The old Authorised Version of the Bible translates Jesus' words in Matthew 18:3 as follows: "except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." The word in the original Greek of the New Testament that is here translated "be converted" simply means to "turn around". It is the word used when Jesus turned around in the crowd. It is used 39 times in the New Testament. In 18 of those instances it is used in the sense of turning from sin to God. It implies a turning away from something and turning to something. For instance Paul, writing to the Christians in Thessalonica, says, "you turned to God from idols" (I Thessalonians 1:9).

We could say that conversion in the New Testament means turning away from those things that are inconsistent with a relationship with God, and turning to God, giving him his rightful place in our lives.

This word is always used in the active sense ("to turn") and never in the passive ("to be turned"). The expression "be converted", in the above text from Matthew, is a bad translation. A good modern translation, the New International Version, reads: "unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Conversion, turning, or changing our ways, is what we have to do in the process of becoming Christians. It is very similar in meaning to the word "repent" in the Bible.