“The very first words spoken by our Lord at the beginning of His ministry were, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” (Matt. 4:17). Those to whom he spoke knew what He meant. He was demanding a total conversion of the inner self, which includes: (a) recognizing that one’s way of life is contrary to God’s plan for man: (b) giving up all self-reliance and surrendering unconditionally to our Creator: (c) converting one’s whole being to the Will of God.” (Fr. Vladimir Berzonsky)
“Church teaches that three things are required for a man to be “good”: 1) conversion 2) grace 3) faith. Conversion means repentance (literally from the Greek, “change of mind”). Conversion necessarily requires faith, the right faith, the faith given, revealed, disclosed in Christ Jesus. A man must be converted to be “good.” He must be changed from a son of Adam to a son of God by grace. He must be “born again” (John 3:3), renewed, made a “new creature” in Christ. The result is a new mentality, a “change of mind,” a new attitude and approach to all things.” (Father Michael Azkoul)
“Each genuine Christian will have one (if not more) conversion moment(s), when something will happen that will erase all doubt that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, our Savior…We have to seize on our moments of conversion to move us to change…” (Fr. Stavros N. Akrotirianakis)
“Sometimes God breaks into a life in a spectacular manner, and sometimes conversion is a quiet experience. Beware of people who insist that you must have a particular type of conversion experience. The right way to come to faith in Jesus is whatever way God brings you.” (Life Application Study Bible, Acts 9:2)
“No human being can take credit for this process of conversion. It is the work of God’s Spirit. We do not become believers by following some manual or using some technique. Our conversion is a result of God’s implanting His Spirit in our hearts, giving us new power to live for His.” (Life Application Study Bible, 2 Corinthians 3:3)