THE MARKS OF A TRUE CONVERSION
THE MARKS OF A TRUE CONVERSION
In a day like this, when the mind of man is, as I may say, opening itself to be acted on, and not content unless acted on by something, it is of great moment that the servant of Christ should weigh and understand from the scripture the marks of true conversion, of one born anew — born of God. That faith or credence can be produced without the power of God is not only admitted in Scripture, but it is referred to, in order to be refused, In John 2 we read, “Many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men”. Still more distinctly, in 1 Corinthians 2: 3 - 5, we find that Paul avoids the line and taste of the Corinthians, in order that their “faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God”. And we also learn, from the parable of the sower,
[p. 210] that in some cases, even where there was an appearance of true acceptance, there was really no life, no root. All this warns us to be on our guard, not only lest we should accept that which is unreal, but much more — lest we should by any means be instrumental in promoting this false and carnal zeal, in producing a faith which would not only be a loss to the possessor of it, but loss also to the servant, because every man’s work will be tried with fire. The truer the servant, the more careful he is that his work should be true. It is not the reputation in which his work stands which satisfies the spiritual man; but the assurance that he has acted for the Lord, and has done His will. It is not merely that he is satisfied in his own conscience that he has done as well as he could; but more than that, that he has acted in keeping with the revealed will of God. It is remarkable that when we act in nature in our services, we have no higher standard for our acts than the natural conscience; but the more truly we are acting spiritually, the less do we accept any standard below the word of God. Hence with the spiritual servant, it is neither the reputation of his work which satisfies him, nor the approval of his own conscience, but the Lord’s approval; and as this is simply before his mind, there is a deepening desire that his work may be solid, such as will stand, and be part of that which will satisfy Christ for the travail of His soul. Could any servant near his Master desire aught but that the work which he is permitted to do should be genuine, and that he in his measure should have an offering to make unto the Lord? Ought anything to distress a servant more than to discover that his work is not genuine? Now one thing is very manifest. If a servant is not near the Lord himself, he cannot be the instrument of leading others near Him. He may, through mercy, communicate a certain amount of blessing; but though a worldly evangelist may be used to deliver a soul from hell, yet he will not be used to deliver anyone from the world. He does not know [p. 211] the word in power in that line himself yet; and the living waters, the waters to bless now, must flow out of the belly of the one who ministers it. Paul had healthy plants at the beginning, though they soon got corrupted; but they were, as we see in Thessalonica, and even in Galatia, clear and decided at their birth, and in all his epistles the deep desire and interest he had for their reality is marked. No language is too strong to express the depth and fervour of it. In one place he says “I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you”; and in another, “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you”. No one could be in company with the Spirit of God in any little measure, and not imbibe the patient earnest attention with which He works in souls. Paul’s solicitude reaches out for those whose faces he had not seen in the flesh; Colossians 2. Peter provides for them after his decease (2 Peter 1: 13); and John sees his own place or reward hereafter to depend on the walk of the saints. In one epistle he says, “That ... we may ... not be ashamed before him at his coming” (1 John 2: 28), and in another, “that we receive a full reward”, 2 John 8. All this, the more we meditate on it, will make us the more watchful for the marks of a soul really turned to God. Mere weeping or the greatest expression of faith or perception will not deceive the one who, walking near the Lord, has the sense in his own soul that the divine work has other and deeper marks. He knows what it is to be in the presence of a holy God, and to have found a Saviour there, where the need of one is felt; and he therefore looks for this in every one professing conversion. The first mark, the first evidence that a soul has really had to do with God, is the sense that God is the offended One, but that the offender has found a Saviour. Hence the Saviour is the attraction for the offender. These two things make up the first mark of true conversion. There is the fear of God, because the word of God has reached the soul, and there is [p. 212] relief through Jesus the Saviour. If the fear is great, the sense of relief is great, if the Saviour has been truly presented; and according to the greatness, so is there a turning to and cleaving of heart to the Saviour. The woman in Luke 7, the sinner who makes her way into the Pharisee’s house, has little intelligence, but she has heard of the Saviour, and as she is a sinner, she is drawn by faith to Him, and this must ever be the case. As a sinner, who so attractive to her as the Saviour? He had raised the dead at Nain. The report had gone abroad, “God hath visited his people”. The Saviour has attraction for the sinner, even as the lifeboat has for the drowning mariner. They naturally suit each other. She might not be able to tell why, but Jesus is her attraction. Her heart demands it of her, cost what it may, to present herself in the Pharisee’s house. Enter she will, for her Saviour is there. To do with Him is the first necessity of her soul, and the first instinct of new birth. Tears and expressions of happiness about one’s own state are very different from what is seen in this woman. True, she stood behind Him weeping; but it was not on account of herself so much as on account of Him. She weeps when she is near Him. It is from engrossment with Him, not with her own feelings. And hence this is rather the second mark of conversion than the first. The first, as we see with the thief on the cross, is that with the fear of God there is a confident depending — turning to the Saviour. He, though the most contemptible man on earth, says to the great King, because of faith in Him and His goodness, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom”. The second mark we do not see in this case, except in his appreciation of Christ to his fellow-thief. The first mark is more within and proves genuineness best; the other mark is that which flows from it; namely, a practical making much of my Saviour. Here it is the tears of the woman fall, and here they wash His feet. Here her hair — her own personal glory — wipes [p. 213] them. The lowest and least part of Him, as His members on earth, calls out her affection and her self-sacrifice in heartily expending on Him the fragrant ointment which would have distinguished herself Thus, too, it was with Jonathan when he saw the head of Goliath in the hand of David; 1 Samuel 17:18. First he made a covenant with him, “because he loved him as his own soul”; and finally, he stripped himself of his robe, his garments, even unto his sword, his bow, and his girdle, and put them on David. These are the “things that accompany salvation”, Hebrews 6: 9, 10.
There are two things very grievous in this day. One is the easy way in which conversion is spoken of, as if it were the effect of a cogent, well-directed appeal, as one might be affected by hearing of a devoted patriot or crusader, and thus without any just sense of the creation which is wrought of God in the soul at conversion. The other is the almost indifference with which the progress of the converts is regarded. They have made a certain profession, they have been acknowledged as born again; but where is the “travailing” that Christ may be formed in them, or where the “great conflict” of which the apostle speaks? Be assured, the latter is traceable to the former. If there were a deeper sense of what conversion really is, there would be a deeper concern for the converts. Indifference to a thing gained betrays a want of earnest toil in gaining it. We are always most devoted to those for whom we have suffered most.
The Lord give us to share in His own love of His people, and to look more for the marks of genuine conversion.