Paraklesis
[‘encouragement’, ‘exhortation’, for life and ministry]
October 2022
Peter Adam
Dear friends,
‘Are you fully converted?’ ‘Are your leaders fully converted?’ ‘Is your church fully converted?’
I want to prompt you in lateral thinking about conversion, by clarifying what I think are its essential ingredients. We should be praying and working for full conversions, ensuring that we are full converted, our leaders are fully converted, and so are the members of our church or organisation.
To be converted to Christ is not just to decide to believe in him or follow him. Full conversion to Christ and his gospel includes the following ingredients. All are essential, though we may realise them and commit to them and embrace them at different times, and with different levels of recognition and commitment.[1]
Repentance and faith
Repentance means consciously turning away from what is wrong, and faith means trusting in Christ and his gospel.
The fullness of Christ and his gospel includes the following.
- Christ, and God the Father and God the Spirit.
- Christ’s atoning death and resurrection.
- Christ’s body and bride, the church, the people of God.
- The Christ-authenticated Holy-Spirit inspired Bible.
- Christ’s work of sanctification and maturity, death to sin and resurrection to new life.
- Christ’s global mission.
- Christ’s created world.
- Christ’s return.
- Christ’s power to enable you to love and serve others.
- Christ’s grace that enables you to live for God’s glory, not your own.
- Christ free gift of grace; and his call to sacrifice, self-denial, and service.
- Christ’s gifts for ministry, and also his power in our weakness.
You will notice that in some cases people are converted and believe in and follow Christ, despite not knowing most of the fullness of Christ and his gospel.
Conversion
Your understanding of the fullness of Christ and his gospel
In most cases people know something of Christ and his gospel before they are converted, repent and believe, but still have much to learn!
Conversion
Your understanding of the fullness of Christ and his gospel
Rarely, people learn all about Christ and his gospel, and then are converted, repent, and believe.
Conversion
Your understanding of the fullness of Christ and his gospel
So most of us need to keep on learning. Here are some questions for you, your leaders, the members of your church or organisation:
- Do you trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son and Word of God; do you trust in God the Father as Christ revealed him; and do your trust in God the Holy Spirit whom Christ poured out on us?
- Do you trust Christ’s atoning death and resurrection, the forgiveness of your sins, the gift of eternal life, freedom from God’s condemnation, access to the presence of God, and freedom from the power of Satan, and have you received those benefits for yourself?
- Do you trust in Christ’s body and bride, the church, the people of God, and are you an active member of his body, loving others, receiving ministry from others, and using your gifts for the common good?
- Do you trust the Christ-authenticated Holy-Spirit inspired Bible? Are you living by every word that comes from the mouth of God, and trusting the Scriptures and obeying them ahead of your natural assumptions, the ideas of others, the pressures of your society, and anything in your church that is condemned by the Bible?
- Do you trust in Christ’s work of sanctification and maturity? Are you making progress as a Christian by God’s power? Are you experiencing death to sin and resurrection to new life by the power of Christ’s death and resurrection?
- Are you committed to Christ’s global mission to make disciples of all nations? Are you praying, speaking, giving, and supporting others in God global gospel plan?
- Are you taking your responsibility for Christ’s created world in which you live? Are you living responsibly as a member of your community, your nation, and the world?
- Are you praying for and trusting in Christ’s return? Are you placing all your hopes in his return when he will perfect his church, change our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body, judge all people, and reward those who have served him faithfully?
- Are you living by Christ’s power to enable you to love and serve others, with humility and grace, including your fellow-believers in the church, and your neighbours in the world?
- Are you living by Christ’s grace as he enables you to live and work for God’s glory, not your own, to find your hope and assurance in God alone, and to live to please God alone?
- Do you know and trust Christ’s free gift of grace, love, his acceptance of you as you are; and also his call to sacrifice, self-denial, and service?
- Have you received and used Christ’s gifts for ministry; and also known his power in your weakness?
I think I have continued to learn all these again and again more deeply over many long years!
These are great questions for you, for your leaders, and for everyone! If you want to follow up these ideas, you could preach it as a sermon series, or turn it into Bible studies.
I think it would be most productive to meet individually with your church leaders [or perhaps in groups of 3 or 4] to disciple them, answer their questions, encourage them, and pray with them. Of course, repentance and faith will lead to action!
Other resources.
Two useful books on the church:
Karl Deenick, Gathered Together, St Matthias Media.
Lee Gatiss, ed., Reach, Build, Send: A Pattern for Anglican Ministry, Lost Coin, https://www.churchsociety.org/product/reach-build-send-a-pattern-for-anglican-ministry/
or Kindle Edition.
With warmest good wishes and prayers.
Yours,
- As always, I want people to know the maximum God has revealed, the fulness of God’s plan, not just the least we can get away with! [Though of course with death-bed conversions, I adopt a more minimalist stance!]. ↑