Eckhardt's Homiletisches Reallexikon, 1907–1917

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Conversion. Treatises. Synodical reports: S. 82. Neb. 82. N. 73. Süd. 94. Or. 1901. Can. 82. Mit. 1906. Kon. Syn. 82. Wis. Syn. 1903. Mit. 94, 36–40. W. 1904, 43–62. W. 76, 63–70. O. 95, 54–78. Luth. 52, 203. 204. On conversion. Luth. 2, 7. 8. Who is converted? Cal. 1900, 45–48. L. W. 31, 19. 28, 341. Augustine's doctrine of conversion. 28, 456. Chemnitz's doctrine. L. W. 45, 313. 48, 289. Baier 3, 177–239. The conversion of Paul. Schulb. 8, 119–122. The conversion of the Samaritans. Schulb. 12, 172–175. Conversion and the alleged process preceding conversion. L. W. 53, 145. Abbreviations: F. Pi. = F. Pieper, Die Grunddifferenz. R. Pi. = R. Pieper, Katechismus, vol. 2, part 1, 97–114. Z. = Zorn, Bekehrung und Gnadenwahl, part 1. Outline. Distinctions. § 1. Synonyms. § 2. What conversion is. § 3. Conversion is God's work. § 4. Man cannot cooperate. § 5. The means of conversion. § 6. Extraordinary conversions. § 6. The mystery. § 7. False conclusions. § 8. Man can hinder his conversion. § 9. Compulsion. § 10. The duration of conversion in time. § 11. Preparatory stages. § 12. The intermediate state. The awakened. § 13. The hour of conversion. Characteristics. § 16. Necessity, object, purpose. § 17. [illegible]. § 19.

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1. A distinction is to be made between a. conversion in the narrower sense (the gift of faith) and in the wider sense (the gift of life, justification, sanctification). Acts 26:20. Note a. The Book of Concord sometimes uses the word conversion in the wider sense (656, 663, 675), but for the most part speaks of conversion in the narrower sense. Note b. Repentance (conversion) comprises contrition and faith. Kon. 171, 41, Art. 12. Note c. This distinction between conversion in the narrower and wider sense serves to provide cover for synergistic doctrine, since one can then take contrition itself as the beginning of conversion, or as half a conversion. b. the first conversion and the continuing conversion that runs through the whole of life. "The whole life is a continual repentance." Luther, Thesis 1. Daily contrition and repentance. Even the converted still pray: Convert thou me. c. active and passive conversion. Convert thou me (active), so shall I be converted (passive).

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2. Synonyms. For the work of conversion, Scripture uses a great variety of expressions: repentance, coming to faith, rebirth, illumination, and so on. Acts 11:17, 18: faith and repentance. 11:21: became believing in that they were converted (faith and conversion). 1 John 5:1: rebirth and faith. Kon. 613. Rebirth and justification. Kon. 171. Repentance or conversion. All of these designate the same thing from a different point of view: Faith — salvation lies outside us and must be laid hold of. Rebirth — the gift of new life. Conversion — it is not a recreating of man's nature but a turning around. Illumination — the darkness is gone. Note a. Repentance is used of both believers and unbelievers, and designates both an act and a state. Conversion is said only of unbelievers and designates only an act. Note b. When repentance and faith are set side by side, Mark 1:15, repentance there means either contrition, or the whole is named first and then the more important part is specially singled out (similarly, "Tell his disciples and Peter"). Note c. It is indeed customary to speak of rebirth (through Baptism) in the case of children, and of conversion in the case of adults; but Scripture also uses the expression "rebirth" of adults. 1 Peter 1:23: born again... of the living word.

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3. Conversion is a. a transfer 1. out of spiritual death into spiritual life. 1 John 3:14: passed from death unto life. John 5:24: passed from death unto life. Note a. A description of the state before and after conversion. Süd. 94, 19–29. Ma. 20, 10, 11. Compare Original sin. Life. Note b. Conversion is therefore a spiritual awakening, a making alive. Col. 2:13: and hath quickened you together with him. Eph. 2:5: hath quickened us together with Christ. Col. 2:12: raised through faith; 2. out of the state of wrath into the state of grace. 1 Pet. 2:10: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy; 3. out of the kingdom of the devil into the kingdom of God. Col. 1:12,13: delivered from the power of darkness. Acts 26:18: from the power of Satan unto God; 4. out of darkness into light. Eph. 5:8: For ye were sometimes darkness. Acts 26:18: from darkness to light. Note a. Conversion is therefore the same as illumination. Note b. Some passages designate only the state out of which the transfer takes place (Neh. 9:35, James 5:20); others designate that into which it takes place (Jer. 24:7, Hos. 14:2, Joel 1:3, Acts 11:21); still others designate both (Acts 26:18, 1 Pet. 2:25, Ezek. 33:11). b. a change in man with respect to his understanding and will, a change of heart. The converted person has a different mind and spirit; he speaks, thinks, and judges differently than before. The old has passed away. L. W. 53, 148. 149. 193. 194.

