We want to turn in our Bibles this morning to the book of Ephesians chapter two and we shall begin our reading at verse one Ephesians chapter two and verse one where we read and you that's an amazing way in which to begin a chapter in the Bible it begins with a conjunction and and then the personal pronoun you and you. When you examine that in the light of the closing of the first chapter, we find that we are included in the great blessings that are listed in the close of chapter one. But when I read the and you and what it has to say here, it's amazing to us that we're ever included. Apart from divine grace, we would not be. And therefore the theme of these first ten verses of Ephesians two is the greatness of the grace of God. And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that thou worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others, but God, who is rich in mercy for his great love were richly loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by grace ye are saved, and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that, in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For, by grace are ye saved through faith, and that, not of yourselves, It is the gift of God, not a works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. One of the best ways to remember the second chapter of the Hebrews is to take this chapter and make a composite sentence of it. In verse one you take one word, you. In verse ten you take a few more words, are his workmanship. And then you drop to the very last verse in the chapter and you read an habitation of God to the Spirit. This is what God does for sinners who deserve nothing but his wrath. But this is the result. of divine grace. You are His workmanship and habitation of God to the Spirit. This is God's desire and may it be ours as well. Let us look to the Lord in prayer. Now let us again look to the Lord in a word of prayer. Father, now as we multiply words upon the sacred text that we read, We pray indeed that thou would anoint thy servant and anoint thy word, that it may go forth with power. Deliver us, O God, from just coming together, week after week, another service. But oh, may we hear thy voice, and may we be changed by being exposed to thy holy word. For Jesus' sake, amen. This morning we want to consider together the nature of conversion. In the past two Lord's Day mornings as we examined the subject of conversion, we examined the marks of the unconverted, and then we examined the necessity for conversion. Our Lord said to Nicodemus, ye must be born again. And this morning we want to deal with the nature of conversion. When we talk about conversion, by conversion we mean that change that occurs when a person believes the gospel because God has given him a new heart in regenerating grace. That is what we mean by conversion. This is called the new birth in John chapter three. And our Lord Jesus told Nicodemus it was absolutely necessary. Now as to the nature of conversion in our reading, we notice that conversion takes place and delivers a person in Ephesians chapter one, verse one, from a state of being dead in trespasses and sins. And in verse ten we read that we are a new creation. You see, we are His workmanship. We are created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. So here we have the nature of conversion. This is what God does. From taking a person from a state of being dead in trespasses and sins, And he brings them to the place where they realize that they are a new creation in Christ Jesus, that they are created unto good works. Now, the epistle to the Colossians chapter one puts it in the same way, but it uses different words. When Paul wrote to the Colossians, he says, giving thanks unto the Father, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, this is how Paul writes to the Colossians. Here in Ephesians, he gives us a view of the nature how it takes place. So the first thing that we want to consider this morning is the author of conversion. When we think of the nature of conversion, you have to look at the author. And the author of conversion... is the Spirit of God. This is the reason I believe that it is called in II Thessalonians chapter two. And I'd like you to turn to that passage because in II Thessalonians two, like in Romans chapter eight, you have what Bible scholars have called the Ordo Salutus, the order of God's dealings with us in salvation. And in verse thirteen he says, but we are bound to give thanks always to God for you. And this is in contrast, friends, to the wicked. This is in contrast to those who are going to be given a strong delusion according to verse eleven, because that they would believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but at pleasure and unrighteousness. But he turns to us and he says, We are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification and belief of the truth. Where unto? He called you by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So the author of conversion is the Holy Spirit. And in this verse, Second Thessalonians, II Thirteen, it is called the sanctification of the Spirit. And in that familiar text that everybody knows, Titus chapter three, verse five, where it says, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit. Now when we make a statement like the author of conversion is the Holy Spirit, we are not inferring that the other members of the Godhead are not involved. For in First Peter chapter one it speaks of the Father and it says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath begotten us unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. When we were begotten, to be begotten is another expression of regeneration. It is another expression of genuine conversion. Furthermore, in Acts chapter five and verse thirty-one, we read that Christ has granted unto the Gentiles repentance unto life. Therefore, we find that all three members of the Godhead are involved in our great salvation, just as all three members of the Godhead are involved in the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is God the Father who gave his Son, God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son. Galatians two twenty, the Son of God loved