And Judas Iscariot: Together with other evangelistic addressesChapman, J. Wilbur (John Wilbur)
Religion
And Judas Iscariot: Together with other evangelistic addresses
Chapman, J. Wilbur (John Wilbur)
Evangelistic sermons; Presbyterian Church -- Sermons; Sermons, American
I have been told that there are two ways of reading this text. The
first is as we have it in the King James version; the second would make
it read thus: "Verily, I say unto you, except ye convert yourselves and
become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of
heaven." Those who hold to this second reading say that there is a
difference between regeneration and conversion--that regeneration is
God's part of the contract, while conversion is ours; that conversion
is simply having the willing mind, while regeneration is God's
imparting to us his own life; and to convert one's self is simply to be
willing to be saved. And this is all-important, for even God himself
cannot save us against our wills. But I prefer to use, in my treatment
of the text, the generally accepted idea of conversion, and wish my
message to center around the following questions: What is conversion?
How may I be converted? Do I know when I was converted? How may I
know certainly?
I
What is conversion? I own a piece of property, and you desire to
purchase it. You pay me a price, and the property is transferred from
my ownership to yours. It is a converted piece of property. This is
just a hint as to what conversion is. We were sold under sin; and if
any should object to this expression, we have sold ourselves under sin.
Jesus came and in the shedding of his own blood paid the price of our
redemption. As a child of God, I am bought back from bondage to
freedom. To be converted is to be turned about. Going away from God,
I turn towards him. With my face set away from heaven, I deliberately
turn and accept Jesus, who said, "I am the way, the truth, and the
life." To be converted is to cross the line which separates light from
darkness, and may be done as easily as if one drew a line in the path
before him and stepped over it. Both of these would be by the act of
one's will; only it is to be remembered that when by faith we accept
Jesus there is imparted to us a knowledge which comes from the Holy
Ghost alone; while we seem to be acting in our own strength, yet really
it is in the strength of God. Let it be remembered, however, that no
two people may have exactly the same experience. There is an
illustration of this in the healing of the blind men in the New
Testament. I can imagine them having a convention, and each giving his
testimony. One declares that the only way to receive your sight is to
have clay and spittle put upon your eyes and to wash in the pool of
Siloam. Another ridicules this experience and declares that only the
touch of the fingers of Jesus is necessary. Still another speaks and
emphatically declares that even the touch of Jesus is superfluous, for
at the command of Jesus he saw clearly. Another says that
instantaneous sight is impossible, and describes his own experience,
when he saw men like trees, walking. But when all have given their
testimony, they finally unite in declaring that whereas they once were
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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