Best Christian Books on Conversion: 12 Classics on the New Birth
If you are asking what it means to be converted, or wondering whether you have been, start with John Angell James's The Anxious Inquirer after Salvation. It was written for exactly that person, and it walks you through repentance and faith in plain words. If you want to see conversion happen, read Augustine's Confessions or Bunyan's Grace Abounding, the two most famous conversion stories ever written.
The classic writers used two words for the same event, seen from two sides. Regeneration, or the new birth, is God's side: the Holy Spirit gives a dead heart new life. Conversion is our side: a person turns from sin to God, in repentance and faith, and trusts Christ. Both are real. Jesus said "Ye must be born again," and He also said "Come unto me." The old writers warned against counterfeits, like being raised in church, outward reform or strong feelings that fade. And they were careful to say that conversions differ. Some come in an hour, some over years. What matters is that the heart is truly changed and turned to Christ.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
John 3:3
Here are twelve of the best books on conversion in TheWay Library, all free to read.
Start here
1. The Anxious Inquirer after Salvation, by John Angell James
James writes for the person who has begun to be troubled about their soul. He tells them not to let the concern fade, to learn what the Bible teaches, and then to repent and believe, with a chapter on each. A later chapter corrects the mistakes inquirers commonly fall into.
Oh what a heart have I carried in my bosom, that could love the world, love my friends, love trifles, yea, love sin, but could not love thee!
The Anxious Inquirer after Salvation, chapter 4
See our guide to John Angell James' books. Read The Anxious Inquirer.
2. The Way and the Word, by D. L. Moody
A very short book: an essay on what regeneration is, which Moody said helped him greatly, and Moody's own talk to new converts on how to study the Bible. The essay shows that the new birth is not the old nature improved but a new life given by God through His Word and Spirit.
Christ is the truth and the life, and when we receive the truth we receive Christ; and when we receive Christ we receive life.
The Way and the Word, Regeneration: What Is It?
See our guide to D. L. Moody's books. Read The Way and the Word.
3. The Ivory Palaces of the King, by J. Wilbur Chapman
Four short chapters. The second, on Jesus and Nicodemus, says the only way into the Christian life is to be born into it, and grounds assurance on Christ's word rather than feelings.
My strongest reason for believing that I am saved, is not that I feel happy; nor that my life maybe better than in the days gone by, but rather, that He has said it.
The Ivory Palaces of the King, chapter 2
Read The Ivory Palaces of the King.
Conversion stories
4. The Confessions, by Augustine
Augustine tells God the story of his restless youth, his years among the Manichees and his slow approach to the faith, until in a garden in Milan he heard a child's voice say "Take up and read." Book VIII, his conversion, is one of the great chapters in Christian writing.
Thou madest us for Thyself, and our heart is restless, until it repose in Thee.
The Confessions of St. Augustine, Book I
Read the full story in Augustine's conversion and our Confessions summary. Read the Confessions.
5. Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, by John Bunyan
Bunyan's own account of his conversion, written in prison for the people he had led to Christ. It is honest about the long struggle: the voice in the middle of a game, years of fear and temptation, verses that seemed to fight each other, and at last the peace of Christ.
Wilt thou leave thy sins and go to heaven, or have thy sins and go to hell?
Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners
See our guide to John Bunyan's books. Read Grace Abounding.
6. The Life of Col. James Gardiner, by Philip Doddridge
A brave cavalry officer, known for his wild living, sat alone one night in 1719 and saw, as it seemed to him, Christ on the cross. Doddridge, his friend, tells the story and the changed life that followed, to his death in battle.
Oh, sinner! did I suffer this for thee, and are these the returns?
The Life of Col. James Gardiner, chapter 5
Read The Life of Col. James Gardiner.
7. A Faithful Narrative, by Jonathan Edwards
Edwards' account of the awakening in Northampton in the 1730s, when many in the town were converted. He describes how people came to faith, warns against mistaking imagination for grace, and tells the stories of a dying young woman and a little girl. This edition adds his Thoughts on the Revival.
There were remarkable tokens of God's presence in almost every house.
Edwards on Revivals, Introductory Statement
See our guide to Jonathan Edwards' books. Read Edwards on Revivals.
What happens when God converts a soul
8. The Doctrine of Regeneration, by Stephen Charnock
The Puritan classic on the new birth, in four discourses: why it is necessary, what it is, who causes it, and the means God uses. Charnock shows that regeneration is a real change of the whole person, not a polish on the outside, and that God alone is its author.
Born not of the will of man, but of God; of the will of his mercy.
The Doctrine of Regeneration, The Author of Regeneration
See also the best Puritan books. Read The Doctrine of Regeneration.
9. Thoughts on Religious Experience, by Archibald Alexander
Wise pastoral counsel from long experience. Alexander explains why conversions differ, how temperament and sadness can color or counterfeit feeling, and what true growth in grace looks like after the new birth. A good book for anyone who doubts their conversion because it did not look like someone else's. Read Thoughts on Religious Experience.
10. Real Christianity, by William Wilberforce
The famous member of Parliament wrote this book to show that many respectable churchgoers had a religion of good manners and nothing more. He sets it beside the real thing: a heart changed by the gospel and fixed on Christ. Its full title is A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System.
Christianity recognises no innocence or goodness of heart, but in the remission of sin, and in the effects of the operation of divine grace.
A Practical View, chapter 7
Read Wilberforce's Practical View.
For young people, and for every kind of soul
11. A Good Start, by C. H. Spurgeon
Addresses Spurgeon gave to young people at the start of life, including "Why the Young Need Conversion," with Bible portraits like Ruth, Esther and Joash.
I mean, you may take it for granted that you are saved; but you must not take anything for granted between God and your soul.
A Good Start, The Last Days of Joash
12. The Representative Men of the New Testament, by George Matheson
Matheson shows how Christ met each of His followers in a different way: John the Baptist, Peter, Nicodemus, Thomas, Matthew, Paul and others. No two came to Him alike.
To every form of truth the student must come by night; he must accept evidence which is less than demonstration.
The Representative Men of the New Testament, chapter 6
Read The Representative Men of the New Testament.
Where to start
If you are seeking, read James and then Moody's little book. If you want to see what conversion looks like in a real life, read Augustine and Bunyan, and see how Charles Finney was converted. Joseph Alleine's An Alarm to Unconverted Sinners, a Puritan classic, is also in the library, though its scanned text has some errors.
For the whole picture of what God does to save, see the best books on salvation. For the life that follows the new birth, see the best books on sanctification. For more stories of changed lives, see the best Christian biographies.