Thematic Bible: Converts
Thematic Bible
Converts » Good ground,
And the seed which was put in good earth, this is he who gives ear to the word, and gets the sense of it; who gives fruit, some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty times as much.
And when a great number of people came together, and men from every town went out to him, he gave them teaching in the form of a story: A man went out to put in seed, and while he was doing it, some was dropped by the wayside and it was crushed under foot, and was taken by the birds of heaven. And some went on the rock, and when it came up it became dry and dead because it had no water. read more.
And some went among thorns, and the thorns came up with it and it had no room for growth. And some falling on good earth, came up and gave fruit a hundred times as much. And with these words he said in a loud voice, He who has ears, let him give ear. And his disciples put questions to him about the point of the story. And he said, To you is given knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God; but to the others, they are given in stories, so that seeing, they may not see, and though they give hearing, the sense will not be clear to them. Now this is the point of the story: The seed is the word of God. Those by the side of the road are those who have given hearing; then the Evil One comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not have faith and get salvation. And those on the rock are those who with joy give hearing to the word; but having no root, they have faith for a time, and when the test comes they give up. And those which went among thorns are those who have given hearing, and go on their way, but they are overcome by cares and wealth and the pleasures of life, and they give no fruit. And those in the good earth are those who, having given ear to the word, keep it with a good and true heart, and in quiet strength give fruit.
And some went among thorns, and the thorns came up with it and it had no room for growth. And some falling on good earth, came up and gave fruit a hundred times as much. And with these words he said in a loud voice, He who has ears, let him give ear. And his disciples put questions to him about the point of the story. And he said, To you is given knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God; but to the others, they are given in stories, so that seeing, they may not see, and though they give hearing, the sense will not be clear to them. Now this is the point of the story: The seed is the word of God. Those by the side of the road are those who have given hearing; then the Evil One comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not have faith and get salvation. And those on the rock are those who with joy give hearing to the word; but having no root, they have faith for a time, and when the test comes they give up. And those which went among thorns are those who have given hearing, and go on their way, but they are overcome by cares and wealth and the pleasures of life, and they give no fruit. And those in the good earth are those who, having given ear to the word, keep it with a good and true heart, and in quiet strength give fruit.
And some, falling on good earth, gave fruit, some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty times as much.
Converts » Instances of » Sergius paulus
Then the ruler, when he saw what was done, had faith, being full of wonder at the teaching of the Lord.
Who was with the ruler, Sergius Paulus, an able man. This man sent for Barnabas and Saul, desiring to have knowledge of the word of God.
Then, when I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and orders of the chief priests, In the middle of the day, on the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining round me and those who were journeying with me. And when we had all gone down on the earth, a voice came to me, saying in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? It is hard for you to go against the impulse which is driving you. read more.
And I said, Who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking. But get up on your feet: for I have come to you for this purpose, to make you a servant and a witness of the things in which you have seen me, and of those in which you will see me; And I will keep you safe from the people, and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you, To make their eyes open, turning them from the dark to the light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may have forgiveness of sins and a heritage among those who are made holy by faith in me. So, then, King Agrippa, I did not go against the vision from heaven; But I went about, first to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, and through all the country of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, preaching a change of heart, so that they, being turned to God, might give, in their works, the fruits of a changed heart. For this reason, the Jews took me in the Temple, and made an attempt to put me to death. And so, by God's help, I am here today, witnessing to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come about; That the Christ would go through pain, and being the first to come back from the dead, would give light to the people and to the Gentiles.
And I said, Who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking. But get up on your feet: for I have come to you for this purpose, to make you a servant and a witness of the things in which you have seen me, and of those in which you will see me; And I will keep you safe from the people, and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you, To make their eyes open, turning them from the dark to the light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may have forgiveness of sins and a heritage among those who are made holy by faith in me. So, then, King Agrippa, I did not go against the vision from heaven; But I went about, first to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, and through all the country of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, preaching a change of heart, so that they, being turned to God, might give, in their works, the fruits of a changed heart. For this reason, the Jews took me in the Temple, and made an attempt to put me to death. And so, by God's help, I am here today, witnessing to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come about; That the Christ would go through pain, and being the first to come back from the dead, would give light to the people and to the Gentiles.