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1. Conversion is a work of God. Phil. 2:13: it is he which worketh in you both to will and to do. 1 Cor. 12:3: no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, etc. Jer. 31:18: Turn thou me. 17:14. Phil. 1:6: he which hath begun a good work. Eph. 2:8: it is the gift of God. Ps. 100:3: he hath made us his people. Ezek. 36:26: A new heart also will I give you. John 6:44: except the Father draw him. Col. 1:12,13: he hath translated us. Eph. 2:1–6: he hath quickened us. 2:10: we are his workmanship. 1 Pet. 1:23. That I am now converted, thou alone hast wrought. Hymn 287, 3–5. Furthermore, to God alone is ascribed a. repentance. Acts 5:31. 11:18. 2 Tim. 2:25. God hath "granted repentance" unto them; b. illumination. Matt. 16:17: flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee. Luke 24:45: then opened he their understanding. 2 Cor. 4:6: he hath shined into our hearts; c. faith. Heb. 12:2: the author and finisher of faith. Col. 2:12: through the faith, which God worketh. Note a. Conversion is a work of the triune God. The Father. John 6:44: that the Father draw him. The Son. Matt. 23:37: how often would I have gathered thy children. The Spirit. John 3:6: born of the Spirit. Note b. Conversion is a proof of the great working of his mighty power. Eph. 1:19: we who believe, according to the working of his mighty power. Note c. God does not merely bring man to the crossroads, does not merely give him strength so that he can make himself alive, does not merely effect the possibility of conversion, but does everything in everything. — How clearly this is expressed in the Third Article! Note d. How conversion comes about is described in Ma. 7, 165. 20, 13. The image of the siege. O. 82, 48. Neb. 82, 27. W. 76, 68. 69. The distinguishing doctrines between Iowa and Missouri, 56. (The point of comparison is: man in no way meets God's working halfway. L. W. 36, 311, note.) The image of one who pulled a worm out of the fire. O. 95, 62. Note e. For our conversion we should therefore give God all the glory. Col. 1:12,13: giving thanks unto the Father. Objection a. Scripture says of men that they convert themselves. (Active or middle voice.) Acts 26:17,18. Hymn 220, 1. — Conversion truly is a process within man and not within God. These passages of Scripture do not say how conversion comes about. — One also says of a ship, the ship has turned itself. Objection b. Preachers are set forth as fathers of believers. 1 Cor. 4:15: I have begotten you. Gal. 4:19: I travail in birth. — They are ministers by whom ye believed. 1 Cor. 3:5. Objection c. Deut. 30:19: I have set before you life and death. — God himself works the decision. Antithesis. a. Pelagians. Man can convert himself by his own power. b. Semi-Pelagians. Man can make the beginning of his own conversion. c. Sects. They mostly ascribe conversion to their own striving and struggling. 5. Man can contribute nothing to his conversion. Matt. 19:24: Who then can be saved? With men it is impossible. Jer. 13:23: Can the Ethiopian change his skin? Eph. 2:8: not of yourselves. A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit. Not of his own reason or strength. — Man is a. spiritually dead. See Original sin. As little as Lazarus could contribute anything to his own quickening, so little can man contribute to his conversion; b. blind. He perceives nothing of divine things; c. an enemy of God and inclined only to evil. To be carnally minded is enmity against God. Note a. Man can cooperate nothing toward his own contrition, and far less toward his own faith. Note b. As little as man can contribute to his own birth, so little can he contribute to his rebirth. He cannot of himself desire conversion, cannot begin it, cannot prepare himself for it, cannot decide for it. — A falling stone cannot stop itself. Note c. This condition does not first arise with [illegible], but from birth. Gen. 5:3. 8:21. 6: From youth up continually. Note d. Experience confirms this as well. What did a child contribute to his own conversion? What hast thou done? Had God not sought me, I would not have sought him. Note e. Man behaves passively in conversion: he undergoes conversion. Thereby all cooperation is excluded. Note f. The word "passive" is not meant to say that man knows nothing whatever of the process within himself. Antithesis. Man behaves passively only at the beginning of conversion, but actively in its further course. Baier. Objection a. Man is surely no animal! — This is meant to say that he still has understanding and will in spiritual matters. Objection b. Man can outwardly refrain from gross sins. — His heart remains the same in doing so. Natural respectability is still no preparation for conversion. Objection c. Man can, after all, go to church and hear God's Word. — These are in themselves not spiritual things. By these alone man is not yet converted and comes no nearer to God. Note. Man's powers are divided into natural and spiritual. The former are such as man can still exercise after the Fall, e.g., reading and studying the Word. Spiritual powers are such as the Spirit alone must work. Objection d. God calls upon men: Repent, be converted. Therefore they must also be able to do this. — If one wished to draw a conclusion from this, one would have to conclude that conversion is entirely man's own work. — But from a command one cannot infer our ability. Christ said: Do this, and thou shalt live. He did not mean by this that the commandments could be kept. Why has God issued such a demand, since we cannot fulfill it? (Luth. 22, 19.) Not to mock us, but 1. to bring us to a knowledge of our own inability. The Law. Example: Do this. Try it once; 2. in order through such words to work in us what the words say. The Gospel. Example: "Young man, I say unto thee, arise." Note g. Why does one fall away so easily from the true doctrine that man can contribute nothing to his own conversion? 1. Because one cannot reconcile the universal will of grace with "by grace alone." 2. Because man likes to contribute something to his own conversion. Note h. Given false doctrine on this point, faith can indeed still exist by virtue of a happy inconsistency. But false belief on this point hinders conversion. As long as a man still wants to do something himself, he works against God by his own doing. Note i. If a converted person thinks that he too contributed something to his conversion, he is close to falling. Rom. 11:20: Be not highminded. Peter. Antithesis. See Synergism. Conduct. Decision. Resistance. Note. However much is ascribed to man in conversion, so much is robbed from God of his glory. 6. Conversion is worked through the means of grace. Note a. Conversion does not take place without means. Kon. 525, 13. 524, 4. Augsburg Confession, Article 5. Note b. God could indeed convert us directly by his omnipotence, but he does not do so. He compels no one into his heaven. Note c. What folly it would be to say to the sick, "Be healed," and not give them the remedy that alone can make them well. Note d. We too should not go at it with the sword. a. Through Baptism. (For children.) John 3:5: born of water. Titus 3:5: the water saves us. — It is indeed possible that an adult too may be reborn through Baptism, for example the heathen actor Genesius, who had himself baptized in mockery but came to repentance during the act. — Yet one should not baptize those who are manifestly unbelievers. N. 73, 31. b. Through the Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper is indeed only for the converted, yet who would doubt that many a one has come to conversion through the Lord's Supper, which, because of his hidden unbelief, he ought not to have received? Note. The sacraments are effective only for the sake of the Word; c. Through the Word. (For adults.) Rom. 10:17: faith cometh by hearing. James 1:18: begotten by the word. 1 Pet. 1:23: born again by the word. John 17:20: which shall believe on me through their word. 1 Cor. 1:21: by the foolishness of preaching. Kon. 720. 524. 321. 322. Aug. 610. 601. Konf. Art. 5, 2. Ruh. 499. N. 1000, 24. N. 73, 28.

