18 Bible Verses about Converts To Christianity
Most Relevant Verses
Now while He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people, because they saw the wonder-works which He was performing, trusted in Him as the Christ.
And yet in spite of all this, even among the leading men many came to believe in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not own it, for fear of being turned out of the synagogue, for they loved the praise of men instead of the praise of God.
So Simon himself came to believe too, and after he was baptized he continued to be devoted to Philip, and he was always thrilled at seeing such great signs and wonder-works continuously performed. When the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted God's message, they sent Peter and John there. They came and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit,read more.
for as yet He had not come upon any of them, but they had been baptized merely in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands upon them, and one by one they received the Holy Spirit. So when Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was conferred by the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, and said, "Give me this power too, that when I lay my hands on anyone he may receive the Holy Spirit." But Peter said to him, "Your money go to perdition with you for even dreaming you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no share or part in this matter, for your heart is not sincere in the sight of God. So repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord, to see if this thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are a bitter weed and a bundle of crookedness!" So Simon answered, "Both of you beg the Lord for me that none of the things you have said may befall me!"
Now at Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a colonel in what was known as the Italian regiment, a religious man, too, who revered God with all his household, who was always liberal in his many deeds of charity to the people, and who had the habit of praying to God. One afternoon about three o'clock he had a vision and clearly saw an angel of God come to him and say, "Cornelius!"read more.
He stared at him and in terror asked, "What is it, sir?" The angel answered him, "Your prayers and your deeds of charity have gone up and been remembered before God. So now send men to Joppa and invite over a man named Simon, who is also called Peter. He is a guest of a tanner named Simon, whose house is close by the sea." After the angel who had spoken to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his household servants, and a religious soldier who was one of his devoted attendants, and after telling them the whole story, sent them to Joppa. The next day, while those men were traveling on and not far from the town, Peter went up on the housetop about noon to pray. But he got very hungry and wanted something to eat. While they were getting it ready, he fell into a trance and saw the sky opened, and something like a great sheet coming down, lowered to the earth by the four corners, which contained all kinds of four-footed animals, reptiles, and wild birds. A voice came to him, "Get up, Peter, kill something and eat it." But Peter said, "Never by any means, sir, for I have never eaten anything common, or not ceremonially cleansed." A second time the voice came to him, "The things that God has cleansed you must not call unclean." This took place three times; then all at once the thing was taken up into the sky. Now while Peter was still at a loss to know what the vision he had seen could mean, the men who had been sent by Cornelius had asked for the way to Simon's house and had stopped at the gate; and they called and inquired if Simon who was called Peter was staying there. While Peter was meditating on the vision, the Spirit said to him, "There are two men looking for you. Get up and go down, and without hesitation go on with them, for I have sent them." So Peter went down and said to the men, "I am the man you are looking for. What is the purpose of your coming?" They answered, "Cornelius, a colonel in the army, an upright man and one who reveres God, and a man of high reputation with the whole Jewish nation, was instructed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to listen to a message you would bring." So Peter invited them in and entertained them. The next day he started off with them, and some of the brothers in Joppa went along with him. The day after that they reached Caesarea. Cornelius was waiting for him, as he had invited in his kinsmen and close friends. When Peter went into the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet and did homage to him. But Peter lifted him to his feet, saying, "Get up, I too am just a man myself." As he continued to talk with him he went into the house and found a great crowd had gathered, and he said to him, "You know that it is against the law for a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit one, but God has taught me not to call any man vulgar or ceremonially unclean; so I have come, since I was sent for, without any hesitation." Then Cornelius said, "Four days ago, about this hour, three o'clock in the afternoon, I was praying in my house, and all at once a man in dazzling clothing stood before me, and said, 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your deeds of charity have been remembered by God. So send to Joppa and invite Simon, who is called Peter, to come over. He is being entertained at the house of a tanner named Simon, by the seashore.' So at once I sent for you, and you have been kind enough to come. So now we are all here in God's presence to listen to anything that the Lord has commanded you to say."
So I give it as my opinion, we ought not to put difficulties in the way of the heathen who turn to God,
Some days after this Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us go back and visit the brothers in every town where we preached the Lord's message, to see how they are."
So some of them were convinced, and they joined Paul and Silas; also quite a number of devout Greeks and not a few women of the first rank.
Some men, however, joined him and came to believe, among them Dionysius, a member of the city council; also a woman named Damaris, and some others.
Remember me to the church too, that meets at their house. Remember me to my dear Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.
I am always thanking God for you, for the spiritual blessing given you by God through union with Christ Jesus; because you have in everything been richly blessed through union with Him, with perfect expression and fullness of knowledge. In this way my testimony to Christ has been confirmed in your experience,
For consider, brothers, the way God called you; that not many of you, in accordance with human standards, were wise, not many influential, not many of high birth. Just the opposite: God chose what the world calls foolish to put the wise to shame, what the world calls weak to put the strong to shame, what the world calls of low degree, yea, what it counts as nothing and what it thinks does not exist, God chose to put a stop to what it thinks exists,read more.
so that no mortal man might ever boast in the presence of God. So you owe it all to Him through union with Christ Jesus, whom God has made our wisdom, our means of right standing, our consecration, and our redemption, so that, as the Scripture says, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."
Am I beginning to recommend myself again? I do not, like some people, do I, need letters of recommendation to you or from you? You are my letter of recommendation, written on my heart, read and understood by everybody, for you are always showing that you are a letter of Christ, produced by my service, written not in ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.
For if I do boast a little too much about my authority, which the Lord gave me for building you up and not for tearing you down, I shall never have to blush for doing so.
You yourselves must continue testing yourselves to see whether you are continuing in the faith. You must continue standing the test. Do you not know by a growing experience that Jesus Christ is in you? -- provided you stand the test. Now I hope that you will learn that I am standing the test. But I am praying God that you may never do anything wrong, not to show that I am standing the test, but that you should continue doing right, though I should fail to stand the test.read more.
For I cannot do anything against the truth, but only for it. I am glad to be consciously weak, if you are really strong. This is my continual prayer, the perfecting of your characters. This is why I am writing this while far away from you, that when I do come, I may not have to deal harshly with you in accordance with the authority which the Lord has given me, for building you up, not for tearing you down.
I want you to know what a battle I am fighting for you and for those in Laodicea, yes, for all who have never known me personally,
Keep up the good fight for the faith. Keep your hold on eternal life, to which God called you, when before many witnesses you made the good profession of faith.
But you must continue to remember those earlier days when first you received the light and then endured so great a struggle with persecution, partly by being exposed as a public spectacle to insults and violent sufferings, and partly by showing yourselves ready to share with those who were living in this condition.
