As I was preparing the eulogy for my Aunt Kay, I began thinking about different funerals I had seen. I once attended the funeral of a young person who I was not sure was ever truly saved. Their parents were clinging to the hope of a claim their child made when they were in elementary school. But the fruit . . . well, I’ll let God judge. I hope that this person was saved, and certainly believe that they could have been. But the uncertainty weighed very heavy upon me during the entire process.
What causes anxiety and depression in your life? What causes a lack of peace? It is uncertainty, when we just don’t know the answer to something or how something is going to work out.
Certainty = Peace
I came to realize that in all the grief over Kay’s funeral, there was a peace that hung as a covering over it. “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” I knew that she was a Christian. How? Because of her life that followed her conversion. There was a clear, marked change. She was living proof of a true conversion. All uncertainty was removed.
It started me thinking about conversions. You are not expected to walk in uncertainty – you need to know that you are saved. So I developed the following conversion chart. Where do you ‘lie’?
Grade 3 Conversion: Emotional and Empty
This is some quick decision (usually made in about the 3rd grade, thus the title) and is followed by the signing of a card, a walk to the altar, a 3-step prayer – maybe even a baptism. But there is no fruit that has ever followed, no hungering for more of Christ, no change in life. It was an emotional response that had no real substance to it. I do not believe this person is truly saved.
Why? Because Jesus said so. “A good tree will bear good fruit.” (Matthew 7:17)
Grade 2 Conversion: Anger and Agendas
These people display all the ‘gifts’ but have no ‘life’ to match it. They move mountains, they clang the cymbal, but there is no love, just anger.
I Corinthians 13 is not a reality in their lives. They spend their church lives pushing agendas, not Christ. Are they saved? That’s between them and God – but again, the fruit is not there.
Grade 1 Conversion: “I’ll take it from here.”
This person is one who may be truly saved by the grace of God. They have a real ‘moment’ of conversion, but that moment is followed by a lifetime of ‘effort’ to prove that they are saved. This person begins in the Spirit, but spends their entire lifetime in the flesh. (Galatians 3:3) To be truly victorious, you must submit your life to His Spirit – after you’re saved.
True Conversion: A Clear Point of Change
With this person, there is a definitive point of change. The ‘moment’ is followed by a life-time of hungering after God and a Spirit-filled walk. Not a perfect walk, but one that is sensitive to His Spirit at all times. All of their thoughts are of God, all of their conversation will naturally center around Christ. You can see Him in them.
Why do I bother with this chart? Because I’m worried. The older I get, the more I walk with God, the more I realize that nothing else matters until you know that a person is truly saved. You need to know – you are expected to know. God does not want us living in uncertainty. Please-examine your life. Are you simply relying on a ‘moment’ - a Grade 3 conversion? Or have you really, truly had a life-changing moment with Jesus Christ. It’s too important not to know for sure.
I John
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