The Republican journal., 1893-03-09
Conversion: A Change Needed.

sins to Cod According to Worcester it
is 4 Change from a bad or irrelgious,
to a good, or religious life. :
Conversion means considerable TO be
converted amounts to something. 1t is no
trivial thing, but an event Of tremendous
Importance. 50 important is il, indeed
that angels Of glory are interested. and
when a person repents and turns to God
they, in heaven, tune their holy harps
anew and rejoice with joy exceeding. For
the beginning of new life, the entrance
upon higher and holer existence.
We cannot convert ourselves; neither,
on the other hand can we he convert
ed unless we perform oul part OF the
| transaction. The Lord must do the work,
but we must let Him. BY His power He
must cleanse, renew. and degenerate It's ::
/ but, in order to have ii done, we must go
! t. Him He will not force it upon uS.
/ We are 70 be free agents in the matter.
We lave Our own choice We may com
tinue IN sin. unNashed. unconvcrted an
saved; Ut VI may give ourselyc, TO tie
Lord and be converted.
Is conversion important? AlloW me to
answer Ibis by asking. l. onl eternal
salvation important? IS it important
that we have hlissul lorue during ctel-
nifty in the glorious kingdom ot our code
If This is important, then oul personal
conversion is important, Our dear say
ior said, Except " be converted, and be-
come as little children. We shall NOT eutel
into tie kingdom Of heaven And Peter
told the people. ''Repent We, therefore
and be converted that your Sins may be
| blotted out And unless we are con
verified. and have our sins bIotted out We
cannot Ne saved. For we read +And
Holy City) anything that detileth neither
Whatsoever maketh ahomination OF MAX
eth lie but they which are written in
the Lambs book If life NOW sin is
onr sins washed away there Will, 81 far
as we are concerned, be written over the
este~ Of pearl in characters lmmiSttkable.
4 ..Nu Admittance. And again We read
blessed Are they that co Ills command
ments, That they may have right 10 the
trct ii ite and may enter in through tho
tud solcelers and whore mongrrS. and
/ murderris. ana idGatols. ava whosoeval
! loxriA and nal<eth a lie.
~aid .]ulln Wesley; "lhe first Sup tU-
is tu become Us little children: lpWlN iii
heart knowing Yourselves utterly igmn-
r.int ANA helpless, AMI hanging wholly on
N3ul FATHER who j. in heaven for 4 supply
d al your wants. We may further as
sei3. EAeept Ne be tanned from darkness
to light and from the power Of Satan to
eva. except Np w entirely, lnWaraly
changed. renewed in the image ot God
ye cannot enter into the kingdom Of Glory
Thus must every man bc converted in
this lie. u lie can never enter into life
eternal.
Bat is there such a thing as conversion?
There Is, thank God. And We know
something about it, both by observation
and experience We know that man
san be turned right about face: that a
change c.n come to His heart and to his
life: that he can have an experience that
c;tn Nc felt and known. The course of his
lifc can be altered, and every current Of has
mind may he tiuncd into different chan
ne. New desires, new aspirations, a
new Leart. may be his. He may put oil
the uld man with his deeds and may
''llt on the new man. He can '.pllt off
concerning the former conversation the
old man. which is corrupt according to
Tie ueeeittul l,Ists: and lie renew ed IN the
spirit If his mind; and put on the new
man. which, after God is created in right
eousness and true holiness. There is as
much difference between an unconyerted
person and one who has been converted
between sin and purity. He who puts on
Christ thereby becomes new creature;
Old things passed away: behold, all
things are become new
A thorough conversion to God, a change
inwrought by the Holy Spirit, makes diff
ference in a person condition and life.
Ii, before their conversion, they were
Giving in malice and envy. hateful and hat
in one anothtr, they will begin to be
'kind one to another, tender hearted
forgivng one another even as God for
Chlist's sake has forgiven them. If
before conversion they Were falsitiers and
liars they will now, by ''putting away
lying, speak every man truth with his
ncighb"r. II they We're once foul Of
speech and filthy in theii. conversation,
they Mill now '.let no corrupt commllnca-
tion proceed out Of their mouth; but that
Which is good. If once they We're bcld-
~ blaSphemous, taking the holy name CT
Goa in vain. they wifi now "s~ear not at
all; neither by heaven fer it is the throne
ot God; nol by the earth, ior it is His
tootstool. II before conversion they
NN..rt ..lltit he.