me and gave himself for me. Hebrews nine fourteen, he was offered up by the eternal spirit. So this great salvation, the work of the cross, and the salvation and the conversion that you and I possess, we find all three members of the Godhead working on our behalf. What this really is teaching us is this, that conversion, this receiving a new heart, this great change, this new creation, is a work. far above the work of man. The first time the new birth is mentioned in the New Testament, John chapter one and verse thirteen, we read who were born, not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. You'll notice it is not man's power, it is God's power that performs conversion. Never, never, never think for a moment. that you can convert yourself. You can't. And here's one of the dangers that we're facing in our world. People have the idea, oh, I was a little wrong and I made a change. And you will hear this about a man who has been given to alcohol and I made a change. I no longer drink and I'm all right. Beloved, conversion is not a change that we make. It is a change that is a result of God's activity in the heart. And unless God does it, it isn't done. Now, beloved, in salvation there are a lot of things that we can do. We can invite men to Christ. We can preach the gospel. We can... explain the gospel. We can use illustrations, and there are many things that we can do, but in the final analysis, beloved, only God can convert. Only God can regenerate. Do we believe that? I'll tell you something. If you say you do, it will make a tremendous change in your prayer life. When we say that only God can convert, that's easy talk. But, beloved, if we really believed it, it would make a change in our prayer meetings. It would make a change in the way in which we pray and beseech God on behalf of sinners. If only God can do it, then he must come in in almighty power and bring that change that delivers a person. from spiritual death into spiritual life. The nature of conversion, beloved, is God the Holy Spirit. For you see, conversion is a resurrection from the dead. That's what we read in Ephesians two, verse one. And you hath he made alive. You hath he quickened who were dead, dead in trespasses and in sins. You see, this is a language of Galatians two in verse thirteen or Galatians two in verse twenty I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me that's a change it takes place and it's a resurrection from spiritual death to spiritual life in Christ you see Conversion is a new creation, Ephesians two ten. We are his workmanship created. It is a new creation, second Corinthians five, seventeen. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. You see, conversion, friends, is a work of absolute omnipotence. It is the all-powerful God working in us. Look at Ephesians one. You have your Bible open there, I hope. And look back at verse nineteen. He says in Ephesians one, he's praying that the saints of Ephesus would realize what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ. when He raised Him from the dead and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places. And then in verse one of chapter two, He says, And you have been made alive. Beloved, if He's a resurrection from a state of spiritual death, spiritual death. My body wasn't resurrected. My body was never dead yet. It was my spirit and soul that were dead. And that's what he quickened to life. In the resurrection, my body's going to be quickened to life and redeemed. You see, but it was my spirit and my soul that was delivered. You had they made alive who were dead in trespasses and sin. Beloved, as we consider the nature of conversion, And the fact that the author of conversion is the Spirit of God, let me say this, you may be as sweet person as men look at you. You may possess a good nature. You may possess a meek temper. But if you are a stranger to true conversion, you are lost. Conversion is a supernatural work. Second, when we think of the nature of conversion, the author is the Spirit of God, but the efficient cause of conversion is twofold. There is an inward cause, an internal cause, and there's an external cause. And I want to look at the internal and the external this morning, that internal work and external work. The internal cause is the free grace of God. Titus chapter three, verse five, says, Not by works of righteousness, which we have done. So you see, you can't convert yourself. It's not by works of righteousness, which we have done. But according to his mercy, he saved us. James chapter one, eighteen says of his own will be getting us through the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. And we were chosen in Christ. onto the sanctification of the Spirit. We read that in two Thessalonians, chapter two and verse thirteen. You see, God finds nothing in man to turn his heart, but he finds much in man to turn his stomach. God finds nothing in man to excite his love, but he finds much in man to provoke his loathing. Man has nothing to offer to God. And, beloved, when you read our condition as outlined in Ephesians chapter two, verses one through three, and then when you read verse ten, that we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus, what's the key to it? The key is in verse four, where it says, but God, after reading those first three verses, it says, You see, the ending of verse three, every believer should have it memorized real well. It says, we were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. Emphasize those last three words, even as others. If there's anything expressed in the New Testament, especially in the epistle to the Romans, there is no difference. I was not any better. than anybody else. Even as others, I was a child of wrath. I was under the condemnation of a holy God. And the internal reason, the internal efficient cause, why I'm converted, must go back to God, the free grace of God, on my behalf. Therefore I read in verse four, but God. For all of those two words. After reading those first three verses, I just thrilled to verse four. But God. But God. Here's the internal, efficient cause. But God. It is God who did it. But God who is rich in mercy. For His great love were with He loved