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— Merely hearing outwardly does not accomplish it. The devil, too, takes the Word away from the heart, so that conversion may be prevented. Mich. 1901, 10. 11. See Devil. Note c. Regarding Law and Gospel, note: 1. When conversion is taken in the wider sense (repentance and faith), the Law is included among the means of conversion, insofar as it produces knowledge of sin (Rom. 7:7. 3:20) and works repentance and sorrow. Is. 38:17: bitterness instead of peace. Ps. 25:7. My anguish is great. 2 Cor. 3:6. The letter kills. Joel 2:12. 13: rend your hearts. Luke 18:13. The tax collector. Ap. 2:37: it went through their hearts. 2 Sam. 24:10. David's heart smote him. Ps. 119:120. Is. 38:15. 2. When conversion is taken in the narrower sense as the gift of faith, then the sole means of conversion is the Gospel, which works faith. Rom. 10:17. Gal. 3:2: Did you receive the Spirit, etc. Kon. 524, 4. 5. 600, 50. 3. But the working of the Law must always precede the gift of faith. An impenitent person, who does not recognize his sin, has no desire for grace. Only one who recognizes that his way leads to ruin will turn back. 4. No one is converted through the Law alone. Gal. 3:21: If a law had been given that could make alive. — Nor does the Law even work a half-conversion. Note d. These means are 1. sufficient for conversion, 2. the only means. Other means — new measures, culture, education, beautiful churches, music, entertainments — help nothing. Preachers should not try to preach something new. Note e. We ought not to despise these means. Without the Word, conversion is impossible. God has bound us to these means: they have Moses and the Prophets. — Whoever does not hear the preaching does him no wrong if he is not converted. Kon. 601, 52. Note f. To drive us to the Word, God makes use of distress and affliction. Luke 15:18. The prodigal son. Is. 28:19. Temptation teaches attention to the Word. — An aid. Note g. Extraordinary conversions are 1. those in which the Word is spoken not by men but by God himself, or where to the

