosophy of life and begin walking with the living God.
Sound doctrine is the only effective shield against apostasy. As long as there are men and women who proclaim it and live it out, apostate tendencies will be restrained. The Lord has revealed the way; He has shown us what He requires. The decision now is ours. And the promise is clear: those who walk in the original message will find apostasy kept at bay, and you and your household will walk in the ways of the Lord.
Review Questions
- According to this chapter, what is the difference between the popular understanding of “calling” and what the Scriptures actually teach about God’s calling? How does this understanding change the way you see your own Christian life?
- Why is apostasy described as a phenomenon that is not exclusive to the last days? Where does its first manifestation appear in Scripture, and what was its strategy in that moment? To what degree does that same strategy operate today?
- The chapter presents acknowledging Jesus as Lord as a prior and indispensable step to acknowledging Him as Savior. What is the practical difference between the two? What implications does this distinction have for your daily life?
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