"DO YOU BELIEVE IN CONVERSION?"
By R. F. Cottrell
We should never meet with the above question, did not somebody assert that we do not believe in conversion. And nothing could be more absurd than the thought that the people who profess faith in the last message of the gospel, a message which holds forth "the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus" in their purity and entirety, and, as a consequence, urge the people to a higher standard of holiness and a more perfect consecration to God than is attained by professors in general, should disbelieve the emphatic declaration of Jesus, "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven." While we, in view of Christ's coming at hand, continually exhort the people, in the language of an apostle, "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord," it is wicked as well as extremely silly, to say that we do not teach repentance and conversion. It is bearing false witness. And yet we are sometimes gravely told that we would do better to leave off preaching our peculiar views of Bible truth, and labor for the conversion of souls by preaching faith and repentance. The fact is, we preach more repentance than they want; that men should repent of their Sabbath-breaking, as well as of every other sin against the entire decalogue. Believe in conversion?—Yes; and true conversion is something more than merely an emotional change, a stirring of the religious faculties or sentiments. It is a change that affects the life and character, makes one honest in deal, and causes him to show his love to God by keeping his commandments. 1 John 5:3.