Converts » Zealous » The blind men
Then the neighbours and others who had seen him before in the street, with his hand out for money, said, Is not this the man who got money from people? Some said, It is he: others said, No, but he is like him. He said, I am he. So they said to him, How then were your eyes made open? read more.
His answer was: The man who is named Jesus put earth mixed with water on my eyes, and said to me, Go and make yourself clean in Siloam: so I went away and, after washing, am now able to see. And they said to him, Where is he? His answer was: I have no knowledge. They took him before the Pharisees--this man who had been blind. Now the day on which the earth was mixed by Jesus and the man's eyes were made open was the Sabbath. So the Pharisees put more questions to him about how his eyes had been made open. And he said to them, He put earth on my eyes, and I had a wash and am able to see. Then some of the Pharisees said, That man has not come from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath. Others said, How is it possible for a sinner to do such signs? So there was a division among them. Again they said to the blind man, What have you to say about him for opening your eyes? And he said, He is a prophet. Now the Jews had no belief in the statement that he had been blind and was now able to see, till they sent for the father and mother of the man whose eyes had been made open, And put the question to them, saying, Is this your son, of whom you say that he was blind at birth? how is it then that he is now able to see? In answer his father and mother said, We are certain that this is our son and that he was blind at birth: But how it is he is now able to see, or who made his eyes open, we are not able to say: put the question to him; he is old enough to give an answer for himself. They said this because of their fear of the Jews: for the Jews had come to an agreement that if any man said that Jesus was the Christ he would be put out of the Synagogue. That was the reason why they said, He is old enough; put the question to him. So they sent a second time for the man who had been blind and they said to him, Give glory to God: it is clear to us that this man is a sinner. He said in answer, I have no knowledge if he is a sinner or not, but one thing I am certain about; I was blind, and now I see. Then they said to him, What did he do to you? how did he give you the use of your eyes? His answer was: I have said it before, but your ears were shut: why would you have me say it again? is it your desire to become his disciples? And they were angry with him and said, You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We are certain that God gave his word to Moses: but as for this man, we have no knowledge where he comes from. The man said in answer, Why, here is a strange thing! You have no knowledge where he comes from though he gave me the use of my eyes. We have knowledge that God does not give ear to sinners, but if any man is a worshipper of God and does his pleasure, to him God's ears are open. In all the years nobody has ever before seen the eyes of a man blind from birth made open. If this man did not come from God he would be unable to do anything. Their answer was: You came to birth through sin; do you make yourself our teacher? And they put him out of the Synagogue. It came to the ears of Jesus that they had put him out, and meeting him he said, Have you faith in the Son of man? He said in answer, And who is he, Lord? Say, so that I may have faith in him. Jesus said to him, You have seen him; it is he who is talking to you. And he said, Lord, I have faith. And he gave him worship.
His answer was: The man who is named Jesus put earth mixed with water on my eyes, and said to me, Go and make yourself clean in Siloam: so I went away and, after washing, am now able to see. And they said to him, Where is he? His answer was: I have no knowledge. They took him before the Pharisees--this man who had been blind. Now the day on which the earth was mixed by Jesus and the man's eyes were made open was the Sabbath. So the Pharisees put more questions to him about how his eyes had been made open. And he said to them, He put earth on my eyes, and I had a wash and am able to see. Then some of the Pharisees said, That man has not come from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath. Others said, How is it possible for a sinner to do such signs? So there was a division among them. Again they said to the blind man, What have you to say about him for opening your eyes? And he said, He is a prophet. Now the Jews had no belief in the statement that he had been blind and was now able to see, till they sent for the father and mother of the man whose eyes had been made open, And put the question to them, saying, Is this your son, of whom you say that he was blind at birth? how is it then that he is now able to see? In answer his father and mother said, We are certain that this is our son and that he was blind at birth: But how it is he is now able to see, or who made his eyes open, we are not able to say: put the question to him; he is old enough to give an answer for himself. They said this because of their fear of the Jews: for the Jews had come to an agreement that if any man said that Jesus was the Christ he would be put out of the Synagogue. That was the reason why they said, He is old enough; put the question to him. So they sent a second time for the man who had been blind and they said to him, Give glory to God: it is clear to us that this man is a sinner. He said in answer, I have no knowledge if he is a sinner or not, but one thing I am certain about; I was blind, and now I see. Then they said to him, What did he do to you? how did he give you the use of your eyes? His answer was: I have said it before, but your ears were shut: why would you have me say it again? is it your desire to become his disciples? And they were angry with him and said, You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We are certain that God gave his word to Moses: but as for this man, we have no knowledge where he comes from. The man said in answer, Why, here is a strange thing! You have no knowledge where he comes from though he gave me the use of my eyes. We have knowledge that God does not give ear to sinners, but if any man is a worshipper of God and does his pleasure, to him God's ears are open. In all the years nobody has ever before seen the eyes of a man blind from birth made open. If this man did not come from God he would be unable to do anything. Their answer was: You came to birth through sin; do you make yourself our teacher? And they put him out of the Synagogue. It came to the ears of Jesus that they had put him out, and meeting him he said, Have you faith in the Son of man? He said in answer, And who is he, Lord? Say, so that I may have faith in him. Jesus said to him, You have seen him; it is he who is talking to you. And he said, Lord, I have faith. And he gave him worship.
