Thursday, May 17, 2012

A THOROUGH CHANGE OF HEART


“A man engaged to the world may profess faith in Christ, but he will quickly show his true colors when forced to make a choice between Christ and Satan.
All that God chooses to give, He can also choose to deny. If you are not a Christian, you may have some knowledge of the things of God, but, even so, you may die without saving knowledge at last.
A man engaged to the world may profess faith in Christ, but he will quickly show his true colors when forced to make a choice between Christ and Satan. When Satan bribes him with worldly treasures to abandon his profession of the Savior, he will, like Demas, show where his love lies. Or if his lusts call him, he must go, in spite of profession, conscience, God, and all. Herod feared John the Baptist, but love is stronger than fear. His love for Herodias overcame his fear of John, and made him cut off not only John's head but the hopeful buddings of his conscience as well. If the complexion of the soul is profane, it will finally show itself, though for a while there may be some religious color in a man's face from some external cause. The lack of a thorough change of heart is the root of all final apostasy. The apostate does not lose the grace he had, but only discovers that he never had any. Many take up their sainthood upon a false pretense, and use the credit they have gained from others' opinions of them to establish their trade among God's true saints. These false professors assume they are Christians because others suppose them to be. Their whole reputation is built on an outward show of religion. The fact that they have no stock of solid grace within to maintain them in their profession proves their undoing at last.
Let us therefore consider upon what basis we take up our declaration of faith. Is there anything within us that is proportionate to our outward zeal? Have we laid a good foundation? Is the superstructure top-heavy, jutting too far beyond the weak foundation? The roots of a tree spread as far underground as the branches do above; so does true grace.”
Quoted material from, ”The Christian in Complete Armour Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare” by Gurnall and James S Bell. http://www.moodypublishers.com/pub_productDetail.aspx?id=41823&pid=53617

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