Introduction. Watching the zeal and excitement of a new convert offers a pleasant reminder of our own feelings when everything was new and our hearts were tender. It is always good to remember when we had just sold all we had (Mt. 13:44) and felt no sacrifice was too great due to the joy of salvation.
New converts offer a challenge to look again at our own priorities and zeal. As years pass, it is normal for newness and excitement to give way to stable, continuous service. But it is also possible for zeal to cool so far “you are neither cold nor hot” (Rev. 3:15-16) or become “shortsighted, even to blindness having forgotten the cleansing from his old sins.” (2Pet. 1:9). If we look at a new convert and feel they are taking things too far, could it be that we are no longer taking things far enough?
New converts offer a challenge to look again at our own priorities and zeal. As years pass, it is normal for newness and excitement to give way to stable, continuous service. But it is also possible for zeal to cool so far “you are neither cold nor hot” (Rev. 3:15-16) or become “shortsighted, even to blindness having forgotten the cleansing from his old sins.” (2Pet. 1:9). If we look at a new convert and feel they are taking things too far, could it be that we are no longer taking things far enough?
How does a zealous and excited babe in Christ become lukewarm, shortsighted, or even blind as a Christian? Obviously it doesn’t happen overnight. In the parable of the sower, Jesus spoke of being “choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity” (Lk. 8:14). This is where our self-examination must center. The changes leading from seeking “first his kingdom and righteousness” to “laying up treasures on earth” (Mt 6:19-20, 33) are small and often overlooked.
Paul’s Journey from New Convert to Mature Christian. As a new convert, Paul’s zeal must have been refreshing to disciples in Damascus. Though he had come to “bring them bound to Jerusalem,” “immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God” (Acts 9:2, 20). Paul “suffered the loss of all things” in his zeal as a new convert. Did he go too far? After growing to maturity he still said, I “count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him” (Phil. 3:8-9). As he watched the zeal of his new converts, he saw them as his “glory and joy” when they suffered “from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews” (1Th. 2:14, 20). Clearly worldly/sinful things given up for Jesus are a badge of honor.
Paul’s desire to “attain unto the resurrection from the dead” was as strong in maturity as it was while a babe (Phil. 3:11). “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18). Paul knew he had sold all to buy the treasure in the field, but he never regretted it. Instead he sought to sell more: “I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” He did not allow any desire for other things to choke the word. There were no regrets; only an ever stronger desire to give up anything necessary to serve Jesus. That is why he watched with joy as others did the same. He encouraged “as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you” (Phil. 3:13-15).
Using this as our standard, what is our maturity level? Is it possible we were more “mature” in this as a babe than we are now? Have we grown into spiritual maturity and avoided the path of the carnally minded? Only if our hope of the resurrection grows dim, will we lose sight of the power and value of each sacrifice.
So as we watch the zeal and excitement of the new convert, we have an opportunity to look into our own soul. It is a time to assess our own view of the “things that are not seen” (2Cor. 4:16-18). Do we still “walk by faith and not by sight” (2Cor. 5:7)? Are we still “strangers and pilgrims” (1Pet. 2:11)? When we sing “this world is not my home,” “my treasures are laid up somewhere belong the blue,” and “I can’t feel at home in this world anymore,” are we singing truth or stretching it?
Conclusion. More important than all other considerations are those of our Lord and Savior. If we regret the sacrifices we have made, we are unfit for “no one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Lk. 9:62). The truth is clear “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.” (Lk. 14:26). The zealous new convert is a beacon to us all.
Paul’s Journey from New Convert to Mature Christian. As a new convert, Paul’s zeal must have been refreshing to disciples in Damascus. Though he had come to “bring them bound to Jerusalem,” “immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God” (Acts 9:2, 20). Paul “suffered the loss of all things” in his zeal as a new convert. Did he go too far? After growing to maturity he still said, I “count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him” (Phil. 3:8-9). As he watched the zeal of his new converts, he saw them as his “glory and joy” when they suffered “from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews” (1Th. 2:14, 20). Clearly worldly/sinful things given up for Jesus are a badge of honor.
Paul’s desire to “attain unto the resurrection from the dead” was as strong in maturity as it was while a babe (Phil. 3:11). “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18). Paul knew he had sold all to buy the treasure in the field, but he never regretted it. Instead he sought to sell more: “I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” He did not allow any desire for other things to choke the word. There were no regrets; only an ever stronger desire to give up anything necessary to serve Jesus. That is why he watched with joy as others did the same. He encouraged “as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you” (Phil. 3:13-15).
Using this as our standard, what is our maturity level? Is it possible we were more “mature” in this as a babe than we are now? Have we grown into spiritual maturity and avoided the path of the carnally minded? Only if our hope of the resurrection grows dim, will we lose sight of the power and value of each sacrifice.
So as we watch the zeal and excitement of the new convert, we have an opportunity to look into our own soul. It is a time to assess our own view of the “things that are not seen” (2Cor. 4:16-18). Do we still “walk by faith and not by sight” (2Cor. 5:7)? Are we still “strangers and pilgrims” (1Pet. 2:11)? When we sing “this world is not my home,” “my treasures are laid up somewhere belong the blue,” and “I can’t feel at home in this world anymore,” are we singing truth or stretching it?
Conclusion. More important than all other considerations are those of our Lord and Savior. If we regret the sacrifices we have made, we are unfit for “no one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Lk. 9:62). The truth is clear “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.” (Lk. 14:26). The zealous new convert is a beacon to us all.