A Matter of Life and Death: Understanding True and False Conversion

Kent Philpott writes about the difference between true and false conversion. Originally published by Evangelical Press, UK, in 1998, this third edition has been updated to answer questions and challenges from readers and critics from the past fifteen years. Are you a Christian? What is your conversion story? Is it possible you were falsely converted? What are the marks of true conversion? This is a matter of life and death - the only issue in life that really counts. Don't be afraid to answer these questions. To get this wrong could result in a forever and horrific eternal dying. Christian leaders must be concerned about the need for genuine conversion. Various techniques to get people into the pews result in false conversion, time and again. We must be courageous enough to present the offending gospel and trust the Holy Spirit to bring about actual new birth. If we are given something to do, many will do whatever is being asked-whether it be circumcision, baptism, saying a prayer, joining a church, changing behavior, or giving intellectual ascent to various points of doctrine. These are things we can do. But it is not the same as looking to Jesus alone as Savior. And precisely what I had been doing was unwittingly giving people something "holy" and "Christian" to do. They would generally "do it" and conclude that they had met the requirements for salvation. The stakes are high. Consider this: "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other the fragrance of life. Who is equal to such a task?" (2 Corinthians 2:15-16) Don't wait until it's too late to discover the truth of false conversion!