June 2004

ARTICLE TOOLS

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Once I was lost … and now
I am found!
And the difference is the Gospel.
Once I was dead … and now I
am alive!
And the difference is Jesus.
Once I was blind … and now I see!
And the difference is the good
news of God's love.
Once I was enslaved … and now
I am free!
And the difference is God's rescuing
mercy.

After the new birth, you will love with all your heart, soul, and mind your neighbor as yourself. The new birth is a change of direction and change of affection. It's a union of the soul with Christ. Christ comes to you through the Holy Spirit and you become a partaker of God's life.
Billy Graham, quoted in Richard Wightman Fox, Jesus in America

You can become a Christian in a moment, but not a mature Christian. Christ can enter, cleanse, and forgive you in a matter of seconds, but it will take much longer for your character to be transformed and molded to his will. It takes only a few minutes for a bride and bridegroom to be married, but in the rough-and-tumble of their home it may take many years for two strong wills to be dovetailed into one. So when we receive Christ, a moment of commitment will lead to a life- time of adjustment.
John Stott,Basic Christianity

Christian conversion recognizes that we become God's children, members of his family, by grace and adoption, not by nature. Those who are converted, therefore, find that they must answer not only to God, but also to and for the community of the faithful.
James P. Hanigan in Theology Today

Certain moral changes will take place immediately in the life of the new convert. A moral revolution without will accompany the spiritual revolution that has occurred within. As the evangelists tell us, even the cat will know it when the head of the house is converted. And ...