CONVERSION by Mrs. B. Ayers

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jun 5, 1879

CONVERSION

By Mrs. B. Ayers

The conversion of the soul from sin to a pure and holy life is a progressive work, a succession of steps upward from a sin degraded state. It is the surrender of one's self to God as “clay in the hands of the potter,” to be molded into a vessel fit for the Master's service, or as gold subjected to the refining process till the dross is consumed and we reflect the image of Christ.

As fallen beings, our desires and inclinations are at variance with God's will. We grope in the darkness of sin, indifferent to the claims of God upon us, intent only upon self-interest, and filled with self-love. We are “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.” Eph. 2:12. “When we were in the flesh, the motions of sin, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.” All may not come under the description of Paul in Rom. 1, nor like Saul have been guilty of breathing out “threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord.” Yet “all have sinned,” and through sin are subject to the penalty of a broken law, which is death.

God's law, the great rule of right, the test of character by which we must be judged, convicts us of sin, and shows us to be guilty before God. Convinced of sin, the awakened conscience seeks a remedy. In the light of God's law we see ourselves dwarfed, deformed, and degraded by sin. Our former self-confidence is gone, and deep sorrow fills the soul. We cry out, like the publican, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” We search with humble, contrite hearts to know how we may escape from the depths of evil into which we have fallen. The desired instruction is found in the word of God: “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” Prov. 28:13. “Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well.” Isaiah 1:16, 17. “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 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; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” Isa. 55:6; 7.

Here are several steps to be taken in the new way; viz., confession of sins, forsaking them, ceasing to do evil, learning to do well, forsaking evil thoughts, and returning unto the Lord. When we do this, we have the blessed assurance that our God will have mercy upon us, and abundantly pardon. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isa. 1:18. “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” Isa. 55:1.

But how are we to come? “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Matt. 7:7. We must have faith in God and in his promises; for “without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Heb. 11:6.

Is it the will of God that we should be saved? “As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” Eze. 33:11. “If we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us; and if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” 1 John 5:14, 15. “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Mark 11:24.

Do we earnestly desire salvation from sin? Are we heartily sorry for the sins we have committed? Then, as it is God's will that we should be saved, and as we desire salvation, we may seek his forgiveness, believe, and be admitted into his loving favor.

When we have left the broad road, have turned our feet into the way of life, have entered into covenant with the people of God, and taken a public stand for the truth, we soon become conscious that we have an active foe to encounter, and many battles to fight against old besetments and former bad habits. We find our condition described by Paul in Rom. 7, and with him we cry out, “Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” The loathsome carcass of sin clinging to us holds us down, and the savor of our attempted good works is so mingled with the stench from this body of sin that they are judged to be evil.

And now we resolve to follow the instruction of Paul in Rom. 12:1, 2, by presenting our bodies upon the altar as a “living sacrifice.” We take up the prayer of David: “Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.” In earnest faith we cry, and the Lord hears us. He takes our feet from the miry clay, and places them upon a rock; and he puts a new song into our mouth, even praises to our God.

In the gift of his Son, God has made ample provision that whosoever should believe on him might not perish, but have everlasting life. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” 1 John 3:1. It is our privilege to be heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. In the strength of God we may go on unto perfection, endeavoring to come to the unity of the faith and the bond of perfectness in Christ, till we shall reflect his image, and shall see him as he is.

MRS. B. AYERS.