Basic HTML Version
The Meaning of Conversion, August 17
If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed
away; behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17
.
The old nature, born of blood and the will of the flesh, cannot inherit
the kingdom of God. The old ways, the hereditary tendencies, the former
habits, must be given up; for grace is not inherited. The new birth consists
in having new motives, new tastes, new tendencies. Those who are begotten
unto a new life by the Holy Spirit, have become partakers of the divine
nature, and in all their habits and practices they will give evidence of their
relationship to Christ. When men who claim to be Christians retain all
their natural defects of character and disposition, in what does their position
differ from that of the worldling? They do not appreciate the truth as a
sanctifier, a refiner. They have not been born again....
A genuine conversion changes hereditary and cultivated tendencies to
wrong. The religion of God is a firm fabric, composed of innumerable
threads, and woven together with tact and skill. Only the wisdom which
comes from God can make this fabric complete. There are a great many
kinds of cloth which at first have a fine appearance, but they cannot endure
the test. They wash out. The colors are not fast. Under the heat of summer
they fade away and are lost. The cloth cannot endure rough handling.
So it is with the religion of many. When the warp and woof of character
will not stand the test of trial, the material of which it is composed is
worthless. The efforts made to patch the old with a new piece do not better
the condition of things; for the old, flimsy material breaks away from the
new, leaving the rent much larger than before. Patching will not do. The
only way is to discard the old garment altogether, and procure one entirely
new.
Christ’s plan is the only safe one. He declares, “Behold, I make all things
new.” “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.” ... The patchwork
religion is not of the least value with God. He requires the whole heart.
Jesus gave His life ... for us, and shall we not give Him our best
affections, our holiest aspirations, our fullest service?
[238]
244