us. When did He love me? Verse five, even when we were dead in sin, hath crooked us together with Christ. By grace we are saved, and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ. Oh, those of you who are saved, let me ask you to do something. Reflect for a moment on your past. Reflect upon your nature. Reflect upon what you know. of the revelation of God concerning you. What a word of God tells us in Job chapter nine, verse thirty-one, that if God would deal with us, He would plunge us into the ditch and our very own clothes would abhor us. Job nine, verse thirty-one. Imagine putting on a new suit and your very new suit abhors you and cries out, You're a wicked sinner. You're lost. You're under the condemnation of God. Our own clothes are for us. Well, if our own clothes are for us, how about the holiness and the purity of God? How holy is God? How pure is God? Habakkuk-one-thirteen says, Thou art of pure our eyes, then to behold evil and thou canst not look at sin. You see what grace has done? Beloved, set your heart the one thing. Your conversion had to be by grace. It couldn't be any other way. But God, who is rich in mercy, all of the internal nature, the efficient cause of conversion is the free grace of God. But then there's the external cause. And the external cause is a merit and righteousness of Jesus Christ. What took place on Calvary's cool hill? What took place there on the cross on Calvary's hill when Christ died for my sins? Oh, it is through him because of what Christ did on our behalf. Second Corinthians five, verse twenty one, he hath made him who knew no sin to be sin for us. that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Here's the external cause. And on the cross on Calvary's Hill, the debt was paid. There's a hymn in our hymn book. Boy, we haven't sung it for ages. I don't know that I heard it once since we're in this building. You know what it says? The cross, it standeth fast. Hallelujah, hallelujah. Defying every black. Hallelujah. But oh, I love that stanza that says, Twas there the debt was paid. I love that. For the cross, the debt was paid, beloved. But Christ isn't on the cross. God has raised him from the dead, and he has set him at his own right hand. And there the mediator between God and men is there at God's right hand making intercession for us. For Christ is made unto us. Sanctification. First Corinthians one and thirty. Christ is our sanctification. This is why our joy is in the Lord. Our joy is in the Lord. For it is he who keeps the believer. It is he who intercedes for the believer. The free grace of God worked internally, and I have an objective external means, an efficient cause. The one at God's right hand, our Lord Jesus Christ, has been raised from the dead, and he's there as our surety, and we can sing from the heart, before the throne my surety stands. My name is written on his hand. The efficient cause. Internally, the free grace of God. Externally, the merit and righteousness of Christ. Now, that brings us to the instrument. The instrument of conversion. And I want to use two of them. Two instruments in conversion. They're personal and real. The personal instrument is the ministry of the Word of God. Paul says in First Corinthians chapter four, verse fifteen, in Christ Jesus, I have begotten you through the gospel. Do we often forget this? We often forget this, beloved, that God uses converted sinners. people who have themselves been changed by the efficacious grace of God, he uses them to tell the gospel, and through them he begets others, he raises others to life in Christ. In Christ Jesus, Paul says, I have begotten you through the gospel. And according to Acts chapter twenty-six and verse eighteen, the work of those who are saved is to turn men's hearts from darkness to light to turn them to God that's conversion beloved to turn them to God remember what when Paul was at Philippi Acts chapter sixteen the demonic girl remember what she followed Paul and Silas as they were proclaiming the gospel for many days she did this she said something She said, these are the servants of the Most High God that show unto you the way of salvation. Oh, we often forget that beloved. We can become so occupied with our position in Christ, with the fact that he's God who does the converting, that we never tell anybody else how to be saved. God saves sinners through the gospel. You see, The personal instrument are those who proclaim the gospel. Do you enjoy telling sinners how to be saved? Beloved, as we tell the gospel, we lay emphasis on the work of Christ, what Christ did, and it is God who gives the new heart and quickens to life. We are just messenger boys for God. Now, the personal instrument is the ministry. The real instrument is the Word of God. James I.A.T. says we are begotten by the Word of Truth. This is one of the things that bothers me today. People are getting converted without the gospel. And they're converting themselves. Or they're having somebody else convert them. Beloved, it is the Word of God, the real instrument. We're just messenger boys. But it's the Word of God that does the work of His own will begotten us by the Word of Truth. The Spirit of God uses the Word of God. You see, the Word enlightens the eye and the Word converts the soul. Turn with me to the Nineteenth Psalm. I love this passage. In fact, My heart was indicting a good matter this morning. I was meditating on the Nineteenth Psalm. Here in the Nineteenth Psalm, let me give you a quick outline. May I? Psalm Nineteen, real easy. In verses one through six, we have the meaning of the skies. In verses seven through eleven, we have the message of the Scriptures. And in verses twelve and two through fourteen, we have the meditation of the soul. But in the message of the Scriptures, in verse seven, he says, The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. Oh, what a statement. You see, here we have the real instrument of conversion. The Word enlightens the eye. The Word converts the soul. We have that in verses seven and verse eight. It is the Word of God that makes us wise unto salvation. Paul, when he wrote to his son in the faith, Timothy, second Timothy chapter two and verse fifteen, he says, to him