Snap Shot
For a genuine born-again salvation experience three sequential actions must take place: Conviction, Confession, and Conversion.
Instructing Scriptures
“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me” (John 16:7-9 ESV, emphasis mine).
“… if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9 ESV, emphasis mine).
“So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers” (Acts 15:3 ESV, emphasis mine).
By Definition
Conviction
Convict (elegcho)—to convict; to show to be wrong.
“And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst” (John 8:9 KJV, emphasis mine).
Confession
Confess (homologeo)—to concede, admit, confess of sins.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 ESV, emphasis mine).
Conversion
Conversion (epistrophe)—to turn about; a turning around, conversion. The word itself occurs only in Acts 15:3; however, figuratively it means to turn to the service and worship of the true God (Acts 9:35; 11:21; 14:15; 15:19; 26:18, 20).
“And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord” (Acts 11:21 ESV, emphasis mine).
The Sequence
Thanks to Adam’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden, man is a sinner (cf. Romans 5:18, 19; Romans 3:23) and man can do nothing in himself to make himself sorry for his sin and accept Christ’s atoning work. Yes, his conscience can convict him of doing “wrong” but it cannot convict him of his sin and the need for the Savior, Christ Jesus. Only the Holy Spirit can do that (cf. John 16:7-9); or as Paul said plainly, “…and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3).
When the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin we do as David penned in Psalm 38:18,
“I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin.” As the Lord hears that confession “…he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 ESV).
And with that forgiveness one is converted!
“… if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9 ESV).
Conclusion
Many probably didn’t understand all those steps in detail when they gave their heart to the Lord. But it is important to understand what happened in that experience in order to grow in your conversion and share your personal experience with others.
