Conviction, repentance, baptism, justification are the initial steps in the journey toward salvation that will be awarded at the return of Jesus Christ. The next step is conversion.

Conversion means to change something from one form/action to another. In the spiritual realm, it means a complete change of life (“walk”). ALL old things pass away. ALL things become new. Conversion is a spiritual about-face–a complete reversal of life-style. All thoughts, words and actions must be reversed. One’s former religious beliefs and practices must be left behind. For example, if I am walking toward point “A” and realize that I need to be walking toward point “B” which is in the exact opposite direction, I turn around–do a 180 degree, military-style about-face. Contrary to church doctrine, having done so does not place me at point “B.” I will arrive at point “B” ONLY by “walking” in that direction until I reach my destination. JESUS DOES NOT WALK FOR ME; HE HAS GIVEN ME THE HOLY SPIRIT WHICH EMPOWERS ME TO DO MY OWN WALKING.  Though conversion (which the church mistakingly calls salvation) has me cleansed of sin (justified) and pointed in the right direction, I am in reality no closer to point “B” than I was before conversion. I simply know in what direction point “B” lies and am facing that direction. IF I DO NOT “WALK AS JESUS WALKED” (1 Jn. 2:6) I WILL NEVER REACH MY POINT “B”–I WILL NEVER RECEIVE SALVATION. There is a great gulf separating knowing what to do and doing it. The theology that has Jesus doing everything for us is not Biblical. There is much I must “do,”  “work” and “bring forth” before we can receive eternal life.

It is at the point of doing, working and bringing forth that Satan leads the salvation seeker off track. The devil deceives him into believing  that conviction and repentance are all that are necessary, that Jesus takes the spiritual ball and runs with it. Satan deceives the seeker into believing that he is saved and born again. However, due to Adam’s sin transferal miracle, the saved person must sin. Because of this, God has set up a sin-conviction-repentance-forgiveness system to solve the problem. Jesus not only makes the sin go away through His grace, He forces righteousness upon the inveterate sinner. Having Adam’s sin gene in one’s spiritual dna, righteousness on the part of the churchite is impossible. This makes repentance the key to maintaining one’s salvation. This mind-set has been whole-heartedly embraced by the whole of Catholicism/Protestantism. This in spite of God’s Words found in Romans 6:19-22. Here the Almighty states through the Apostle Paul that one must yield himself as a slave to RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICK WILL LEAD TO HOLINESS WHICH WILL RESULT IN EVERLASTING LIFE. Righteousness is the absence of sin (justification). Sin is the breaking of the Law–the Holy Bible summarized by the Ten Commandments. Continual obedience to the Law produces righteousness which, if maintained, produces holiness which, if maintained to the end, produces eternal life. Nowhere are we told that Jesus obeys the Law for us. In fact, the opposite is true, as noted in James 1:22 where we are commanded to: “Be doers of the Law, not merely hearers, deceiving yourselves.”

Once justified (freed from sin, not freed to sin and get away with it) one must maintain his justification  which is possible only through obedience to God’s Law, which defines sin (1 Jn. 3:4). Paul confirms this in Romans 2:13 where he tells us: “It is not the hearers of the Law that are just(ified) before God, but the DOERS (OBEYERS) OF THE LAW SHALL (FUTURE)  BE (REMAIN) JUSTIFIED.” The Apostle Peter tells us that ONLY THE RIGHTEOUS (LAW KEEPERS) WILL BE SAVED, and they just barely (1 Pet. 4:17,18). Those who believe that one does not have to BE righteous because Jesus is righteous for them need to remember Romans 2:13–only the DOERS of the Law will be saved. Note also that salvation comes AFTER DOING (OBEYING) THE LAW until the end of life or the return of Christ, not before. Note also the Words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 10:22 where He tells us that salvation will come at the END of this life. Paul confirms this Truth in Romans 13:11 where he tells us that we grow CLOSER TO SALVATION with the passage of time.

The result of strictly following the steps God has commanded will result in one being different from those around him, including family members. He will stand out from the crowd. In 1 Peter 2:9 the apostle calls such people “peculiar.” In Ecclesiastes 2:8 states that God’s saints are His “peculiar treasure.” In other places true saints are called a “holy nation” and a “nation of priests.” Only God’s holy, peculiar treasures will join Jesus Christ on His throne in the Kingdom of God (Rev. 3:21). L.J.