A pithy saying used by many Bible teachers and preachers is popular today:
“It’s not our job to convert. It’s our job to converse. It’s the job of the Holy Spirit to convert.”
It sounds humble and takes pressure off, but is it actually true? I would suggest that, technically, it is not, and that the difficulty lies in how we use the word convert.
Convert and Conversion
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “convert” as:
- “to bring over from one belief, view, or party to another,”
- “to change from one form or function to another,”
- “to alter for more effective utilization.”
It also notes an older meaning: “to turn.” That “obsolete” sense matters because, in 1611, it was not at all obsolete. Nor was it in 1828, when Noah Webster defined convert as:
- “to turn, to change or turn into another substance or form, to change from one state to another.”
He then added two very relevant senses:
- “To change or turn from one religion to another… as, to convert pagans to Christianity.”
- “To turn from a bad life to a good one; to change the heart and moral character, from enmity to God and from vicious habits, to love of God and to a holy life.”
Webster illustrated these with Scripture:
- “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.” (Acts 3:19)
- “He that converteth a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death.” (James 5:20)
Historically, then, convert has meant to turn—from error to truth, from sin to God, from unbelief to faith. That already sounds very close to what we are actually commanded to do.
The New Testament Word: Epistrepho
The main New Testament verb behind “turn” or “convert” is epistrephō—“to turn, to return, to turn back.” It can describe physical turning (going back to a place) or spiritual turning (conversion).
When the risen Christ commissioned Paul, He used this word:
“I am Jesus whom thou persecutest… I send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins…” (Acts 26:15, 17–18)
Notice the order:
- Eyes opened.
- Turned from darkness to light and from Satan to God.
- So that they may receive forgiveness and an inheritance.
Conversion (turning) is directly connected to receiving forgiveness and salvation, and Jesus explicitly tells Paul that turning people is part of Paul’s mission. We obviously cannot regenerate hearts, but we are commissioned to participate in this turning work through our witness to Christ.
By our preaching, teaching, and personal evangelism, we are to epistrephō sinners from the darkness of sin to the light of Christ, in dependence on the indwelling Holy Spirit who empowers and applies the Word.
“He which converteth the sinner…”
James uses the same word when he writes about restoring a straying believer:
“Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins.” (James 5:19–20)
James is clearly describing one believer turning another back from sin to obedience. Some translations render epistrephō here as “turn,” but the KJV keeps “convert,” in line with Webster’s definition:
“To turn the person from a bad life to a good one; to change the heart and moral character, from enmity to God and from vicious habits, to love of God and to a holy life.”
Scripture therefore speaks comfortably of a human being “converting” a sinner—turning them from error—without denying that God alone regenerates the heart. The Bible never suggests that this language robs the Holy Spirit of glory.
Convert and Convict
Not only do we help turn sinners, but we are also called to convince and convict them through the Word, in partnership with the Spirit.
Paul told the Corinthians that when God’s Word is clearly spoken in the assembly:
“…if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all.” (1 Corinthians 14:24)
To Titus, he wrote that elders must:
“hold fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.” (Titus 1:9)
The word translated “convince” is related to the idea of proof and conviction. Paul also says Scripture is profitable “for reproof [conviction], for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16)
At the same time, Jesus says that the Spirit is the One who ultimately “convicts the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” (John 16:8)
The New Testament picture is both/and:
- The law and the Word expose sin.
- Believers proclaim and apply that Word.
- The Spirit uses that Word to convict and turn hearts.
We are not passive spectators; we are active instruments.
Summary: Is It Our Job to Convert?
If by convert we mean regenerate, give new birth, or create faith in a dead heart, then the answer is no—only God can do that. We cannot cause the new birth any more than we can cause the resurrection of the dead.
But if by convert we mean it as Scripture and older English did—to turn someone from error to truth, from sin to God—then yes, that is precisely part of our calling. We are called to:
- Proclaim the gospel.
- Call people to repent and turn to Christ.
- Warn, persuade, and plead.
- Lovingly confront and restore wayward believers.
In that sense, it is not only our job to “converse”; it is our job to converse in such a way that we aim to turn people—to Christ, to truth, to holiness—while trusting the Holy Spirit to do the deep heart‑work we cannot do.
Once a person is convicted and turned, they still must respond. With their God‑given will, they may choose to believe and trust in Jesus or reject Him.
So be faithful to do your part. Speak the truth in love. Turn people from the darkness to the Light. Proclaim the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. You are planting a seed or watering one already planted—and God will give the increase.
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