No sinner will ever come to Christ apart from the quickening, enlightening, drawing, converting power of the Holy Spirit, supernaturally exercised upon the conscience and heart. Until grace comes into our souls we have no heart for the things of God. We may be fussily religious so far as to be attentive to every 'outward form of worship'; but there is no heart-work, no light of truth in all our devotion. But when once the divine light comes in, then we become intensely real in our dealings with God.
When the grace of God comes, the Holy Spirit brings us out from under the dominion of the old nature by creating within us a new life, and he brings us out from under the tyranny of the Prince of Darkness by opening our eyes to see, and our minds to understand celestial truth. The opening of our blind eyes and the pouring in of the light of truth are from the Lord.
The entrance of God's word into the mind by the power of the Holy Spirit gives us light as to-- ourselves, our sin, and our danger. With this comes light as to the way of salvation through Jesus Christ, and light as to the mind of God concerning our sanctification. True knowledge takes the place of ignorance, and a desire for purity becomes supreme over the love of sin. Not all the temptations of life, nor all the terrors of death, nor all the furies of hell, shall prevent any soul upon whom God has begun his work of grace from reaching eternal salvation. What a blessing is this, and what a comfort it is!
"The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord."
