p. 4 | What Can Change It?

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Apr 22, 1886

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 16.

What Can Change It?

THE inclination of the natural heart is toward the earth and earthly things. There is in it no attraction Godward and Heavenward; no affinity connecting it with the divine and eternal. Its love is all for the vain and perishable. It is low in its graspings, and clings to the corruptible as the source of its joy and happiness. It seeks the world and not God; it finds no delight in its Creator. What can change it? What can make it the opposite of what it is? And this must be done, or it can never be the temple for the Holy Spirit to dwell in, the abode of Christ. It must be made to hate the things it has loved, and to love the things it has hated. What but the unlimited power of the Holy Spirit can effect this change?

The human will, in its opposition to God, must be broken down. The proud and stubborn heart must be humbled and subdued; the longing for earthly pleasures destroyed, and a love for heavenly things begotten in the soul. Nothing short of this power and work will produce a "new creature in Christ Jesus." This is the foundation of conversion, and is laid by the Holy Ghost. If there be not this foundation, there is no true conversion. If God does not begin this work of preparation, and, moreover, carry it forward, there can be no birth into the new life.

All profession without this radical work in the heart is deceptive and void of reality. A genuine conversion is the beginning of a new life, which is so nearly related to the coming eternal life that no power of men or devils can break the connection, or separate the two. It is the "laying hold of eternal life," and the "crown of righteousness," even before they are actually bestowed.

This is entirely a work of grace. It is begun in the heart of the sinner unsolicited by him. He has never asked for such feelings—such an exercise of mind. He is suddenly alarmed at the condition in which he sees himself,—sinful, wretched, condemned, lost. The world has lost its charms; its beauty has faded; its pleasures have become tasteless and vain. Nothing is inviting, nothing is satisfying. Within, there is a void never before felt. He is forced to pray, to cry for mercy. He wants pardon, salvation, Christ. This is all the work of God. This is the preparation, the foundation of the sinner's salvation. He now yields, believes and is reconciled to God. His sins are forgiven; the Spirit witnesses that he is born again. He is made new; old things are passed away. —Sel.