that is a child that has known the Holy Scriptures. which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith that is in Christ Jesus. It is the Holy Scripture that make one wise unto salvation through faith that is in Christ Jesus. Peter said, we are born again by the incorruptible seed of the Word of God. First Peter, one twenty-three, being born again. not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. My friend, if you're washed, it's by the word of God. Ephesians chapter five, verse twenty-six. For the more, if you're sanctified, it's by the word of God. John seventeen, seventeen sanctify them to thy truth. Thy word is truth. You see, this is why the scheme of salvation that we read in Second Thessalonians II, Thirteen. He says, we were sanctified by the Spirit unto the relief of the truth. The Word of God. The Word of God. Now why does God save a man? What is the final cause of conversion? What is the final cause of man's salvation? Ah, beloved, it's God's glory. God's glory is the final cause. You see, God is bringing everyone whom he saves to glory. Glorification is the end for us who are saved. So we read in Romans eight and verse thirty, whom he justified, he glorified. Beloved, At the end of it all, the purpose of it all is not primarily to keep us out of hell. Oh, thank God, that's a big part of it. But it's that God might be glorified, and we cannot miss God's glory. Turn with me to a verse in the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter sixty in verse twenty-one. This is a verse that everyone should have memorized. Isaiah chapter sixty and verse twenty-one, where the prophet says, Thy people also shall be all righteous. They shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands that I might be glorified. What is God saying here? All these people are going to be righteous, number one. He says, they're going to inherit the land forever. Number two, they're the branch of his planting. They're the work of his hands. That's what we read in Ephesians two. We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus under good works. But the final cause is that he might be glorified. And when he is glorified, I'm going to be glorified with him. This is the joy that the child of God possesses. Now I'd like to dwell for, in conclusion, on four things, which I call the results of conversion. And they're very important. Because, you know, we can talk about this change of conversion. And until we behold the results in our own life, This is very, very important. The first thing in conclusion is this. Conversion turns the balance of judgment so that God in His glory outweigh all carnal and worldly interest. Has conversion done that for you? Is the glory of God more important to you than worldly interest? Weigh it and weigh it well. What's most important? Has conversion done that for you? Conversion turns the balance of judgment. The second thing is this. Conversion turns the bias of the will. Before I was converted, you see, my will was a slave to my sinful nature. But now my will has been freed from the bondage of sin, so that now I can say, Sin shall not have dominion over me, for I'm not under the law but under grace. Has conversion turned the bias of your will? The third thing is this. Conversion turns the bent of our affections. The things that I once loved are now hate. And the things that I once hated are now loved. You see, what do we turn from in conversion? Well, first of all, we turn from sin. First Thessalonians one says, He turned to God from idols. Furthermore, we turn from Satan. And all the allurements that Satan pushes to us. Third, we turn from the world. Paul could say, the world is crucified unto me, and I answer the world. A woman went up to a preacher one night after a meeting and she said, I give the world to be able to preach like that. He said, that's what it costs me. I give the world to live like that. That's what it costs. We turn from the world. But more than that, we turn from our own righteousness. We turn from our own righteousness. You see, before a person is saved, they can boast of their own righteousness. They can boast of their own goodness in one way or another. I remember when Bill Patterson and I started a gospel campaign in the city of Germestown, Pennsylvania. We leased a church that was empty. And on every window in the church, and Bill Patterson who had spent most of his life in the West Indies preaching the gospel. He couldn't get over these stained glass windows in his church and in every one of them donated by in their name there. Bill said, Don't any of these people know anything about private giving? They've had their reward. He was quoting the Sermon on the Mount. You know, we can boast one way or another of our own righteousness and think that God is impressed because we are. But in conversion we turn from our own righteousness and because we see what we really are and what our righteousnesses are, they're filthy rags in the sight of God and they become filthy rags in our own sight. And we turn and we glory as Paul did in the righteousness of Christ. And number four, we turn to Christ. Christ is the only mediator between God and men. First Timothy chapter two, verse five. And in turning to Christ, beloved, now the desire of the heart. And the mind is the know, the mind of Christ. but we go one step farther. The desire of the converted person is to obey the mind of Christ as revealed in the Word of God. To apply this, am I obedient to the Word? Have I been converted are you saved it's a work of God I think we should sing a hymn in closing three hundred seventy one three hundred seventy one I'm going to read the first two stanzas and we'll sing the last two when you get to three seventy one look at the words Or if you're here and you've not been converted, and since it is a work of God, these words should be real to you. Pass me not, O gentle Savior. Don't convert others and not convert me. I want to be saved. Pass me not, O gentle Savior. Hear my humble cry. While on others thou art calling, do not pass me by. Let me at thy throne of mercy find a sweet relief. Kneeling there in deep contrition, help my unbelief. And now the last two stanzas. Let's stand and see.