A person holding that view was in the Enquiry-room one night; and I drew his attention to Romans 6:23. “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” How long does it take to accept a gift? There must be a moment when you have it not, and another when you have it—a moment when it is another’s, and the next when it is yours. It does not take six months to get eternal life. It may however in some cases be like the mustard seed, very small at the commencement. Some people are converted so gradually that, like the morning light, it is impossible to tell when the dawn began; while, with others, it is like the flashing of a meteor, and the truth bursts upon them suddenly.
I would not go across the street to prove when I was converted; but what is important is for me to know that I really have been.
It may be that a child has been so carefully trained that it is impossible to tell when the new birth began; but there must have been a moment when the change took place, and when he became a partaker of the Divine nature.
Some people do not believe in sudden conversion . But I will challenge anyone to show a conversion in the New Testament that was not instantaneous. “As Jesus passed by He saw Levi, the son of Alpheus, sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, ‘Follow Me’: and he arose and followed Him” (Matthew 9:9). Nothing could be more sudden than that.
Zaccheus, the publican, sought to see Jesus; and because he was little of stature he climbed up a tree. When Jesus came to the place He looked up and saw him, and said, “Zaccheus, make haste, and come down” (Luke 19:5).