“THESE premises will be converted to meet the requirements of an incoming tenant.” Such was the announcement painted on a board in the front of an old building, that had stood unoccupied for a long time.
It had fallen into a very dilapidated state, the brick-front was gray and weather-beaten, the wood-work decayed, and the iron-work rusty. Everything about the place was dirty and dismal in the extreme.
But one day an impending change was evident. It was being “converted to suit a tenant.” The bricks were being covered with plaster, and the wood and iron scraped and painted. In a few days the whole aspect was changed. There was a bright colored shop front, ornamented with what looked like granite and marble pillars, which were of course only painted imitations. All the wood was made to look like mahogany or oak, the doors appeared to be polished walnut, while the interior was decorated in white and gold.
The old place was not recognizable in its new guise, and yet it was not essentially altered. Its walls, windows, roof, doors and foundations remained the same, and although the exterior was more beautiful and imposing it was only because the defects had been covered; they were not removed.
This is not a faulty picture of thousands of men and women. They grow old and gray without having been born again, without being converted. They rely on being highly respectable, paying their way, being good citizens and friendly neighbors. They attend a place of worship regularly, contribute to their religious society, to foreign missions and every “good cause.”
And I hear someone say, “Pray, what more can a man do? Has he not done all that was erected of him? He lives a good, clean, honest life, he helps his neighbors, and goes to a place of worship. Is not that sufficient?
No. In itself it is not sufficient. There must be a vital change in his nature before a man can be fit for God. He must possess a nature that is suited to Him, and that can only be obtained by being “converted.” Not converted like the old shop, for that was not converted at all. It was only “Renovated” and renovation is no substitute for conversion.
Scripture speaks of the great change that makes a man acceptable to God in many ways. We read of being “Born again,” “Receiving the Word,” “Coming to Christ,” “Being Saved,” “Trusting in Christ,” “Believing on Christ,” but never once do we read of Renovation, Reformation or Resolution.
God does not reform, He re-constructs. He does not restore men’s failures. Adam broke down miserably and beyond recovery, and he has never been set up again.
God began anew in the person of His own Son, and to prove to all creation that He would not and could not fail, the Lord Jesus was tested in every possible way, by Satan, by man, and lastly by God Himself. This final test was the most terrible and severe. In the midst of His inexpressible sufferings or the cross as the Sin-Bearer He was forsaken by the God whom He loved, and who, oved Him. He had to cry in the midst of His many sorrows, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (Matt. 27:4646And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46)).
But His love to His God and to men carried Him through it all, through being made sin, and through the death that was a cursed one. But in all this He glorified His Father and His God, wherefore, God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name” (Phil. 2:99Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: (Philippians 2:9)). Thus He has proved His superiority to every trial, and has become the One through whom God is now blessing the sinner.
It is by coming to Him, who is the One whom God presents as the Saviour, coming to Him, turning from yourself, and your own works, whether they be good in your estimate or otherwise, finding Him sufficient to meet your need as a sinner—this turning to Him is “Conversion.”
The answer is, however, expressed in other ways, for God in His grace comes down to our level, and puts the grand truth from different points of view. Thus in John 5:2424Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24) we read, “He that heareth My word and believeth on Him that sent Me hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life.” Is not that clear enough? Then again, “Neither is there salvation in any other [only in the Lord Jesus] for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:1212Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)).
The Apostle Paul could say to the Philippian jailor, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31)). The Lord Jesus Himself said, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:2828Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)).
Does not this really amount to your putting every bit of trust in the One whom God has trusted to do the work of redemption, and who has borne all His judgment against sin, and who is the great Saviour, able and willing to save all who come to Him?
If you have not done so, but are trusting to your outward appearance, and to your morality as seen by the world, you are relying merely on paint, putty and plaster, instead of trusting the blessed Lord Jesus Christ―God’s tried and trusted Saviour for men.
Be wise and build on that immovable foundation which is laid, Jesus Christ, and he that believeth in Him shall not be confounded.
S. SCOTT.