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Note b. By this, 1. the spiritual death of the unconverted man is denied, 2. God's honor is diminished, 3. the doctrine of grace alone and the doctrine of justification are overturned, 4. Scripture is declared obscure — as though it had presented the doctrine of conversion quite unclearly; 5. all comfort is taken from men. Note c. The omission of willful resistance, man's decision, man's conduct, is only a ground of explanation if one does not let it be worked by God. As soon as one lets this same thing be worked by God alone, the question arises: why does God work it in the one and not in the other? c. Scripture's solution: whoever is saved is saved by grace alone; whoever is lost, is lost through his own fault. Note a. So also the Konkordia 716. 717. Note b. By this, nothing is explained before our reason, since faith itself is a gift of God. We cannot reconcile the two statements. Note c. This mystery we cannot fathom. Nor should we try to search it out, but should believe both statements and let them stand unreconciled, as we also do in other doctrines. Note d. Even the question, Why is the one converted and the other not?, is a subtle concealment of false doctrine. One may ask: Why was the one not converted? or: Why was the other converted? But whoever combines both questions into one, as though there were in both a single common ground, must hold false doctrine.

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8. The false inferences that our reason draws here are: 1. The inference from the unconverted to the converted: The reason why some are not converted is their resistance, therefore the reason why others are converted is their "non-resistance." If it is man's own fault when he is lost, then the man who is saved must not have this fault. Because there is in man a power not to will (you were not willing), there must also be in him a power to will. Note a. Logically, these inferences would actually have to run: If the man is not converted, it is entirely his own fault; if he is converted, it is entirely his own merit. Note b. Man can be at fault through laziness for not getting a harvest, but he cannot, through his diligence, bring about a harvest. He can destroy a flower, but he cannot create one. 2. The inference from "by grace alone" and from universal grace to the unconverted: God wills to work conversion in all men, therefore man's conversion must not depend on God alone — otherwise all would be converted. If God alone is the cause of conversion, then he must have passed by those who have not been converted. — A denial of universal grace. — According to our reason, one cannot hold fast to universal grace and to "by grace alone" at the same time. If God works the decision, then it must lie with God when men do not decide. If man is spiritually dead and cannot convert himself, then God condemns those who have not deserved it. Note. We do not enter into such inferences of our reason, but abide by the words of Scripture.

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9. Man can prevent his own conversion and destroy one already accomplished. Hos. 13:9: You bring yourself to ruin. Matth. 23, 27: You would not. Ap. 7:51: You resist. 13, 46: since you thrust it from you. Rom. 10:21: and gainsaying. Matth. 5: they despised it. Luke 14:18: I pray you, excuse me. Kon. 602. 603. 721. 555. Note a. The power of the Word, grace, is not irresistible. Note b. Only when God approaches us without means is resistance excluded. Note c. The power by which God works conversion is an almighty power. Nevertheless it can be resisted. Calvinists confess the first truth in such a way that they deny the second. Synergists confess the second in such a way that they deny the first. We hold fast to both truths. Objection. "Who can resist his will?" Rom. 9:19. — That is not said of the gracious working of the Gospel. Note d. All those prevent conversion who 1. do not so much as outwardly hear and read the Word, and despise preaching, 2. who do outwardly hear the Word but persist in sins or self-righteousness. Note e. Man cannot, however, entirely escape the effect of the Word; he cannot prevent

