River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1913-09-11

Christian life is not simply an I'M
provement of the old life. but diff
ferent kind of life altogether, name
ly, life of obedience to Christ. Sup
pose you had sour apple tree which
you wished to convert into a sweet
apple tree. What would you do?
Would you dig about it and prune 1t
and scrape the bark? No, indeed. A
hundred years of such improvement
would not make the tree bear sweet
apples, but the introduction of graft
from a sweet apple tree would do it
very quickly. Even so a lifetime
spent in improving ones habits does
not make one a Christian, but the en-
trance of Jesus Christ into the heart
by the surrender of the will, will do 1t
in a moment. People do not become
Christians by improving their life,
but by accepting Jesus Christ. 'TIe
that hath the Son hath life; and he
that hath aot the Son of God hath not
life" q John 5:12.)
The word convert means to turn
about" AS applied to spiritual things,
1T means a turning of the soul unto
God. "All we like sheep have gone
astray; we have turned every one to
his own way" The real essence Of
sin is this, that the sinner is de-
termined to have his own way. 1t may
not be the worst way in the world. 1t
may not be an immoral way, or a vi
cious way, but it is his way and not
Gods way, which he ought to follow.
The only course for the sinner to
pursue is to turn about, to abandon
his way, and to accept Gods way.
Let the wicked forsake his way, and
the unrighteous man his thoughts, and
let him return unto the Lord, and he
will have mercy upon him." Conver-
sion, then, is a turning of the soul
unto God, a surrender of the will to
the divine will, an acceptance OF
Jesus Christ as our Lord and Master.
When the sinner, realizing the folly
O: further resistance, finally surren-
ders his will to the Lord Jesus, then
occurs a great change. God forgives
his sins, and so changes his heart that
henceforth he loves Gods way better
than his own way. "a new heart will
/ give you, and new spirit will put
within you-And I will put my spirit
within you, and cause you to walk in
my statutes" GEEK. 1926, 27. The
sinner no longer has a controversy
with God. The great question of life
is settled, and henceforth his aim is
to know and do the will of God. And
though he may fail, and come short
of his purpose again and again, yet
so long as he recognizes Jesus Christ
as his Lord and Master, and honestly
strives to obey him, SO long is he a
converted man.
Not that the man is perfect, but he
is on the way to perfection. Not that
he can overcome the habits of a life
time in a moment, but he recognizes
q new power in his life, ever the pow
err and presence of the Lord Jesus
Christ. With his help he can conquer
his besetting sins, and build up a
Christian character, for he is not only
liable to keep you from falling" but
able also ito present you faultless be-
fore the presence of his glory with
exceeding joy" Jude 1:24.)
The Word of God is very effective
agency. 1t is like mirror In which
the sinner sees himself as he really is.
That is why Christ bids US preach
the gospel to every creature because
there is life in it. "The Word of God
is alive, and powerful, and sharper
than any two-edged sword" One can
hardly read the Bible continuously
and not be made to realize that he is
a sinner and need Savior.
On one occasion man said to
ne: "FroIA the preaching which l
heard in my boyhood was led to sup
pose that when one became Chris
ton, it was necessary for him to go
through some extraordinary process
called a change of heart, or regenera-
ton. This book which you have loan
ed me, teaches that what Is required
is simply change of purpose. Now
will you please tell me which is right
and which is wrong? replied:
They are both right; you could not
change your heart if you should try;
you COulQ NOT make IL love WudL IL
naturally hated, could your" mo,
suppose not" he said. But you could
change your purpose, could you not?
You could decide henceforth to obey
the Lord Jesus?' Certainly" he re-
piled. Well" said l. 'if you will
change your purpose and accept Christ
as your Savior, God will change your
heart and cause you to love what once
you hated, and to hate what once you
loved" rs that all there is to it?"
said he. Certainly" 1 replied. He
lost no time in accepting Christ and
God gave him a new heart.
Nov is the accepted time; now is
the day of salvation" If you say, Il
want more time to think about It," /
answer. What will you gain by wait
inge What have you gained by wait
ing already? No, friend, what you
need is not time but decision. You
know that you are sinner, and that
Christ is the only one who can save
YOU. The simple question is, will
YOU accept him as your Savior?" God
expects you to do it, commands you to
do It. and il it is ever done. you ara
the one who must do It