Conversion

Conversion designates the turning of a person from sin and self to God — the decisive change of direction that marks the beginning of the life of faith. The Old Testament uses the verb shûb (to turn or return) to describe the call to repentance: Israel must turn from its idols and return to the LORD with all its heart. The prophets, especially Ezekiel and Hosea, make this turning the central demand of their message, and the promise of return is the condition of restoration from exile.

In the New Testament, conversion is closely associated with repentance (metanoia) and faith, and its occurrence is sometimes marked by dramatic visible evidence: Paul's encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), the Gentile Cornelius receiving the Spirit before baptism (Acts 10), and the conversion of the Philippian jailer in a single night (Acts 16). Paul describes the Thessalonians as turning to God from idols, to serve the living and true God and to await his Son (1 Thessalonians 1:9). Luke records that Paul was sent to the Gentiles to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light (Acts 26:18), and reports on the conversion of Gentiles throughout his account of the first missionary journey (Acts 15:3).