This is a question I have asked myself on more than one occasion, especially after hearing testimonies of faith given by people who have had to undergo dramatic experiences in order to get to know Christ as their Savior. I have also read stories about evangelistic meetings in which the preacher has given his hearers a call to conversion, to which some have responded with tears in their eyes. I have wondered if this kind of thing is what it means to truly become, in contrast to the uncharacteristic and unmoral experience I had when I became many years ago. And then, as a result of this question, I have come to mind others related to my spiritual state: Am I cheating myself and other people when I say I am saved? Am I one of those people to whom Jesus was referring, when he affirmed that not all those who called him "Lord" would enter his kingdom? Am I missing something so that God accepts me as his son even after understanding that Christ died for me and to believe in his Word? I wish I had experienced such a powerful conversion as that of Saul of Tarsus while going to Damascus!
But, let's wait a moment! Was the experience on the Damascus road the factor that caused Saul to turn from being a lost sinner into a saved sinner? There is no doubt that he was very impressed, because when he was already known as "Paul, the apostle", he described it as part of his testimony of faith before the authorities, as can be seen in chapters 22 and 26 of the book of the Facts. Now, it seems interesting to note a detail that Paul includes in the first of these two accounts of his conversion. It is about the words that appear in verse 16 of chapter 22, which the apostle remembers that Ananias, a disciple who lived in Damascus, told him:
"Now, then, why do you stop? Get up, be baptized, and wash away your sins by invoking his name. "
I would like to highlight the last part of this verse, because it teaches us that even after the incident on the road to Damascus, Saul still had to resolve the matter of his sins. Although the Lord had decided that it was necessary for Saul to realize the error of his behavior before arriving in the city, his conversion was not completed until the moment he got up, was baptized, and washed his sins by invoking the Name of Christ, or, put another way, decided to take the step of faith immersing himself in the person of Jesus Christ and asking him to forgive his sins. It was then, in the stillness of that house, that Saul knew Christ as his personal Savior.
I am convinced that few people whose conversion is the result of a dramatic or emotionally shocking spiritual experience, and that there are many people who have come to know Christ by some unspectacular means. God wants lost sinners to repent of their sins, but it does not demand that it be always the same way. So, how can I know if I have truly become? The answer is this: if I have come to understand and believe the word that God has revealed to me by his grace, that is, that I am a sinner and that only through the blood of his Son Jesus Christ can I obtain forgiveness for my sin, and if I have taken the step of faith so that this word of salvation is applied to my life, I am sure I have converted.