Conversion to Christ

44"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Matthew 13:44-46


Not everyone will share eternally in God’s joy. Is that true? WHY? Why is it that not everyone will share in God’s joy forever? This is true because there is a condition which must be met in order for you to live in him and enjoy him forever. WHAT is that condition? What is the condition which must be met in order for you to live in him and enjoy him forever? What is the condition which must be met before you can be a part of the kingdom of God?

The condition is that you obey the command of Psalm 37:4 : Delight yourself in the Lord. But many people take more delight in money or sex or recreation than they do in God, and so they have no share in God’s saving mercy. They are lost. What they need is conversion to Christ. Lest we move on too fast from this statement, consider: What is the case with you today? Do you take your greatest delight in Christ? Do your habits prove that you delight in the Lord? Does your conversation? What about your thinking?

We live in a superficially Christian society where thousands of lost people think they do believe in Jesus. As we consider conversion to Christ, I want to challenge you to think about the times in which we live and examine yourself carefully. The phrase “Believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved” is virtually meaningless in our society. Drunks on the street say they do. Unmarried couples sleeping together say they do. People who haven’t sought worship or fellowship for 10 years say they do. Every stripe of world-loving church attendees say they do.

My responsibility as a teacher is not just to repeat precious biblical sentences, but to speak the truth of those sentences in such a way that it will prick the conscience of the hearer, helping you feel your need for Christ. I hope to take this sweet truth in Matthew 13:44-46 and make it as sharp as I can in the hope that some hearts will be stabbed broad awake. You may be sitting there thinking “I’m already converted. I don’t need to hear this.”, but before you tune me out let me caution you. The gospel truths I am going to talk about here are the gospel truths that believers themselves go on believing by. So now let’s go on to consider some great truths about reality that make conversion necessary. (To be continued...)