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Note a. The stages of preparation are effects from outside; God has not yet moved into the besieged fortress. L. W. 36, 310. Note b. All the stages or degrees of conversion that might be assumed are stages or degrees either in the state of unbelief or in the state of faith. Note c. If one divides grace into a gratia praeveniens, operans, and cooperans, then the first two have the unconverted man as their object, the last the converted man. Note d. Carpzov lists the following stages of conversion: removal of natural incapacity, restraint of resistance, shaking of the heart, bestowal of new powers, transferal into the state of grace. — These stages coincide in time and together constitute conversion itself. Note e. The synergists' stages are: 1. God calls man and grants him the power to hear God's Word. 2. If man uses this power, then God works faith.

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13. The intermediate state. Many divide people into three classes: unconverted, awakened, converted. a. Enthusiasts. The awakened are believers without spiritual experiences. b. Pietists. That someone has a heartfelt longing for grace is not yet a sign of conversion. c. Synergists distinguish between the state in which a man is able to convert and actual conversion. d. Harms. Three classes. Luth. 37, 123. e. Kahnis. The state of standing still. f. Baier attributes to man, even before his conversion, acts of faith, which then in conversion increase to a state of faith. Successive conversion. Note. Here he appeals to Chemnitz. — But this rests on a misunderstanding of his words. Against this: 1. Man is either converted or unconverted, either dead or alive, either a Christian or a non-Christian. "Be not faithless, but believing." "He who is not with me is against me." Note. A description of the unconverted and the converted: Wis. Syn. 1903, 31, 32. 2. To count children of God who already have a longing for grace among those still unconverted is a. a mixing of Law and Gospel, b. nonsense. Being awakened so that one can awaken oneself! c. synergism. An awakened person is supposed to cooperate in his own conversion; d. drives to despair, e. leads to the doctrine of purgatory for all who die in such a state. Note a. Where the first little spark of faith is, there conversion has taken place. Kon. 591. Note b. Whoever can "use" spiritual powers is converted. Compare "Who is converted." Luth. 2, 7. Cal. 1900, 45—48. Note c. One must not confuse the first appearance and manifestation of spiritual life with its beginnings. Note d. If by "being awakened" one understood the beginning of the knowledge that: things cannot go on with me like this, or else I am lost — Ap. 24:25, Felix; Mark 6:20, Herod — then this distinction might perhaps be allowed to stand. Objection a. Rev. 3:17. "Neither cold nor hot." — The lukewarm are even worse than the cold. Objection b. 1 Kings 18:21: How long will you limp on both sides? Objection c. Luke 22:32. When you are once converted. — This concerns his future return after his fall. Objection d. Mark 12:34: You are not far from the kingdom of God. — There are already preparatory workings of the Spirit present in you, a better knowledge of the Law. 11. The hour of conversion (a joyful event. W. 1901, 81) God has determined for every man, "when and where he wills." Kon. 716, 56. God will not be dictated to. Note a. One should not trifle away this hour. Phil. 2:12: Work out your salvation. Is. 55:6: Seek the Lord while he may be found. Ps. 95:7: Today, if you hear his voice. — If conversion lay in our power, we could say: today does not suit us, we will do it tomorrow. Note b. One need not be able to specify the hour of conversion (the mathematical point), although many do know the hour of their conversion. It is enough that one is now converted.

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15. The causes of conversion. The cause of conversion is a. not something in man, not 1. man's work, 2. the right use of the means of grace, 3. man's decision, 4. his longing or prayer, 5. the omission of resistance. Note. All men lie under equal guilt. There is no difference here; b. God's mercy alone and Christ's merit. Eph. 2:4—6: rich in mercy. 2 Tim. 1:9: according to his own purpose and grace. 1 Pet. 1:3: according to his great mercy. Antithesis. Synergists posit three causes of conversion. Melanchthon. See Synergism.

