Chapter 7—The Test of Discipleship
“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
.
A person may not be able to tell the exact time or place, or trace all
the chain of circumstances in the process of conversion; but this does
not prove him to be unconverted. Christ said to Nicodemus, “The wind
bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst
not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is everyone that
is born of the Spirit.”
John 3:8
. Like the wind, which is invisible, yet
the effects of which are plainly seen and felt, is the Spirit of God in its
work upon the human heart. That regenerating power, which no human
eye can see, begets a new life in the soul; it creates a new being in the
image of God. While the work of the Spirit is silent and imperceptible,
its effects are manifest. If the heart has been renewed by the Spirit
of God, the life will bear witness to the fact. While we cannot do
anything to change our hearts or to bring ourselves into harmony with
God; while we must not trust at all to ourselves or our good works,
our lives will reveal whether the grace of God is dwelling within us.
A change will be seen in the character, the habits, the pursuits. The
contrast will be clear and decided between what they have been and
what they are. The character is revealed, not by occasional good deeds
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and occasional misdeeds, but by the tendency of the habitual words
and acts.
It is true that there may be an outward correctness of deportment
without the renewing power of Christ. The love of influence and the
desire for the esteem of others may produce a well-ordered life. Self-
respect may lead us to avoid the appearance of evil. A selfish heart may
perform generous actions. By what means, then, shall we determine
whose side we are on?
Who has the heart? With whom are our thoughts? Of whom do
we love to converse? Who has our warmest affections and our best
energies? If we are Christ’s, our thoughts are with Him, and our
sweetest thoughts are of Him. All we have and are is consecrated to
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