The Meaning of Conversion

[devotional at egwlists.whiteestate.org]

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              Ellen G. White Estate, Devotional for August 17
              Visit us at http://www.whiteestate.org
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The Meaning of Conversion

If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; 
behold, all things are become new. 2 Cor. 5:17. 


The old nature, born of blood and the will of the flesh, cannot inherit the 
kingdom of God. The old ways, the hereditary tendencies, the former habits, 
must be given up; for grace is not inherited. The new birth consists in having 
new motives, new tastes, new tendencies. Those who are begotten unto a new 
life by the Holy Spirit, have become partakers of the divine nature, and in 
all their habits and practices they will give evidence of their relationship 
to Christ. When men who claim to be Christians retain all their natural 
defects of character and disposition, in what does their position differ from 
that of the worldling? They do not appreciate the truth as a sanctifier, a 
refiner. They have not been born again. . . . 

A genuine conversion changes hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong. 
The religion of God is a firm fabric, composed of innumerable threads, and 
woven together with tact and skill. Only the wisdom which comes from God can 
make this fabric complete. There are a great many kinds of cloth which at 
first have a fine appearance, but they cannot endure the test. They wash out. 
The colors are not fast. Under the heat of summer they fade away and are lost. 
The cloth cannot endure rough handling. 

So it is with the religion of many. When the warp and woof of character will 
not stand the test of trial, the material of which it is composed is 
worthless. The efforts made to patch the old with a new piece do not better 
the condition of things; for the old, flimsy material breaks away from the 
new, leaving the rent much larger than before. Patching will not do. The only 
way is to discard the old garment altogether, and procure one entirely new. 

Christ's plan is the only safe one. He declares, "Behold, I make all things 
new." "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." . . . The patchwork 
religion is not of the least value with God. He requires the whole heart. J

Jesus gave His life . . . for us, and shall we not give Him our best 
affections, our holiest aspirations, our fullest service? 


>From Maranatha - Page 239