9 Marks of a Healthy Church

Expositional Preaching, Biblical Theology and The Gospel

Can a leopard change its spots?

9 Marks of a Healthy Church A Biblical Understanding of Conversion!

John 3:1-9

1. Is Change Needed? Many – NO! The Bible We are not fine We are in trouble Spiritually dead In debt, enslaved, bankrupt, dead.

2. Is Change Really Possible? The secular mind – impossible The Bible – change is possible The Gospel gives us a new start, a new life That is Great News!

3. What change do we Need? Not political, economic, philosophical, religious. Not more power for ourselves We need to turn around –repent. To turn from our sin to the one true God. Stop sitting on the throne of our lives

3. What change do we Need? Our past sins need to be forgiven. Our present lives need to be reoriented. Our future destiny needs to be changed from the hell of God’s righteous judgement to the heaven of God’s gracious forgiveness in Christ.

4. What will this Change Involve? Is it just the way we think? The Bible Repenting of our sins Following God A change of heart towards God – repentance Belief and trust in Jesus & His Word – faith

2 categories of people People who don’t think they are converted when they really are. John Newton “I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I wish to be. I am not what I hope to be. Yet I can truly say, I am not what I once was. By the grace of God, I am what I am.”

2 categories of people People think they are converted when really they are not. Their hearts have not changed. They live the same way they always have.

4. What will this Change Involve? Real conversion involves relying on Christ alone. We can never justify ourselves before God.

5. How does this Change Happen? Every other religion – self-salvation The Bible – Ezekiel 37 (dry bones) We need our hearts replaced, our minds transformed and our spirits given life. We can do none of this for ourselves. Only God can do it. Then people need to hear God’s Word

5. How does this Change Happen? Ezekiel 37 Acts 16:14 Acts 10 Jesus to His disciples. “You did not chose Me, but I chose you.”

Biblical Conversion More than being good, living a moral or religious life. Jesus says we need a completely new life – start all over again. We must act, but that we can only act if God’s actions are behind our own. Joel 2:32 The Lord calls first, then we can respond.

Biblical Conversion Change is both needed and possible. Change from living guilt-incurring lives of sin to living forgiven lives of trust in Christ. To do this we must repent of our sins and trust in Jesus. This can only happen by God’s grace through the preaching, teaching and sharing of God’s Word.