Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 18 (1903)
Ms 131, 1903
Genuine Conversion
NP
November 6, 1903 [typed]
Previously unpublished.
In order to be saved, we must know by experience the meaning of true conversion. It is a fearful mistake for men and women to go on day by day, professing to be Christians, yet having no right to the name. In God’s sight, profession is nothing; position is nothing. He asks, Is the life in harmony with My precepts? 18LtMs, Ms 131, 1903, par. 1
There are many who suppose that they are converted, but who are not able to bear the test of character presented in the Word of God. Sad will it be, in the day when every man is rewarded according as his works have been, for those who cannot bear this test. 18LtMs, Ms 131, 1903, par. 2
Many of those whose names are on the church books are stony-ground hearers. In their lives there has been no genuine change. The truth has been kept in the outer court. There has been no real conviction, no genuine conversion, no positive work of grace done in the heart. The feelings have been wrought upon, but deep heart sorrow for sin has not been felt. A fatal deception is upon the mind and has been for years. 18LtMs, Ms 131, 1903, par. 3
Many a one who looks at himself in the great moral looking glass, and is convinced that he is not justified, cleansed, purified, fails to make the needed change in his life. He goes his way to his business and forgets his defects. He may, perhaps, go to a religious meeting, and he may talk of the truth. He may profess to be a medical missionary, but what does this avail if his character has undergone no change? The Holy Spirit has not wrought upon his heart. The work done has been superficial. Too much of the human element is retained in his life. He is not a partaker of the divine nature. He may talk of God and pray to God, but his life reveals that he is working against God. 18LtMs, Ms 131, 1903, par. 4
Let us not forget that in his conversion and sanctification, man must co-operate with God. “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” the Word declares; “for it is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” [Philippians 2:12, 13.] 18LtMs, Ms 131, 1903, par. 5
A man sees his danger. He sees that he needs a change of character, a change of heart. He is stirred; his fears are aroused. The Spirit of God is working in him, and he works for himself, seeking to find out his defects and to see what he can do, with fear and trembling, to bring about the needed change in his life. His heart is humbled. By confession and repentance he shows the sincerity of his desire to reform. He confesses his sins to God, and if he has injured any one, he confesses the wrong to the one he has injured. While God is working, the sinner, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, works out that which God is working in mind and heart. He acts in harmony with the Spirit’s working, and his conversion is genuine. 18LtMs, Ms 131, 1903, par. 6
The nobility and dignity of the man increase as he takes his position against the wily foe, who for so many years has kept him in slavery. He feels a holy indignation arising within him as he thinks that for so long he has been Satan’s bondslave, allowing the enemy to lead him to refuse to acknowledge his best friend, lest some should ridicule him. 18LtMs, Ms 131, 1903, par. 7
Let the sinner co-operate with His Redeemer to secure his liberty. Let him be assured that unseen heavenly agencies are working in his behalf. Dear souls in doubt and discouragement, pray for the courage and strength that Christ waits to give you. He has been seeking for you. He longs to have you feel your need of His help. He will reach out His hand to grasp the hand stretched out for aid. He declares, “Him that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out.” [John 6:37.] Let mind and heart be enlisted in the warfare against sin. Let your heart soften as you think of how long you have chosen to serve your bitterest foe, while you turned from Him who gave His life for you, who loves you, and who will accept you as His, even though you are sinners. Step out from under the rebel flag, and take your stand under the bloodstained banner of prince Emmanuel. Instead of feeling ashamed that you are standing under the banner of loyalty, you should feel that you are highly honored in being allowed to serve the Lord of the whole earth. He owns the world. All the gold and the silver are His. “If I were hungry, I would not tell thee,” He says; “for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.” [Psalm 50:12.] 18LtMs, Ms 131, 1903, par. 8
He has borne long with your persistent rebellion. As you acknowledge that you are His property, that He has bought you with a price, you become His in a peculiar sense. You realize that, during all the years that you were the bondslave of the enemy, you were robbing God of the service that you owed Him. 18LtMs, Ms 131, 1903, par. 9
The Divine Life-Giver
It is by the power of God that we live. With one word He might take from us the breath that keeps life in our bodies. Yet thousands upon thousands, though kept alive by the forbearance of God, use their powers of mind and body against their Creator, and they do this as if it were something to be proud of. Joining the ranks of the enemy, they place themselves under His instruction, to learn how to defeat the plans of God, and to carry their rebellion against Him to the highest point. 18LtMs, Ms 131, 1903, par. 10
As I read the book of Revelation, I wonder that many more do not study the wonderful instruction given to John on the Isle of Patmos. Notice the description given of Christ in the first chapter. The apostle says: 18LtMs, Ms 131, 1903, par. 11
“I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last; and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. 18LtMs, Ms 131, 1903, par. 12
“And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to His feet, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters. 18LtMs, Ms 131, 1903, par. 13
“And He had in His hand seven stars; and out of His mouth went a sharp, two-edged sword; and His countenance was as the sun shineth in His strength. 18LtMs, Ms 131, 1903, par. 14
“And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last. I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” [Verses 10-18.] 18LtMs, Ms 131, 1903, par. 15
Read the twenty-fourth, twenty-fifth, and fiftieth Psalms, and learn from them the greatness of our God. Those who are working on the side of Satan do not know what a fearful loss they are incurring. At the last great day, those who have given themselves to anarchy, and war, and strife will see how many souls have been lost as a result of their failure to take their stand under the rule of Christ. 18LtMs, Ms 131, 1903, par. 16
The words of the fifty-second Psalm describe two men. One has chosen to stand in selfish independence, trusting in himself. To him apply the words: 18LtMs, Ms 131, 1903, par. 17
“Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying more than to speak righteously. Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue. God shall likewise destroy thee forever, He shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him: lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.” [Verses 2-7.] 18LtMs, Ms 131, 1903, par. 18
The other man has chosen God as his guide, and he can say: 18LtMs, Ms 131, 1903, par. 19
“I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever. I will praise Thee forever, because Thou hast done it; and I will wait on Thy name; for it is good before Thy saints.” [Verses 8, 9.] 18LtMs, Ms 131, 1903, par. 20
“The Lord reigneth; He is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith He hath girded Himself; the world also is established, that it cannot be moved. Thy throne is established from old; Thou art from everlasting. The floods have lifted up, O Lord; the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves. The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea. Thy testimonies are very sure; holiness becometh Thine house, O Lord, forever.” [Psalm 93:1-5.] 18LtMs, Ms 131, 1903, par. 21