(gr. «epistrophë» = «to turn to»).
In the Scriptures it is the effect that accompanies the new birth, a turning towards God.
It is expressed, magnificently in the case of the Thessalonians, showing how "you turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God" (1 Thes. 1:9).
Paul and Barnabas were able to inform the saints in Jerusalem of “the conversion of the Gentiles” (Acts 15:3).
In Peter's speech to the Jews he says: "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out" (Acts 3:19).
Without converting, they could not enter the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 18:3).
This term is used in a somewhat different sense with respect to Peter himself. The Lord knowing that Peter was going to fall under the shaking of Satan, he said to him: "And you, once you have returned, confirm your brothers"; that is, when he had returned in contrition, or been restored.
In the OT the Hebrew terms that mean the same thing, "to be turned", "to turn", appear in passages such as Ps. 51:13; Isaiah 6:10; 60:5; cp. 1:27.
Meaning of CONVERSION
It is expressed, magnificently in the case of the Thessalonians, showing how "you turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God" (1 Thes. 1:9).
