Many in the church are not converted, many have never been converted. Because we love Jesus does not mean we are converted. We must love Him supremely. Most do not, they have been buried alive. This statement may help our understanding of the process of wooing that leads to a true conversion.
"A person may not be able to tell the exact time or place, or to trace all the circumstances in the process of conversion; but this does not prove him to be unconverted. By an agency as unseen as the wind, Christ is constantly working upon the heart. Little by little, perhaps unconsciously to the receiver, impressions are made that tend to draw the soul to Christ. These may be received through meditating upon Him, through reading the Scriptures, or through hearing the word from the living preacher. Suddenly, as the Spirit comes with more direct appeal, the soul gladly surrenders itself to Jesus. By many this is called sudden conversion; but it is the result of long wooing by the Spirit of God,--a patient, protracted process." The Desire of Ages, pg. 172.
Many who are in the church are in this wooing process, but have never given their hearts fully to Christ, therefore, they have not had their hearts cleansed from sin. They do not manifest all of the fruits of His Spirit, but rather, the works of the flesh are seen in the life.
Some have been converted, but are as the disciples prior to the cross. They wander in and out of conversion, not understanding they need Jesus all the time. Sadly, they do not understand what conversion is. They believe they may sin and retain their justification. But, sin reveals a separation between man and Christ. The only way we can have life is to have Christ enthroned upon the heart. "He that hath the Son hath life; [and] he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." 1 John 5:12. "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit [is] life because of righteousness." Romans 8:9,10.
How many believe these truths? Few. Most cannot reconcile these verses with their present understanding of conversion. Here are a few more that do not fit with the current popular teaching on conversion. "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again." John 3:5-7. "Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother." 1 John 3:7-10.
