When is a conversion a conversion?

UK Churches recently in the spotlight. Peter Sammons considers.

I’m a Christian! Get me in here!

Recent news that UK Churches have been complicit in affirming or styling certain migrants as Christian ‘converts’ and therefore ineligible to be sent back to potentially hostile home countries (or indeed third- countries) on basis of likely persecution, has rather brought ‘professions of faith’ into disrepute. As UK magazine Prophecy Today says, Christian leaders are to proceed wisely and cautiously in situations of professions of faith: https://prophecytoday.uk/comment/society-politics/item/3026-as-wise-as-serpents.html

The first thing to state is what it actually means to be a Christian, or to be ‘born again’: https://www.compassion.com/about/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-christian.htm

How do we know if someone is truly a Christian?

The only real way for us, as humans, to know if someone has truly become a Christian (been ‘born again’) is to observe that person’s life ‘on the outside’. Since we cannot see the interior of the human heart, as God does, we have to look for some result, or firm indicator, of their faith.

“Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?” (James 2:18-20). Jesus said, “Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven” (Matthew 7:20–21).

If a person does not show any fruit—that is, any visible evidence of the change that has taken place in his heart since receiving Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour—then that individual is not a Christian. Time will tell if a person who comes forward at a crusade, or church invitation to make a profession of faith, has actually gone through a genuine conversion*. Deeds or works don’t save a person, but they are good evidence that the person is saved.

*Note that the word ‘conversion’ is not used anywhere in Scripture, so we must proceed with caution in using it.

In a bind – immigration officials

Immigration officials, who are almost certainly spiritually illiterate, are in ‘a bind’ on this question. It is undoubtedly true that some folk arriving from overseas have a life-transforming realization of faith in Jesus and become genuine Christians. Some folk may, in response to genuine kindness extended to them, especially from local Churches, may think they ‘see’ the social aspects and implications of Christianity and so believe they have found an acceptable new religion , or a religion to add to their own true religion (Hindus?). Yet others are cynically gaming the system where immigration officials are debarred from sending people back home if there is any chance, no matter how remote, that they may ‘suffer’ any ‘discrimination’.

There has been concern raised in the past that immigration officials working in the UK Home Office deliberately exclude claims for asylum from genuine Christians, whilst waving-through asylum claims from Moslems. The fact that many low-status screening officials in the Home Office are of Moslem extraction is said to be a contributory factor to this favouritism. The UK state at a practical level displays increasing intolerance to Christians here, let alone from other nations, so an unofficial reality of ‘exclude Christians and wave through Moslems’ is not an unreasonable suspicion.

There is also the potential for the troubling use of ‘taquiyya’ to be concerned about: https://www.billionbibles.org/sharia/taqiyya.html Using this practice, ‘dissimulation’ to achieve migration may even be seen as a Moslem duty.

Certificate of assurance

For immigration officials to seek the assurance of Church officials is not unreasonable. But given the status of many churches as perceiving Christianity (and their role in it) as being ‘the religious delivery mechanism of the welfare state’, the acknowledgement of ‘professions of faith’ and even issuing Christening certificates is questionable. The institutional churches in terms of their ethos and leadership are almost wholesale in favour of open borders and uncontrolled immigration. Hence in the UK the institutional churches’ broad disagreement with any policy aimed at immigration control. As young people are beginning to say, “your future is Islam” (YFII).

Baptism as evidence – missing ingredient

As intimated above, a profession of faith should be accompanied by some ‘track record’ of church involvement, of regular fellowship, and of a genuine receptiveness to gospel truth and to the saving grace of God through the shed blood of God the Son. Whilst the previous sentence suggests theological sophistication, this is not the outworking of what is being suggested. It is perfectly possible for someone who cannot read and write to receive Jesus as Lord and as Saviour. Indeed this was the position through much of history, when people generally had little (or no) education, and no access to books! Any Christian faith, in any case, should be simple (Mark 10:15).

Baptism by immersion is likely to be the missing ingredient in determining whether someone has come to true, saving faith. It is highly unlikely that a religionist (of whatever background) or indeed a hard secularist/atheist would be prepared * to attend baptism ‘classes’ * to fellowship, explore, discuss and pray and then * to publicly identify with the death and resurrection of Jesus, for the remission of sins, and the associated *adoption of a Christian name (where pagan names are abandoned) and subsequent change of name by deed pole. [Whilst the latter is by no means a requirement, historically it has been understood as a part of the conversion, death-to-life process, and an honour to identify with a servant of the God of Jacob, by adoption of a ‘Christian’ name]. These things are missing in terms of so called ‘conversion’ to achieve asylum. The issuing of a christening (‘baptism’) certificate is absolutely no substitute. Indeed the issuing of such a certificate is arguably to “sell Jesus cheap”.

Further insights of baptism here: https://christian-publications-int.com/images/PDF/BibleStudent/31_BAPTISM.pdf

Summary

We should rejoice in all who come to genuine saving faith in Jesus as Lord, as Master and as Friend. Likewise we should rejoice in those who are seeking faith , and be persistent in praying for them. We should not be ‘judgmental’ about ‘who is in’ and ‘who is out’. But we should also exercise appropriate ‘due diligence’ in this matter, especially in these days of mass deception. Even Apostle Paul spent three years in seeking God after his ‘conversion’ before he began to be recognised as a Christian leader in the making. https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/the-preparation-of-paul

Most churches insist on a period of observation before granting ‘church membership’ with its attendant privileges, duties and blessings. Should we not exercise the equivalent when ‘certifying’ the faith-claims of those seeking to remain in the UK? No one suggests this is easy. Prayer, pastoral care, boldness, courage and wisdom are required. Perhaps now across UK, we should be praying precisely for these qualities in those ‘members of the cloth’ who find themselves adjudicating in what can be a very ambiguous situation.

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Peter Sammons’ book “Rebel Church” is freely available as a PDF file here: https://www.Messiahian-publications-int.com/images/PDF/RebelChurch.pdf