Converts » Instances of » The mariners with jonah
So, crying to the Lord, they said, Give ear to our prayer, O Lord, give ear, and do not let destruction overtake us because of this man's life; do not put on us the sin of taking life without cause: for you, O Lord, have done what seemed good to you.
Then the sailors were full of fear, every man crying to his god; and the goods in the ship were dropped out into the sea to make the weight less. But Jonah had gone down into the inmost part of the ship where he was stretched out in a deep sleep. And the ship's captain came to him and said to him, What are you doing sleeping? Up! say a prayer to your God, if by chance God will give a thought to us, so that we may not come to destruction.
And he said to them, I am a Hebrew, a worshipper of the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.
Then great was the men's fear of the Lord; and they made an offering to the Lord and took oaths to him.
Converts » Stony ground,
And some of the seed went among the stones, where it had not much earth, and straight away it came up because the earth was not deep:
And that which went on the stones, this is he who, hearing the word, straight away takes it with joy; But having no root in himself, he goes on for a time; and when trouble comes or pain, because of the word, he quickly becomes full of doubts.
Converts » Instances of » The thief on the cross
And one of the evil-doers on the cross, with bitter feeling, said to him, Are you not the Christ? Get yourself and us out of this. But the other, protesting, said, Have you no fear of God? for you have a part in the same punishment, And with reason; for we have the right reward of our acts, but this man has done nothing wrong. read more.
And he said, Jesus, keep me in mind when you come in your kingdom. And he said to him, Truly I say to you, Today you will be with me in Paradise.
And he said, Jesus, keep me in mind when you come in your kingdom. And he said to him, Truly I say to you, Today you will be with me in Paradise.
Converts » Instances of » Jailer
And the keeper, coming out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, took his sword and was about to put himself to death, fearing that the prisoners had got away. But Paul said in a loud voice, Do yourself no damage, for we are all here. And he sent for lights and came rushing in and, shaking with fear, went down on his face before Paul and Silas, read more.
And took them out and said, Sirs, what have I to do to get salvation? And they said, Have faith in the Lord Jesus, and you and your family will have salvation. And they gave the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And that same hour of the night, he took them, and when he had given attention to their wounds, he and all his family had baptism straight away. And he took them into his house and gave them food, and he was full of joy, having faith in God with all his family.
And took them out and said, Sirs, what have I to do to get salvation? And they said, Have faith in the Lord Jesus, and you and your family will have salvation. And they gave the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And that same hour of the night, he took them, and when he had given attention to their wounds, he and all his family had baptism straight away. And he took them into his house and gave them food, and he was full of joy, having faith in God with all his family.
Converts » Instances of » The samaritans
Then the woman put down her water-pot and went into the town, and said to the people, Come and see a man who has been talking to me of everything I ever did! Is it possible that this is the Christ? So they went out of the town and came to him. read more.
