©2003 Charles Darby
Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
Peter had walked with the Lord about
3 three years, more or less, at this time. He, as well as the other disciples,
still didn't know Jesus as they would later on. When Jesus went to be judged
they all deserted him. Peter even denied knowing Him. How could he do this
after seeing the miracles that was done by the hands of Jesus? He had even
seen Jesus transformed on the mountain.
The reason, as I see it from scripture,
is that Peter had not been converted at this point. Maybe we could understand
better if we knew what this word (converted) means.
Convert – To
turn – to turn about – turn toward – a turning about – the word implies
turning about, or round. Turning from and turning to.
So in the above context it’s talking
about turning from the worlds ways and turning to God through Jesus Christ.
Then allowing Him to be Lord of our life. We do this by studying the Word
of God and with the Help of the Holy Spirit, in us, becoming a doer of
the truth.
Peter, as well as the other disciples, didn't have this kind of experience until after the Holy Spirit came to them in the upper room. After this, conversion, we see a different bunch of men. They went everywhere telling the good news of conversion through faith in Jesus Christ. Nothing could stop them. They were whipped, stoned, thrown in jail, ridiculed, mocked, run out of town, some were killed but nothing stopped them!
They preached the message that to be saved you must repent, turn from sin to Jesus Christ, so you will be converted. I am sure they told how it changed them and that it will change you as well! This is the only way for sin to be blotted out.
How important is this? Let's see what
Jesus said about it.
Mat 18:3 And
said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little
children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Wow, we can't enter the kingdom of
heaven unless we are converted! Now that's as important as it gets!
Please notice when we are converted we become as little children. Little children need someone to look after them, to teach them and correct them as needed. The Lord is our Shepherd and the Holy Ghost is our Guide. What more do we need? All we need do is submit to His leading and guiding.
Notice Jesus prayed for Peter that his faith not fail. Jesus is at the right hand of the Father making intercession for all of us who believe. We have a lot more going for us than we have against us! Let's walk in victory. Now that we are converted we should strengthen others by our life style and walk.
Now, Dear reader, I ask you a very simple question, Have you been converted? Have you just heard about Christ or have you received Him? Is He dwelling in and with you or is He just someone you call on when you are in trouble? Are you a Christian, a disciplined follower of Christ, or just a member of a church? Do you know Him or just know about Him? Where you spend eternity will determine your sincere answer to these questions.
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