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16. Characteristics. Conversion is a. always complete, like justification. The degree of repentance, the extent of knowledge, the strength of faith differ, but in essence conversion is the same in all men: b. recognizable by its fruits: the struggle of the spirit against the flesh. Sanctification. Good works. Prayer. Ap. 9:11: behold, he prays. Note. No one can pray for conversion unless he is already converted; c. capable of being lost. If a converted person falls from the state of grace, everything is lost. Rom. 8:9. 13: Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ is not his — so you will have to die. John 15:6: Whoever does not abide in me is cast out. Only the literal knowledge remains. Note a. A repeated conversion is all the more difficult. The more crooked the wood has grown, the harder it is to split. Note b. The first conversion and the second (reiterata) conversion that follows a fall are not different in substance. The second is only a repetition of the first. Note c. A subsequent reconversion, too, can be called regeneration. Nicodemus. Antithesis a. Calvinists, Baptists. Grace cannot be lost. b. Kahnis. The seed planted through baptism remains in a person even when he falls again from grace. (A consequence of his doctrine of the physical efficacy of the sacraments.) A person is only born again once.

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17. Miscellaneous. a. The necessity of conversion. After Christ has earned salvation, everything depends on man's appropriating it for himself. — Whoever does not convert has no forgiveness and is lost. John 3:3: Except. Note a. Therefore one should not postpone conversion. Hymn 229, 3. See Repentance. Note b. It is indeed possible for a person to be converted even in his last hour, but it is nevertheless better to be converted today, for 1. who knows the hour of his death? 2. the longer one postpones conversion, the harder it becomes. The deeper a nail is driven in, the harder it is to pull out, 3. why should the devil get the flower of life, and God only the withered leaves? b. The object of conversion is to be every person. Ez. 33:7. 11. The godless. Ap. 17:30. All men everywhere. See Gracious will. Note a. God wills to convert all men. No one can say: I would have been willing, but I could not. Note b. One should pray for the conversion of others. Hymn 160, 11. 161, 5. 150, 7. 125, 7. 215, 5. 185, 2. 171, 1. 169, 2. Note c. Whoever is converted should convert others. Note d. On attempts at conversion, Luth. 4, 76. Conversion stories, Luth. 5, 32. 4, 84. 85. Augustine. L. W. 28, 349. Jo. 1906, 63. c. The purpose of conversion is to receive forgiveness of sins and the inheritance. Ap. 26:18. Luke 15:22—24. Justification. Blessedness.

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18. The importance of this doctrine. Whoever does not stand correctly in the doctrine of conversion will also not stand correctly a. in the doctrine of justification, b. in the doctrine of election. Election and conversion relate to each other as decree and execution. Note a. The doctrine of conversion is attacked from every side. Note b. If one preaches on this doctrine, one should not merely say what conversion is and how one comes to it, but should at the same time preach Law and Gospel in such a way that one, terrified over one's sin, is drawn to Christ.

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19. Examination: Are you converted? To which kingdom do you belong? Homiletics. 3rd Sunday after Trinity. Gospel. 1. The turning of a sinner from the way of sin. a. how it happens. b. how necessary and blessed it is. — Ma. 6, 190. 10th Sunday after Trinity. 2. No one can call Jesus Lord except by the Holy Spirit. a. what does it mean to call Jesus Lord? b. why can one not call him Lord except by the Spirit? — Ma. 8, 233. Misericordias Domini. Epistle. 3. On the blessedness of the converted. a. they are no longer like straying sheep. b. they are converted to Christ, the good shepherd. 4. Or: a. how happy they are. b. how one [illegible] 5. Or: a. they no longer go astray. b. they are healed of sins. c. they live in righteousness. — Ma. 20, 293. Oculi. Gospel. 6. The truth that man is either in God's kingdom or in the devil's kingdom. a. how certain this truth is. b. to what it calls us. — Ma. 1, 73. Free texts. 7. Eph. 2:4—10. The conversion of the sinner to God. a. what it is. b. how it comes about. c. what fruits it bears. — Ma. 5, 262. 8. Or: What is conversion? a. a raising up from spiritual death. b. a transferal into spiritual life. — Ma. 19, 191. 192. 9. Ez. 36:26. 27. God makes the unwilling willing. a. He takes away the heart of stone. b. he gives a new heart. — Ma. 7, 162. 10. Jer. 31:18. The sigh: Convert me, O Lord, and I shall be converted. a. a lament of sincere repentance. b. a plea of confident faith. — Ma. 19, 211. 11. Or: a. what it means to be converted. b. why this is so necessary. — Ma. 11, 126. 12. Ap. 9:1—22. The conversion of the sinner, a work of the power and grace of God. a. how sinners fight against God before their conversion. b. how the Lord, in the hour of conversion, changes their heart and wins them. c. how the converted sinners now praise God with word and deed. — Ma. 20, [illegible]. Paul's conversion. Stöckh. N. T. 358. O. 1907, 35—40.