I’ve mentioned before that for most of my Christian life I was attached to a evangelical tradition that uses words very carefully. They don’t go to church, they go to meeting . . . recognizing that the church is people not programs. The building where they meet is called a chapel or a hall . . . because it isn’t the church either. No one carries a title in front of their name, other than “brother” or “sister” or “saint” . . . not finding any such practice in the New Testament. And I appreciate that foundation of thinking which, I believe, the Lord had determined for me. I believe that there’s value in being thoughtful about the terminology we use . . . I think it wise to take note of how the early church referred to things and imitate those who were closest to Christianity’s inception. And so, as I read in Acts 15 this morning, the different ways in which Peter refers to salvation kind of jumps out at me . . . in particular, the word “conversion.”

Acts 15 is the showdown at high noon. “Men from Judea” have been following Paul and Barnabas adding they “p.s.” to the gospel message. Paul and Barnabas are calling Jew and Gentile alike to believe in Jesus . . . that He is the Son of God, that He died for their sin, that He is risen again, that He is the Way of salvation unto eternal life . . . and behind them are these men are saying, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved” (15:1). And so, it’s time to settle matters . . . is it Jesus + Something = Salvation? . . . or is it Jesus + Nothing? So Paul and Barnabas head to Jerusalem for a summit with the apostles and elders there . . . time to get clear on the basis for salvation.

And as I’m reading the account I’m noticing the different ways that salvation is described. Peter equates salvation to those who “hear the word of the gospel and believe” (15:7). He describes the work of God’s saving power as “having cleansed their hearts by faith” (15:9). And he says that, even for the Jew, the dynamic of salvation has nothing to do with adherence to the Law but that it is the same dynamic afforded to the Gentile, “But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will” (15:11).

Hearing the word and believing . . . hearts cleansed by faith. . . saved by grace alone . . . all definitions of salvation. But there’s one more I came across in this morning’s reading. A term we don’t use a lot in our Christian-speak these days.

. . . Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers. (Acts 15:2b-3 ESV)

The conversion of the Gentiles. We might ask the question, “When were you saved?” . . . when’s the last time we asked, “When were you converted?”

The word simply means “to turn to.” For these first century believers there was a turning . . . a turning from pagan practice to worship of the true God . . . a turning from pursuing the way of the world to seeking the will of God . . . a turning from being motivated by satisfying the flesh to a desire to walk in the Spirit. Salvation wasn’t an “add on” to the life they had always lived, it was a conversion to a new way of life. They had become new creations in Christ . . . the old had passed away . . . the new had come (2Cor. 5:17). Those who were once alienated from God, now received the invitation to draw near . . . they responded to the wooing of the Spirit . . . and they turned to God . . . giving God their faces and no longer their backs . . . knowing that to TURN TO God logically meant they would TURN AWAY from other things.

Converted . . . not a word we use a lot these days . . . maybe one we should use more . . . perhaps serving as a reminder that continuing to “work out my salvation with fear and trembling” will likely manifest itself in a continual turning to the things of God . . .

Turning . . . by His grace . . . for His glory.