But convert means to change from one form to another, and there are many types of conversions that we could talk about. Some things are easy to convert. For example, we have to change our money into the various currencies in the countries that we go to. You go to a bank, and they’ll exchange it for you. That’s called conversion.

Or take electricity. In the United States, we usually have 110 volts of electricity in whatever appliance we’re using. And you convert to 220 volts when you go to Europe or to some other countries. You flip a switch or use a small converter.

Other things are more difficult to change. For example, we convert old paper and glass and cans into new products that can be useful. Or we convert pounds and inches to the metric system.

People, though, are the most difficult to convert. Only God can do that, and it must be done by the Holy Spirit. That’s why it’s important that when you feel the tug of the Holy Spirit in your heart to repent and be converted, you don’t wait. Scripture tells us it’s very dangerous to put it off.

When the Apostle Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost, he said, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19). And when he gave the invitation for people to make their commitment to Christ, more than 3,000 responded.

People ask me, “How many people have you converted in your Crusades?” I’ve never converted a single person. Only God can do the converting. We give the message, which is called the Good News. It’s the news that God loves you, that God will forgive you if you repent of your sins and receive Christ into your heart. That’s the Good News. But it’s up to God to convert you, and it’s up to you to respond to His call.

From one end to the other, the Bible teaches conversion. Ezekiel 36:26 says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

Jesus, in the Gospels, called it being born again, being born from above or entering a narrow gate. And He used many other expressions to describe conversion. In 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul called it being a new creation. He said, “Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Why do we need to be converted? I’ve received hundreds of letters about family violence, incest and other abuses, letters expressing hopelessness and despair. And the critical question of our day is this: “Can I really be changed? Is it possible for me to be different, or do I always have to be the way I am? Can I find total fulfillment in my life? I haven’t found it in marriage. I haven’t found it in money.”

Something is missing in your life, and you don’t quite know what it is. You need to be changed. You need to be converted so that you have a personal relationship with Christ.

Many people are asking, “Is there any hope for me?” Yes, there is hope for you! But Jesus said you must change. Not only can you be changed, but you have to be changed if you are to enter the Kingdom of heaven. You want to go to heaven. You want to be in God’s Kingdom. But you must be converted. That’s a requirement. Jesus said, “You must be born again” (John 3:7).

You must be converted for the forgiveness of your sins. The Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We’re all sinners. And what is sin? Sin is breaking the law of God. Have you ever broken the Ten Commandments? Jesus said that if you’ve broken them in your heart, you’ve already broken them (Matthew 5:27-28). And if you’ve broken one commandment, you’ve broken them all (James 2:10). So we’re all lawbreakers. And that’s what sin really means. It means breaking the moral law of God.

When John the Baptist preached the Gospel of repentance, preparing the way for Jesus to begin His public ministry, he said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). John was right. All the way through Scripture, the lamb is used as an expression of the Lord Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross.

He died on that cross. They took Him outside Jerusalem and nailed Him to the cross. Blood streamed down His fingers and His side and His feet and down His head where the crown of thorns had been placed.

And He suffered as no one ever suffered. Many people had been crucified, but Jesus was undergoing a different kind of suffering because He was suffering from the weight of your sins. He became guilty of your sins. Every lie that you’ve ever told, every evil thought that you’ve ever had, was placed on Jesus. Everything we’ve ever done wrong was placed on Jesus. He bore the sins of the world and that was His real suffering. When He said, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46), in that terrible and awful moment He bore our sins. The Scripture says He became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21).

You have to come to Christ. Jesus said, “If you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins” (John 8:24, NIV). Acts 4:12 says, “Nor is there salvation in any other” –think of that; there is no salvation anywhere else–”for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” You have to respond to Him. And that’s called conversion. It means that Christ comes into your heart and possesses you and helps you in your daily life.

When you break the law of God, you have to pay for it. And the payment is going to be judgment; it’s going to be hell. But God in His grace offers us forgiveness for our sins and our failures and our breaking of His law. God says, “I forgive you, not because you deserve it. I forgive you because of what Christ did on the cross.”

When we receive Christ by faith, at the moment of our conversion our sins are forgiven. The Scripture says, “As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).

We need to be converted not only to find forgiveness of sin, but also for acceptance by God. There is a word used in the New Testament called justificationtext. When you come to the cross by faith, repenting of your sins, and you receive Christ into your heart, at that moment God acquits you, He forgives you. He also places you in the sight of all the universe as though you had never committed a sin. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

Jesus said, “Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). Why a little child? A little child is innocent. A little child is trusting. A little child is simple.

Now, what do you have to do to be converted? You must repent. Repentance is a matter of the heart and the mind. God sees the heart and He reads the mind. And if you really repent, you’ll receive His power to turn from your former way of life.

You cannot understand what I’m talking about without the help of the Holy Spirit, who may be speaking to you right now. A little voice inside you is interpreting these things, convicting you, making you uncomfortable about your own sins and your own relationship with God. That’s the Holy Spirit.

And not only do you need to repent–or change your mind and your way of living–you also need faith. I’m asking you to put your faith in Jesus Christ and in the blood He shed on the cross. Your faith must be in Him, not in yourself. When you come to Christ by faith, it means total commitment.

When you come to Christ, He doesn’t just patch you up. He renews you. He doesn’t just salve your sins. He saves you. He doesn’t just reform you. He transforms you by His power. Conversion is a deep work. It goes throughout your entire being, throughout your mind, throughout the members of your body,
throughout your life–your social life, your business life, your family life, your neighborhood life. You become a partaker of God’s nature.

You can’t inherit it. God gives it to you as an individual. I was born in a Christian home; that didn’t make me a Christian. I could be born in a garage, but that doesn’t make me an automobile. Make sure that you know Christ, that Christ lives in you.

I’m not calling you to get religion. I’m inviting you to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.