The ordo salutis (4a): Conversion: Turned so that we turn
This article examines conversion as the third logical step in the ordo salutis, arguing that conversion is fundamentally God's work of turning sinners from sin to obedience rather than a human achievement. McGeown uses Jeremiah 31:18-19 to illustrate how God's sovereign grace effectually turns the believer, employing the image of Ephraim as an untamed bullock being disciplined and redirected by divine chastisement. The piece emphasizes the Reformed understanding of grace as irresistible and regeneration as preceding both calling and conversion in the ordo salutis.
Previous article in this series: June 2023, p. 398. I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God. Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. Jeremiah 31:18-19 A turning In the ordo salutis, the...
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