The LORD JESUS CHRIST knew this full well; he knew how desperately wicked and deceitful mens hearts were; he knew very well how many would go to hell even by the very gates of heaven, how many would climb up even to the door, and go so near as to knock at it, and yet after all be dismissed with a “verily I know you not.” The LORD, therefore, plainly tells us, what great change must be wrought in us, and what must be done for us, before we can have any well grounded hopes of entering into the kingdom of heaven. Hence, he tells _Nicodemus_, “that unless a man be born again, and from above, and unless a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of GOD.” And of all the solemn declarations of our LORD, I mean with respect to this, perhaps the words of the text are one of the most solemn, “except, (says CHRIST) ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” The words, if you look back to the context, are plainly directed to the disciples; for we are told, “that at the same time came the disciples unto JESUS.” And I think it is plain from many parts of Scripture, that these disciples, to whom our LORD addressed himself at this time, were in some degree converted before. If we take the words strictly, they are applicable only to those, that have already gotten some, though but weak, faith in CHRIST. Our LORD means, that though they had already tasted the grace of GOD, yet there was so much of the old man, so much indwelling sin, and corruption, yet remaining in their hearts, that unless they were more converted than they were, unless a greater change past upon their souls, and sanctification was still carried on, they could give but very little evidence of their belonging to his kingdom, which was not to be set up in outward grandeur, as they supposed, but was to be a spiritual kingdom, begun here, but compleated in the kingdom of GOD hereafter. But though the words had a peculiar reference to our LORD’s disciples; yet as our LORD makes such a declaration as this in other places of Scripture, especially in that discourse to _Nicodemus_, I believe the words may be justly applied to saints and sinners; and as I suppose there are two sorts of people here, some who know CHRIST, and some of you that do not know him; some that are converted, and some that are strangers to conversion, I shall endeavour so to speak, that if GOD shall be pleased to assist me, and to give you an hearing ear and an obedient heart, both saints and sinners may have their portion.
_First_, I shall endeavour to show you in what respects we are to understand this assertion of our LORD’s, “that we must be converted and become like little children.” I shall then,
_Secondly_, Speak to those who profess a little of this child-like temper.
And _Lastly_, shall speak to you, who have no reason to think that this change has ever past upon your souls. And
_First_, I shall endeavour to show you, what we are to understand by our LORD’s saying, “Except ye be converted and become as little children.” But I think, before I speak to this point, it may be proper to premise one or two particulars.
1. I think, that the words plainly imply, that before you or I can have any well-grounded, scriptural hope, of being happy in a future state, there must be some great, some notable, and amazing change pass upon our souls. I believe, there is not one adult person in the congregation, but will readily confess, that a great change hath past upon their bodies, since they came first into the world, and were infants dandled upon their mothers knees. It is true, ye have no more members than ye had then; but how are these altered! Tho’ you are in one respect the same ye were, for the number of your limbs, and as to the shape of your body, yet if a person that knew you when ye were in your cradle, had been absent from you for some years, and saw you when grown up, ten thousand to one if he would know you at all, ye are so altered, so different from what ye were, when ye were little ones. And as the words plainly imply, that there has a great change past upon our bodies since we were children, so before we can go to heaven, there must as great a change pass upon our souls; Our souls considered in a physical sense are still the same, there is to be no philosophical change wrought on them: But then, as for our temper, habit and conduct, we must be so changed and altered, that those who knew us the other day, when in a state of sin, and before we knew CHRIST, and are acquainted with us now, must see such an alteration, that they may stand as much amazed at it, as a person at the alteration wrought on any person he has not seen for twenty years from his infancy.