Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

conversion"shame shall be the promotion of fools"(3:35).Questions for Discussion(Chapters 3 and 4).I. The Glory of Wisdom (3:1-20)1. What is wisdom?2. Why is man's wisdom unreliable?(3:5)3. How do we know that God is thesource of all wisdom?4. What are some of the rewards ofseeking wisdom, mentioned in 3:1-20?II. The Lord Preserves Those SeekingWisdom (3:21-26)5. How are the wise said to be kept insafety?6. Is the wise man always preservedfrom adversity?III. The Wisdom of Dealing BountifullyWith Men (3:27-35)7. How does wisdom fit in with theduty of love toward one's neighbor?8. What are some ways of dealingwisely with others?IV. The Instruction of a Father (chapter4)9. Why is it wise to listen and heedthe advice of those in authority?10. Why is wisdom said to be "theprincipal thing"? (4:7).11. Why is it not necessary to experience certain sins, e.g.,drunkenness, inorder to know the folly of them? (4:14-18)12. In what sense is the pathway of therighteous man as the dawning light ofday? (4:18 R. V.)PRAYER MEETING TOPICOctober 20, 1954CONVERSIONGENERAL ANDPsalms:PARTICULARRev. Lester E. KilpatrickJonah 3:5-10; John 1:12, 1380:1, 4, page 19851:5, 6, 9, page 13378:22-25, page 189References: All men are sinful: Rom 3:10-12, 23; Psa. 143:2; find others.Superficial repentance: I Kings 21:27-29; Ex. 8:8, 21, 28; 9:27, 29; 10:16,17; I Sam. 15:24-31.Evidence of conversion: Acts 19:18,19; find others.Having considered in this series 3rdWednesday of each month God's requirements for salvation, faith and repentance, we continue with a study of theresults in our lives, namely, conversion.Conversion is a "turnaround"in themanner of life. If the conversion is fromthe heart, it is because God has wroughtthere the new birth.Even the world sees the need for amoral change in some menneed is there in allthough theand in its widestsense that is what conversion is. Somewho know nothing of regeneration are204giving considerable attention to juveniledelinquency. And those closest to thatproblem see the need for a change, notjust in the youth who run afoul of thelaw, but in his parents.Judge Gilliam, successor to JudgeLindsay, Juvenile Court, Denver, says,"You can't just pat them on the headand give them a ball and bat, and tellthem to run and play. If you could dothat they wouldn't be delinquent. Furthermore, you couldn't trust most of themwith a baseball bat. These kids are mean,vicious.They want to kick somebody'steeth in. Do you believe that 'There is nosuch thing as a bad boy?' I'm almostready to say that 'There is no such thingas a good boy.' "It appears that Judge Gilliam does notmean the same by this statement as theScriptures which teach that the wholehuman race is sinful, and in need of redemption. But it is a far more realistic attitude, and more consonant with theScriptures, than the popular drivel thatall men are brothers, sons of God, in needonlyof proper education.ConversionGeneralIn Nineveh, Jonah, even though helwas going there only under compulsion,found a sympathetic and attentive hearing. When they heard the message ofGod's impending judgment they recognized the justice of it as they thought oftheir oppressiveness toward the helpless,of their wicked debauchery, their deceitand fraud. They turned from their sin andsecular ignoring of God and His claims.They were converted, turned about, andGod repented of the threatened judgment.This does not mean that the peopleof Nineveh came over en masse to become servants of the true God. They performed what isoutward. They fearedthe punishment due them for their sins,so they ceased their sins, at least for atime.Fear of punishment is a perfectly legitimate expedient to use to turn men fromsin. Noah, "moved with fear, prepared anark to the saving of his house" (Heb. 11:7). Jesus said, "Fear him who is able todestroy both soul and body in hell" (Mt.10:28). Many have been turned fromsin to righteousness, as were the Ninevites(3:8, 10), through fear of judgment,or, it may be, for even less commendablereasons. They are converted, so far as thehuman eye can see. Later, or at the time,they may come truly to believe God andto love Him.Thus, churches and those engaged inmissionary effort, count their "conversions"or their "converts" as a measure oftheir success. Within proper bounds, thisis proper, provided it is rememberedthough it is often forgottenthat thisnumbering is merely a count of thoseoutwardly giving indication of faith, andthat these may, or may not, be Christians.Becauseof the uncertaintyas to themeaning, it is probably better to speakof"professions"in this sense, ratherthan "conversions," and await the evidence of a transformed life to speak ofthe profession as a conversion.ConversionParticularOf those who give outward indicationof conversion, as the Ninevites and Ahab(I Kings 21:27), a usually somewhatsmaller number are truly converted. Theoutward flight from the just judgmentof God is accompanied by yes, springsfrom a heart that is changed from alove of self to a love toward God (John1:12, 13; Matt. 20:16)It is the special work of the Holy Spirit(Rom. 8:2, 9) alone that can change theheart, and without this no one can betruly converted.It would appear that most of the Ninevites were not truly converted, for Scripture leaves us no evidence of an Assyriantestimony to the true God. In fact, for thenext 200 years, until her downfall, Assyria was the inveterate enemy of God'speople, except for brief periods when expediencyand common enemies madethem temporarily friendly. Yet, throughthe preaching of Jonah, a testimony wasleft in that early time of God's concernfor those outside the Jewish nation, andof His exceeding great mercy and forbearance toward those who turn to HimingConversion is a radical change, a turnaround. A church that does not seeconversions through its ministry may betempted to follow the pattern of thosegroups and denominations that are getting great numbers to profess. Rather,they should humble themselves in examininganew the Word of God andtheir own obedience to it.There is some small movement inpresent day popular evangelism, towardpreaching, not only the need for an actof faith, repentance and profession, butalso of the need for a "converted" life,a life of Bible study, of a separated life,and of obedience, even when it requiressacrifice. Our own church has imbibed thespirit of our age, to the effect that onemay be a Christian by professing faithin Christ, and then doing pretty muchas the customs of society and the pressure of economic need dictate. Conversion, a manner of life opposite to thatdemanded by the flesh, is a necessity.wFor Discussion:1. Report on Ahab's conversion (I K.21:27).2. What can be said of the "generalof a people such as the Ninevites or of Japan in the two or three(Continued on page 205)COVENANTER WITNESS