The Immanency of Conversion

There are two verses in the Scripture that speak to theimmanency of conversion.

“Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months untilharvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe forharvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop foreternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus thesaying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you havenot worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped thebenefits of their labor” (John 4:35-38).

“Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentifulbut the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send outworkers into his harvest field’” (Matt. 9:37-38).

These are the truths: the harvest is ripe; the harvest isplentiful; and there are few harvesters. That means that there are more peoplewho want to get into the kingdom than there are Christians who want them in.

Over the years, I have not been fruitful in expressing thebad news prior to the good news. People need to know what they are being savedfrom. “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects theSon will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them” (John 3:36). There aremany texts on judgment in the New Testament.

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