While this was taking place, the disciples were saying to Jesus, Master, take some food. But he said to them, I have food of which you have no knowledge. So the disciples said one to another, Did anyone give him food? Jesus said, My food is to do the pleasure of him who sent me and to make his work complete. You would say, Four months from now is the time of the grain-cutting. Take a look, I say to you, at the fields; they are even now white for cutting. He who does the cutting now has his reward; he is getting together fruit for eternal life, so that he who did the planting and he who gets in the grain may have joy together. In this the saying is a true one, One does the planting, and another gets in the grain. I sent you to get in grain which you had no hand in planting: other men did that work, and you take the reward. Now a number of the people of that town had faith in him because of the woman's witness: He has been talking to me of everything I ever did. So when the people came to him they made request to him to be among them for a time, and he was there two days. And a great number more of them came to have faith in him because of what he himself said. And they said to the woman, Now we have faith, but not because of your story: we ourselves have given ear to his words, and we are certain that he is truly the Saviour of the world.
While this was taking place, the disciples were saying to Jesus, Master, take some food. But he said to them, I have food of which you have no knowledge. So the disciples said one to another, Did anyone give him food? Jesus said, My food is to do the pleasure of him who sent me and to make his work complete. You would say, Four months from now is the time of the grain-cutting. Take a look, I say to you, at the fields; they are even now white for cutting. He who does the cutting now has his reward; he is getting together fruit for eternal life, so that he who did the planting and he who gets in the grain may have joy together. In this the saying is a true one, One does the planting, and another gets in the grain. I sent you to get in grain which you had no hand in planting: other men did that work, and you take the reward. Now a number of the people of that town had faith in him because of the woman's witness: He has been talking to me of everything I ever did. So when the people came to him they made request to him to be among them for a time, and he was there two days. And a great number more of them came to have faith in him because of what he himself said. And they said to the woman, Now we have faith, but not because of your story: we ourselves have given ear to his words, and we are certain that he is truly the Saviour of the world.
Converts » Instances of » Lydia
And a certain woman named Lydia, a trader in purple cloth of the town of Thyatira, and a God-fearing woman, gave ear to us: whose heart the Lord made open to give attention to the things which Paul was saying. And when she and her family had had baptism, she made a request to us, saying, If it seems to you that I am true to the Lord, come into my house and be my guests. And she made us come.
Converts » Zealous » The woman of samaria
Then the woman put down her water-pot and went into the town, and said to the people, Come and see a man who has been talking to me of everything I ever did! Is it possible that this is the Christ?
Converts » Zealous » Andrew
Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two men who, hearing what John said, went after Jesus. Early in the morning he came across his brother and said to him, We have made discovery! It is the Messiah! (which is to say, the Christ).
Converts » Zealous » Philip
The day after this, Jesus had a desire to go into Galilee. He came across Philip and said to him, Come and be my disciple. Now Philip's town was Beth-saida, where Andrew and Peter came from. Philip came across Nathanael and said to him, We have made a discovery! It is he of whom Moses, in the law, and the prophets were writing, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
Converts » Instances of » The eunuch
So Philip, starting from this writing, gave him the good news about Jesus. And while they were going on their way, they came to some water, and the Ethiopian said, See, here is water; why may I not have baptism? [] read more.
And he gave orders for the carriage to be stopped, and the two of them went down into the water, and Philip gave him baptism.
And he gave orders for the carriage to be stopped, and the two of them went down into the water, and Philip gave him baptism.
Converts » Instances of » Gadarenes
And they went out to see what had taken place, and they came to Jesus and saw the man out of whom the evil spirits had gone, seated, clothed and with full use of his senses, at the feet of Jesus; and fear came on them. And those who had seen it gave them an account of how the man who had the evil spirits was made well. And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes made a request to him to go away from them; for they were in great fear: and he got into a boat and went back. read more.
But the man from whom the evil spirits had gone out had a great desire to be with him, but he sent him away, saying, Go back to your house and let them have news of all the great things which God has done for you. And he went away, giving word through all the town of the great things which Jesus had done for him.
But the man from whom the evil spirits had gone out had a great desire to be with him, but he sent him away, saying, Go back to your house and let them have news of all the great things which God has done for you. And he went away, giving word through all the town of the great things which Jesus had done for him.
Converts » Instances of » Greeks
And some of them had faith, and were joined to Paul and Silas; and a number of the God-fearing Greeks, and some of the chief women.
And a number of them had faith, and no small number of the Greek women of high position and of the men.
Converts » Zealous » Nebuchadnezzar
And it is my decision that any people, nation, or language saying evil against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, will be cut to bits and their houses made waste: because there is no other god who is able to give salvation such as this.
