Sudden Conversion — E.A. Johnston

In the Gospel of Luke, in chapter 19, we read of the conversion of Zacchaeus. Here now is the word of God, and may the Spirit of the Lord attend the reading of his holy word. And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.

And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus, who he was, and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.

And he ran before and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must abide at the house.

And he made haste and came down, and received him joyfully. I will stop there, friends. We are saved when we receive a revealed Christ. I believe that salvation is in the hands of God and not man. I know that belief goes against the majority of mass evangelism today, particularly among Southern Baptists who have broadened the way of salvation in ways Jesus never did.

Some folks who are hardshells will say the sinner must wait God's time, that the sinner must take an inactive role until God suddenly drops a chunk of grace into their soul and saves them. I don't hold to that, because my Bible says otherwise.

I believe in salvation by grace. My Bible says that redemption through Christ's blood can come to a person immediately by faith in Christ alone. I believe in the doctrine of regeneration. That man comes savingly to Christ, not by a decision he makes, but by the regenerating work of the Spirit of God.

But you don't have to wait months or even years for it. I believe in immediate conversion. I believe that somewhere between the top of that sycamore tree and the ground, Zacchaeus became a Christian. I look at Bible examples of sudden conversion, and I see the sudden conversion of the jailer, of the eunuch, and of the 3 ,000 on the day of Pentecost.

Conversion comes to a man suddenly, like the wind blowing through the treetops. God can sovereignly save a lost person suddenly. We receive the divine nature by an act of faith. In Genesis 15, 6, it declares,.

And he believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness. Abraham's faith occurred before he was circumcised, and more than 400 years before the law was given to his descendants. So neither circumcision nor the law had a part in Abraham's righteousness.

Abraham's faith was in the promise of redemption through Christ, spoken of by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 3 .14, that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

We are saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus, and that can occur quite suddenly in an immediate conversion. I believe it was grace that motivated Zacchaeus to climb that tree to get a better look at Jesus.

And I believe it was faith that had him climb down that tree to come to Jesus. And by the time he hit the ground, he was a Christian. I believe that with all my heart. Yes, friends, I believe God got a hold of little Zacchaeus and energized him to run like the wind to get ahead of the crowd so he could climb that sycamore tree to fasten his eyes on Jesus.

I believe there is life in a look. And when a lost sinner gets a clear sight of a bleeding and dying Christ, he can be saved and saved right there on the spot, just as suddenly as a thief on the cross heard Jesus say, today you should be with me in paradise.

Our text in Luke says,. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must abide at the house. When by grace God gets us to the place to where we are thirsty for Jesus, then God will show us a revealed Christ and we will hear God's voice as it comes to us in all power and authority.

And we will get a good look at Jesus and we will come out of our self-righteousness and come out of our self-reliance and venture our all, all we are and all we have on Christ our Savior. Our conversion will be immediate and it will be lasting until we see him at last face to face in glory.

Friend, why do you wait? Come ye to the fountain of living water and drink. I'm going to sing a hymn, friend. If you're weary of your sins and thirsty for Christ, I want you to come to lay it all on God's altar and come get your sins washed in Christ's blood for forgiveness of sin, repent of your sins, friend, and own Jesus as your Savior and Lord.

I hear the Savior say, Thy strength indeed is small. Child of weakness, watch and pray. Find in me thine all in all. Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. Sin hath left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.

Lord, now indeed I find thy power and thine alone can change the leper's spots and melt the heart of stone. Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. Sin hath left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.