Conversion is a slimy little word. It's meaning seems obvious, until you try to grip it. Then you're left surprised and annoyed when it slips through your clenching fist like some sort of bronzy ooze. E. Stanley Jones touches on this tricky word, acknowledging its importance to the believer as well as its misconstrued application on the believer's walk. His initial thoughts on the topic of Conversion cut right to the heart of the issue at hand. Conversion, according to his writings, cannot exist without disciplines. This is commonly (and easily) understood. But he doesn't stop there. Speaking on disciplines, he explains that disciplines are not the root of conversion. Nothing we do will ever affect the transformation of our hearts. That change, that good saving work, is a gift of God that only he may give. Our response, the fruit of our conversion, is our disciplines. They are the fruit, not the root. I love that.
Conversion is not a choice that gets made. It's not a good work done by man that then, in turn, breeds more good works. Conversion is a gift from God which transfigures the entirety of a person; his heart's desires, his mind, his spirit, his actions, his all, is governed by this new good work. It is truthfully said that this concept is a "fuller, more biblical understanding". Christ was crucified, not as a formality, but as a necessity.
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