1. The Nature of Conversion.
in Christ is graciously disposed toward men, and because he proclaims
see F. Pieper, ""Grundbekenntnis", pp. 46 ff., [English 1930 ed. - pp. 50 ff.] the section: "The Augsburg Confession in danger and saved from danger", later (1536) by formulating the sentence: good works are necessary for salvation as causa sine qua non; see the clear statement of F. Bente, L. u. W. 1908, pp. 17 ff.
this gracious disposition to men in the gospel (2 Cor. 5:19), the repentance or conversion of a person to God does not consist of attempts to improve one's life or to do outwardly good works or to awaken "religious" feelings of any kind in oneself, but only in the fact that the person becomes a believer in the gospel (in Christ, in the gracious God, etc.) under the terrores conscientiae, i.e., under despair of all his own morals and all his own actions. Acts 11:21: TMOAUS TE APLOLOs O MloTEvOUc EtéoTPEWeEV Ei TOV KUptov, Luther: "To convert to God is to believe in Christ, that He is our mediator, and through Him we have eternal life. Therefore, if you want to be converted, it is necessary that you be terrified or killed, that is, that you have a fearful and trembling conscience. Now if this has happened in such a way, then comfort must also be received, not from any work you have done, but from the work of God, who sent his Son Jesus Christ into the world for this reason, so that he preached the comfort of mercy to terrified sinners, by grace, for nothing. This is the way to be converted; other ways are aberrations."!7°°) It is therefore entirely in keeping with Scripture when Lutheran teachers say that the essence of conversion (forma conversionis) consists in the kindling of faith in Christ. '°& The concept of conversion, according to which the same should consist in a moral improvement of life (reformatio vitae) or ina "moral act" of man, is outside the framework of Christianity, because it places the return to God in the works of man and thus denies the reconciling work of Christ. An outward improvement of life has great value for the state and civil life. But through this man does not return—not even in the
et peccati in statum gratiae ac fidei, e regno tenebrarum in regnum luminis translatione. [Forma conversionis consistit in hominis irregeniti e statu irae et peccati in statum gratiae ac fidei, e regno tenebrarum in regnum luminis translatione.’ (II, 706.) Baier: Terminus conversionis ad quem, quo acquisito aut obtento, homo conversus dicitur, isque formalis est fides in Christum. Ita Act. 11:21 dicuntur peccatores converti ad Dominum miotevovtec, credentes, seu formaliter (in essence) per hoc, quod credunt aut credentes fiunt. [Google] (Comp. II, 195.) beginning 1270)—to God, that is, in God's fellowship of grace. This happens in any case only by the fact that the sinner, condemned to death by the law in his conscience, believes the grace that Christ has acquired and offers in the Gospel. It should therefore be noted with regard to the terminus a quo and ad quem conversionis: As long as a person has not yet believed in the Gospel of Christ crucified, he is unconverted, whether he is civilly vicious or civilly righteous, uneducated or educated, a barbarian or a man of culture, unknown to Christian doctrine or outwardly acquainted with it. In Eph. 2:12 it says indiscriminately of all who are ywpic Xpiotov [without Christ]: éAntda wy éyovtEs Kai G8Eo1 Ev TH KOop@ [having no hope, and without God in the worl]. But as soon as faith in Christ is present—and even if only the first spark of faith glows in the heart—the conversion to God has taken place. Eph. 2:13, it says of all those who have become believers in Christ: bpeic of MOTE OVTEG HaKpav éyevNOntse Eyydc Ev TH atLaTLTOD Xptotod [you who were far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ’]. Of course, Scripture also says that man is converted from the doing of sin to the keeping of the statutes of God. 7’ But in these scriptural statements conversion is described according to the fruits inseparably connected with conversion of the heart, and through which conversion of the heart must become evident to people who cannot see into the heart. The conversion of man is primo loco, in the true and narrow sense, conversion to the Gospel or to Christ, the Savior of sinners. (Acts 11:20-21; 1 Petr. 2:26.) Conversion to the law or to the doing of God's will in the law happens indirectly as a result of conversion to the Gospel.!?