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F. THE AUTHOR OF CONVERSION.
1. GOD THE AUTHOR OF CONVERSION.
God only can be called the author of conversion. This is
the clear teaching of Scripture. In Ps. 85:4 the poet prays, “Turn us, O God of our salvation,” and
in Jer. 31:18 Ephraim prays, “Turn thou me, and I shall be turned.” A similar prayer is found in
Lam. 5:21. In Acts 11:18 Peter calls attention to the fact that God has granted unto the Gentiles
repentance unto life. A similar statement is found in II Tim. 2:25. There is a twofold operation of
God in the conversion of sinners, the one moral and the other hyper-physical. In general it may
be said that He works repentance by means of the law, Ps. 19:7; Rom. 3:20, and faith by means
of the gospel, Rom. 10:17. Yet we cannot separate these two, for the law also contains a
presentation of the gospel, and the gospel confirms the law and threatens with its terrors, II
Cor. 5:11. But God also works in an immediate, hyperphysical manner in conversion. The new
principle of life that is implanted in the regenerate man, does not issue into conscious action by
its own inherent power, but only through the illuminating and fructifying influence of the Holy
Spirit. Cf. John 6:44; Phil. 2:13. To teach otherwise would be Lutheran and Arminian.
2. MAN CO-OPERATES IN CONVERSION.
But though God only is the author of conversion, it is
of great importance to stress the fact, over against a false passivity, that there is also a certain
co-operation of man in conversion. Dr. Kuyper calls attention to the fact that in the Old
Testament shubh is used 74 times of conversion as a deed of man, and only 15 times, of
conversion as a gracious act of God; and that the New Testament represents conversion as a
deed of man 26 times, and speaks of it only 2 or 3 times as an act of God.[Dict. Dogm., De
Salute, p. 94.] It should be borne in mind, however, that this activity of man always results from
a previous work of God in man, Lam. 5:21; Phil. 2:13. That man is active in conversion is quite
evident from such passages as Isa. 55:7; Jer. 18:11; Ezek. 18:23,32; 33:11; Acts 2:38; 17:30, and
others.
G. THE NECESSITY OF CONVERSION.
The Bible speaks in absolute terms of the necessity of regeneration; not so of the necessity of
conversion. It tells us plainly that, “Except a man be born again (anew, or, from above), he
cannot see the kingdom of God,” John 3:3, but does not speak of the need of conversion in the
same general way, which allows of no exceptions. Naturally, they who identify the two cannot
admit this distinction. Undoubtedly there are passages of Scripture which contain a call to
conversion, in order to enjoy the blessings of God, such as Ezek. 33:11; Isa. 55:7, and these
imply the necessity of conversion in the case of those addressed or mentioned there. The
passage that comes nearest to an absolute declaration is found in Matt. 18:3, “Verily, I say unto
you, Except ye turn and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of
heaven.” But even in this case one might insist that this refers only to the persons addressed.