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Acts – Conviction before Conversion
What do the Pentecost crowd (Acts 2) and the Philippian Jailer (Acts 16) have in common? Conviction before conversion.
Neither were preached to, told, or nagged into “baptism for the forgives of sins”, which is easier to parrot than experience. All knew they were lost:
1. The crowd knew because of Peter’s sermon accusing them of sin.
2. The jailer trembled because of Paul and Silas’ singing and reaction to the earthquake, by them thinking more of him than their freedom.
Afterwards, each asked, begged, “What must I do (to be saved)?” Before being taught how to be saved they knew they were lost.
• There is no good news (i.e. the gospel) without bad news.
• A deep awareness includes our sinfulness and Jesus’s sacrifice because of our sin.
• There must be guilt before relief.
• All must be convicted before becomimg converted.
As servants using God’s gospel, we must convict before we convert. God is not impressed with how many we baptize, but how many hearts are turned. This includes our children. If we are the ones who keep mentioning baptism, we are trying the impossible – to convert without conviction.
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