Conversion: Paul and the 12 #lovewins

In my last post, I asserted that Rob Bell in the first chapter of Love Wins is essentially asking the question: “What is the shape of a person’s experience, and does it conform to what one group or another group considers a normative experience?”

I concluded that “God has created us in a way that we have the ability to undergo remarkable transformations of a cognitive, affective, behavioral, social, and religious nature that seem to tip lives upside down and launch them in whole new directions. This means that the essence of conversion is not found in the experience itself but in the content of that experience.”

So let us turn to the content of the conversion experiences of Paul and that of the Twelve. I am following Richard Peace’s outline from his book Conversion in the New Testament.

At the core of Paul’s experience is a core pattern of seeing, a turning, which together resulted in transformation.

First there was seeing. Paul saw the truth. He saw what his true state really was before God and he saw Jesus for who he really is. When he saw that Jesus is “the Son of God” – as he himself preached a few days later (see Acts 9:20) – he saw himself as opposing God in a quite specific way. That is, he saw that by persecuting the church he had been persecuting Jesus himself.

Second, there was a turning – a turning to and a turning from. Paul turned from a mission of persecuting the church to joining the church’s mission. He turned from opposing Jesus to following Jesus.

This turning is specific. Paul did not simply vow to get it right the next time or try to do a better job a doing what God wanted. This was not a minor midcourse redirection. This involved a complete reordering of Paul’s theology. In fact, Paul remained an orthodox Jew, but now saw the old facts in a new context. The Messiah, Jesus, had come, been crucified, but then had been resurrected and Paul discovered that God is now working in a new way in the world and that he had been blind.

Third, there was the transformation that flowed from Paul’s response to Jesus. In other words, Paul’s life changed completely. Paul underwent a transformation from a zealous Pharisee to a zealous apostle. He was baptized. He aligned himself with the church, and began preaching the good news about Jesus.

The Twelve

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15, ESV).

Do you see it? The kingdom of God is at hand. Therefore, repent (turning) and believe (transformation) the gospel.

Jesus defines what the response to seeing the kingdom of God at hand is meant to be. We are all called upon to repent and believe the gospel.

But what specifically is Jesus calling men and women to? The sense from Jesus’ own ministry is that he is calling people to change their minds about what God is doing in their midst – to turn around and believe in what God is doing (repentance). We are to believe (faith) the good news that the hoped for kingdom of God has come near and act accordingly (discipleship).

The twelve’s conversion, therefore, can also be defined in terms of seeing (faith), turning (repentance), and transformation (discipleship). However, it is interesting that while the twelve disciples are with Jesus they do not understand what Jesus is teaching them. Right up to the very end, they display a lack of understanding as well as an inadequate commitment to Jesus.

Moreover, it seems that they could not of understood what it all means prior to Jesus’ death. It is precisely the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus that unlocks the meanings of repentance, faith, and discipleship. Furthermore, as Paul’s experience demonstrates, it is the resurrected Jesus they (all) must meet in order to be converted.

The bottom line is that conversion in the New Testament involves repentance and faith that is focused on the Jesus who died for one’s sins and lives again as the Lord who transforms and gives new life. It is only after the twelve (and us) meet the resurrected Jesus that it all makes sense for them and the response of conversion is possible. Conversion has nothing do with praying the “sinner’s prayer” – although it certainly may involve prayer – but it is a continual process from the moment of seeing to the moment of full transformation when we all will meet Jesus face-to-face.

So love does win.

So what’s your conversion story?

When did you meet the resurrected Jesus?

Does your conversion follow this same pattern of seeing, turning, and transformation? How?

Tell your story in the comments below.

2 Responses to “Conversion: Paul and the 12 #lovewins”

1. Aaron says:

   March 17, 2011 at 8:17 pm

   I’m a friend of Paul F. in Fort Worth. Great postings! I may use them as I weigh in on this!!

   Reply
   • Michael Carpenter says:

     March 17, 2011 at 8:21 pm

     Use away. Thanks for stopping by. The point of the series of posts is an exercise in how I would answer the questions Rob Bell is asking as if I were in an actual dialogue with someone. This series is not meant to be read as a critique, review, a medium to bash Bell, or a way to prove I am “right.”

     Reply