Converts » Wayside,
When the word of the kingdom comes to anyone, and the sense of it is not clear to him, then the Evil One comes, and quickly takes away that which was put in his heart. He is the seed dropped by the wayside.
And while he did so, some seeds were dropped by the wayside, and the birds came and took them for food:
Converts » Choked,
And that which was dropped among the thorns, this is he who has the word; and the cares of this life, and the deceits of wealth, put a stop to the growth of the word and it gives no fruit.
And some seeds went among thorns, and the thorns came up and they had no room for growth:
Converts » Instances of » Saul of tarsus
And while he was journeying, he came near Damascus; and suddenly he saw a light from heaven shining round him; And he went down on the earth, and a voice said to him, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? And he said, Who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking: read more.
But get up, and go into the town, and it will be made clear to you what you have to do. And the men who were with him were not able to say anything; hearing the voice, but seeing no one. And Saul got up from the earth, and when his eyes were open, he saw nothing; and he was guided by the hand into Damascus. And for three days he was not able to see, and he took no food or drink. Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias! and he said, Here I am, Lord. And the Lord said to him, Get up, and go to the street which is named Straight, and make search at the house of Judas for one named Saul of Tarsus: for he is at prayer; And he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hands on him, so that he may be able to see. But Ananias said, Lord, I have had accounts of this man from a number of people, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem: And here he has authority from the chief priests to make prisoners all who give worship to your name. But the Lord said, Go without fear: for he is a special vessel for me, to give to the Gentiles and kings and to the children of Israel the knowledge of my name: For I will make clear to him what troubles he will have to undergo for me. And Ananias went out and came to the house, and putting his hands on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, whom you saw when you were on your journey, has sent me, so that you may be able to see, and be full of the Holy Spirit. And straight away it seemed as if a veil was taken from his eyes, and he was able to see; and he got up, and had baptism;
But get up, and go into the town, and it will be made clear to you what you have to do. And the men who were with him were not able to say anything; hearing the voice, but seeing no one. And Saul got up from the earth, and when his eyes were open, he saw nothing; and he was guided by the hand into Damascus. And for three days he was not able to see, and he took no food or drink. Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias! and he said, Here I am, Lord. And the Lord said to him, Get up, and go to the street which is named Straight, and make search at the house of Judas for one named Saul of Tarsus: for he is at prayer; And he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hands on him, so that he may be able to see. But Ananias said, Lord, I have had accounts of this man from a number of people, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem: And here he has authority from the chief priests to make prisoners all who give worship to your name. But the Lord said, Go without fear: for he is a special vessel for me, to give to the Gentiles and kings and to the children of Israel the knowledge of my name: For I will make clear to him what troubles he will have to undergo for me. And Ananias went out and came to the house, and putting his hands on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, whom you saw when you were on your journey, has sent me, so that you may be able to see, and be full of the Holy Spirit. And straight away it seemed as if a veil was taken from his eyes, and he was able to see; and he got up, and had baptism;
Converts » Instances of » Jews and greeks at antioch
Now when the meeting was ended, a number of the Jews and of the God-fearing Gentiles who had become Jews, went after Paul and Barnabas: who put before them how important it was to keep on in the grace of God.
Converts » Instances of » At pentecost, about three-thousand people
Then those who gave hearing to his words had baptism: and about three thousand souls were joined to them that day.
Converts » Instances of » Ruth
But Ruth said, Give up requesting me to go away from you, or to go back without you: for where you go I will go; and where you take your rest I will take my rest; your people will be my people, and your God my God.
Converts » Zealous » The man possessed by demons
Go back to your house and let them have news of all the great things which God has done for you. And he went away, giving word through all the town of the great things which Jesus had done for him.
Converts » Zealous » The deaf man
And he gave them orders not to give news of it to anyone; but the more he made this request, so much the more they made it public.
Converts » Instances of » Post-pentecostal
But a number of those who gave hearing to the word had faith; and they were now about five thousand.
Converts » Instances of » Cornelius
Converts » Instances of » Ninevites
Converts » Instances of » Nebuchadnezzar
Seals » Illustrative of » Converts
If to others I am not an Apostle, at least I am one to you: for the fact that you are Christians is the sign that I am an Apostle.