The Life-Changing Event

The popular belief of conversion today is that conversion happens all at one time and requires no upkeep. This is the idea that Christ saves someone at the point of salvation, and nothing following this event can make someone “loose their salvation.” E. Stanley Jones explains conversion a bit differently. He writes that conversion is, indeed, an act of God, but it also requires action from the person following the event. This means that once a person is saved, they must try to live in the ways the God has commanded. It is not a one-time event that makes null the rest of one’s lifestyle, but rather an event that will forever alter one’s lifestyle. I think this is a more biblical understanding of conversion. Why would so much of the gospels include the cost of following after Christ? And why do the authors of the NT letters stress the need to live Godly lives? It is not that these actions initially save someone, but rather that theses actions are an outgrowth of true salvation. If someone claims to be a Christian but does not live a Jesus-like lifestyle, that person should consider if he or she is indeed a Christian in action and not just in word.