New Testament Conversion

As described in the Book of Acts

The “Great Commission”

Matthew 28: 18-2018 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is

given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the

name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have

commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Mark 16: 15-16 15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach

the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that

believeth not shall be damned.

The “Great Commission”

Luke 24: 45-48 45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might

understand the scriptures, 46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved

Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be

preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

48 And ye are witnesses of these things.

Synthesis of the “Great Commission” Texts

“…teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”

“…preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;”

“…repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations”

Teach/Preach Believe Repent Baptism

Remission of Sins

Two Methods of Bible Study

Deductive

1. Begins with generalizations and moves for support to the particulars.

2. Is subjective and prejudicial.

3. Produces students who dictate to the Scriptures rather than students who listen to

the Scriptures.

Two Methods of Bible Study

Inductive

1. A student first examines the particulars of the Scriptures and then makes conclusions based

on those particulars.

2. Is objective and impartial.

3. Produces students who listen to the Scriptures rather than students who dictate to the

Scriptures.

Fundamental Assumption

There are many modes of conversion.

“Pick and Choose”

There is one mode of conversion.

Assimilate all of the biblical evidence to

inductively reach a truthful conclusion.

Purpose of Luke’s Account

Writing to a man (Theophilus) to present a historical narrative of the events of the early church.

Not to give detailed accounts of each conversion.

Teach/Preach Believe Repent Baptism

Remission of Sins

Jews on Pentecost

Acts 2: 14-47

Jews at Solomon’s Porch

Acts 3: 11- 4:4

SamaritansActs 8: 12

SimonActs 8: 13

X X X X

X X X X

X X X

X XX

Teach/Preach Believe Repent Baptism

Remission of Sins

EunuchActs 8: 26-40

AntiochActs 11: 19-21

CorneliusActs 10: 34-48

Saul of TarsusActs 9: 6,18;

22:12-16

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Teach/Preach Believe Repent Baptism

Remission of Sins

LydiaActs 16: 13-15

Philippian JailorActs 16: 25-34

AtheniansActs 17: 22-34

CrispusActs 18: 1-8

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Teach/Preach Believe Repent Baptism

Remission of Sins

CorinthiansActs 18: 1-8

EphesiansActs 19: 1-6

X

X X

X

X

X

14 10 3 10 4

Different Expressions of the Same Event

1. Action:

He fed the stranger.

2. Principle of an action:

He was kind to the stranger.

3. Result of an action:

He helped the stranger.

Three different accounts?

Three complementary accounts?

Jews on Pentecost Acts 2: 14-47Acts 2:37 ¶ Now when they heard

this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.

41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.

44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;

45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.

Jews at Solomon’s Porch Acts 3: 11- 4:4Acts 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;

20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:

21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

4:1 And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them,

2 Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide. 4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.32 ¶ And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

2: 38 Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

2: 41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized

2: 44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;

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;

4: 4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed;

4: 32 ¶ And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

Belief and Baptism

Acts 19:1 ¶ And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,

2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.

3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.

4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.

5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Belief and Baptism

Acts 8:35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?

37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.

40 But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.

Belief and Baptism

Acts 16:30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

(Rom. 10: 14 …and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?)

32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.

33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

Belief and Baptism

Acts 18:8 And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.

Many Modes or One?

Many?

One Mode

Teach\preach, Believe, Repent, Baptized, Remission of Sins

How to Become a Christian...

Realize that we are all sinners and cannot save ourselves.           

Understand that the penalty for sin is eternal death in Hell.            

Know that God loves us so much that He gave His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins.

            Believe in God's plan of forgiveness and the promise of

eternal life through Jesus.           

Accept His promise by repenting of sin and asking Jesus to be the Lord of your life.

           

ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR SIN

REPENT OF YOUR SIN

BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST

MAKE YOUR DECISIONYou must believe in Christ and receive Him personally into your life by faith if you are to be saved from the power of sin and its consequences.  "To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave

the right to become children of God.“Will you pray to God something like this?  "God, I'm convinced I am a

sinner, and that Christ alone can save me.  I willingly repent of my sinful life and believe Jesus Christ died for me.  I want to receive Him

as my personal Savior.”

MY DECISIONBeing convinced that I was a lost sinner, I now believe that Christ died

for me so God could forgive my sins.  I have now received the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Savior.

The Gospels

The Acts The EpistlesThe

Revelation

The New TestamentThe

GospelsThe Acts The Epistles

The Revelation

Conclusion

New Testament Conversion involved:

1. Teaching/Preaching

2. Believing

3. Repenting

4. Baptism