Conversion (conversio, ἐπιστροφή, μετάνοια) does not consist in a person's attempt to make amends for his sins and to appease the wrath of God by works; nor is it mere sorrow (contritio) over, or disgust at, sin or a solemn resolution on the part of man to improve his life by good works; for all these things even the unconverted may do, Matt. 27, 3. 4; 1 Sam. 24, 16-22. But conversion is essentially the bestowal of faith (donatio fidei) in the divine promise of salvation for Christ's sake upon a sinner who from the divine Law has learned to know and lament his sins, Mark 1, 14 .15.
This is the true Scriptural definition of conversion as it is described in Acts 11, 21: “A great number believed and turned unto the Lord” (πολύς τε άρι&μός δ πιστενσας ίπέοτρεψεν έπί τόν κύριον). The turning to God, or conversion, of the great number, as here related, was accomplished by faith in “the preaching of the Lord Jesus,” v. 20. That is to say, the Lord Jesus was preached; a great number believed the Gospel of Christ and thus turned unto the Lord.
In accord with this and other passages, John 1, 45—50; Acts 8, 34—38; 16, 30—34, Luther defines conversion as follows: “To convert oneself to God means to believe that Christ is our Mediator and that we have eternal life through Him.” (Cp. St. L., XIIIa, 1101;1 V, 590.2 Pieper, Christl. Dogmatik, II, 545 ff.) So also our dogmaticians declare that conversion takes place in that moment when the Holy Spirit engenders faith in the heart of the penitent sinner. Hollaz describes conversion as “the act of grace by which the Holy Spirit excites in the sinner sincere grief for his sins by the Word of the Law and enkindles true faith in Christ by the Word of the Gospel.” Doctr. Theol., p. 466.
In short, a person is truly converted only when he believes that God has graciously forgiven his sins for Christ’s sake; or we may say: A converted person is a true believer in the divine-human Christ, the only Savior from sin. For this reason we must reject all definitions which identify conversion with a mere change of mind or with a mere moral improvement of life (reformatio vitae) as these have been given by ancient and modern rationalists (Pelagians, Unitarians, Modernists, etc.). We readily admit that also an unconverted person may improve his life externally (iustitia civilis), that he may suppress this or that vice and cultivate this or that virtue, ; but unless a person penitently receives the grace of God offered to him in Christ Jesus, he remains spiritually lost in spite of such change of conduct, Luke 18, 10—14. His outward “good works” will be duly rewarded in this life (in regno potentiae); but since he is outside the Kingdom of Grace (regnum gratiae), he is without God, Eph. 2, 12, and without hope of salvation, Mark 16, 15. 16. To this truth the whole Bible bears witness. Luther: “God does not desire to be gracious to any people, either Jew or Gentile, unless they are converted, that is to say, unless they believe God with all their heart.” St. L., III, 16972.
Because the Scriptural doctrine of conversion is of such eminent importance, it must be guarded against all error. To this end the Christian theologian must not only rule out all unscriptural doctrine on this point, but he must see to it that the terminology which he employs is in agreement with Scripture. Let him therefore consider the following points from the outset: —
a. Any teaching which makes of conversion a meritorious work, performed by man (papists: penance; Unitarians: a moral change) or the product of man’s power, either in whole or in part (Pelagianism, synergism), destroys the Christian faith and frustrates the sinner’s conversion and justification.
b. The two essential elements in conversion are contrition and faith, Mark 1, 16; Acts 16, 30. 31; Jer. 3, 13. 14. Contrition (terrores conscientiae), however, does not form the beginning of, or one half of, conversion, nor does it produce a better spiritual condition in the sinner; the terrified sinner hates God all the more because of his knowledge of sin and flees from Him. Contrition belongs to conversion only for the reason that faith cannot find entrance into the proud and secure heart; it is “the indispensable preparation for conversion.” Contrition is the effect of the preaching of the Law, which by itself cannot save a single sinner. Gal. 2, 16. (Cf. the contrition of Judas, Matt. 27, 3—5.)3
c. Pietists and Methodists demand a fixed degree of contrition; but what is required is “that a person not only dreads the temporal effects of his sins, but also regards himself as lost forever on account of his sins, Luke 18, 13.”4
d. Even the kindling of the first spark of faith in the sinner’s heart, or his longing after the grace of God in Christ, constitutes conversion. (Cf. Formula of Concord, Thor. Decl., II, 64. 14.)
