The Fundamentals - 1917: Vol.4

The Science of Conversion 51 works first made with man. Second, it is a complete moral corruption of the whole soul so that all the faculties of the soul are affected in such a way as to make them incapable of right action, so that every imagination of the heart is only evil continually. This morally degenerate man, in the adult stage, is also guilty of manifold actual sins, confirming his condemnation and making his moral nature all the more depraved. In addition to this already depraved condition, this degenerate man has no desire for a better life; his perverted natural taste refuses it, and he is even unwilling to consider anything better. He actually loves his depraved condition and revels in the things that develop still more the baser principles in him. Moreover, his intellect is so blunted that he is incapable of apprehending spiritual truths and his eyes are so stigmatized that he cannot see the light. Such then is the character of the unconverted m a n the subject now under consideration. And it is very evident, that while we may be able with the aid of Divine revelation and human observation and experience to diagnose the case cor­ rectly, the remedy is found in a higher realm, though it may be applied in part through human agencies. 3. THE DIVINE PROPOSITION In view of this apparently hopeless case, what is the Divine proposition regarding it? What does the Divine plan contem­ plate? I t is quite evident that the ultimate goal of the Divine proposition is to get rid of sin. But to get rid of the sin we must get rid of the sinner, otherwise sin remains. In getting rid of the sinner two things are possible, either by judgment to destroy the sinner and with him also the sin, or by Divine grace to convert the sinner and thus remove the sin. Both methods are used in the Divine government, but conversion is what now concerns us. The Divine proposition is not to destroy the sinner, but to save him by making out of him a totally new man—to transform him from a child of sin

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