e. Conversion in a wider sense embraces sanctification, which is the inevitable result of conversion in the narrow sense (donatio fidei). Much confusion and error has been caused by not keeping the two uses of the term separate.
f. The Scriptural doctrine of conversion is perverted 1) by the papists (conversion through man’s voluntary reception of grace and its gifts, by which the unjust man becomes a just man); 2) by all rationalists (Unitarians, Modernists), who define conversion as the “moral reformation” of the sinner; 3) by the synergists, who condition God’s forgiveness on faith as an “ethical act”; and 4) by all errorists who make the hatred of sin and the purpose to amend one’s life the constitutive element of conversion or who (Pietists, Methodists) claim that sorrow for sin from love toward God moves God to be gracious.
g. Conversion does not take place by stages, or degrees, but instantaneously; for while the preparation for conversion (motus praeparatorii, which are chiefly the terrors of conscience, wrought by the Law) may extend over a period of time, conversion proper, or the kindling of faith, is effected in a moment. There is no intermediary state (status medius) in which man is semi-dead or semi-living, John 3, 18. The synergists advocate the intermediary state, progressive, or successive, conversion, for the purpose of introducing at some stage of the process man’s cooperation. On the other hand, all enthusiasts (Pietists, Methodists) go beyond Scripture in denying that one is genuinely converted who cannot fix the exact moment of his conversion.
h. The term repentance is sometimes used for contrition and faith (conversion)1 and sometimes for contrition alone. — In Christians, repentance (conversio continuata, poenitentia stantium) continues until death because of the evil which is ever present with them, Rom. 7, 21; Heb. 12,1. The believer therefore turns daily with a contrite heart to the Gospel of the forgiveness of sins. Perfectionism denies this continued conversion. Matt. 18, 3.
i. The conversion of those who had fallen from grace (David, Peter; Jer. 3, 12; ; Gal. 4, 19) is identical with the first conversion. The Calvinists, who, contrary to Luke 8, 13; ff.; Gal. 5, 4; 1 Tim. 1, 20; 1 Cor. 9, 27; 10, 12, teach that true believers can never lose faith, do not acknowledge renewed conversion (conversio reiterata, poenitentia lapsorum) and therefore prevent it. The same is true of Perfectionism.
j. Conversion is not a substantial change, that is, not the creation of a new essence of the soul (Flacius, Weigel), but the complete transformation of the soul, or the creation of new qualities in man, 2 Cor. 5, 17; Ps. 51, 10. To teach the latter, does not mean to teach mysticism (rationalists), but to affirm the true doctrine of Holy Scripture on conversion.
k. Conversion is not a mechanical action; for in conversion God works in man as in a rational creature and not as in a “stone or block” Formula of Concord, Joel 2, 12.
l. Conversion is not by coercion; that is to say, God does not convert a person against his will (by irresistible grace: Calvinism) ; for conversion consists in this, that “God makes willing persons out of the unwilling” (Augustine; Formula of Concord, Epit., II, 15).
m. Our Confession rightly condemns as expressions that “do not conform to the form of sound doctrine” the following: “God draws, but He draws the willing”; “In conversion the will of man is not idle, but also effects something”; and: “Only be willing, and God will anticipate you” (Formula of Concord, Thor. Decl., II, 86). In accord with Scripture it describes the divine action in conversion as a “drawing of the Holy Ghost” (Thor. Decl., II, 88), John 6, 44; 12, 32.
n. In conversion man is only the subiectum patiens, or the subiectum convertendum; that is to say, man “does or works nothing, but only suffers” (Formula of Concord, Thor. Decl, 11, 89.90).
o. Against synergism our Confession declares on the basis of Scripture: “Before the conversion of man there are only two efficient causes, namely, the Holy Ghost and the Word of God, as the instrument of the Holy Ghost, by which He works conversion.” (Formula of Concord, Epit., II, 19.)
Some of these points will be considered at greater length later on under their proper heads. We group them here in order to show how necessary it is to guard the Scriptural doctrine of conversion against error and to point out how essential it is to define conversion correctly. (Cf. Christl. Dogmatik, II, 542 ff.; Dr. Engelder, Dogmatical Notes.)