Matthew 18:3

Such a Center has a saving power: and anyone who draws away from it is condemned, as drawing away from the means of humility. And in Matthew: "Unless you turn and become like little children, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven." In …

First, by the authority of Christ himself, who says in Matthew 18: Unless you be converted and become as little children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven; but to make oneself little is nothing other than to become vile in one's own eyes …

(interlin.) Except ye be converted from this ambition and jealousy in which you are at present, and become all of you as innocent and humble in disposition as you are weak, in your years, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven; and since there is none other road to enter in, whoso shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven; for by how much a man is humble now, by so much shall he be exalted in the kingdom of heaven.

And Jesus called a little child unto Him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be turned back, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall …

Likewise, the word of the Lord should be noted. And first he touches on its necessity; secondly, its efficacy. He says amen I say to you, unless you be converted, that is, free from this elation; Zech 1:3: turn to me, etc., and become as …

The pride, ambition, and affectation of honour and dominion, which appear in you, must be repented of, mortified, and reformed, and you must come to yourselves." Note, Besides the first conversion of a soul from a state of nature to a state of grace, there are after-conversions from particular paths of backsliding, which are equally necessary to salvation.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes

And said, verily I say unto you,....

The infant seed of the faithful belong to the family of Christ, and are not to be despised. Or, figuratively; true but weak believers are these little ones, who in their outward condition, or the frame of their spirits, are like little children, the lambs of Christ's flock. [1.] We must not despise them, not think meanly of them, as lambs despised, Job xii.

Except ye be converted - Unless ye be saved from those prejudices which are at present so baneful to your nation, (seeking a temporal and not a spiritual kingdom), unless ye be clothed with the spirit of humility, ye cannot enter into the spirit, design, and privileges of my spiritual and eternal kingdom. The name of this kingdom should put you in mind of its nature. - 1. The King is heavenly; 2. His Subjects are heavenly-minded; 3. Their Country is heavenly, for they are strangers and pilgrims upon earth;

The first thing that we are taught in these verses is the necessity of conversion, and of conversion manifested by childlike humility. The disciples came to our Lord with the question, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” They spoke as men half-enlightened, and full of worldly expectations. They received an answer well calculated to awaken them from their day-dream. An answer containing a truth which lies at the very foundation of Christianity: “except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

The first thing that we are taught in these verses is the necessity of conversion, and of conversion manifested by childlike humility. The disciples came to our Lord with the question, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” They spoke as men half-enlightened, and full of worldly expectations. They received an answer well calculated to awaken them from their day-dream. An answer containing a truth which lies at the very foundation of Christianity: “except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Let these words sink down deeply in our hearts. Without conversion there is no salvation. We all need an entire change of nature: of ourselves we have neither faith, fear, nor love towards God. We “must be born again” ( John 3:8 ). Of ourselves we are utterly unfit for dwelling in God’s presence. Heaven would be no heaven to us if we were not “converted.” It is true of all ranks, classes and orders of mankind: all are born in sin and children of wrath, and all, without exception, need to be born again and made new creatures. A new heart must be given to us, and a new spirit put within us; old things must pass away, and all things must become new. It is a good thing to be baptized into the Christian church, and use Christian means of grace, but after all, “are we converted?” Would we know whether we are really converted? Would we know the test by which we must try ourselves? The surest mark of true conversion is humility. If we have really received the Holy Ghost, we shall show it by a meek and childlike spirit. Like children, we shall think humbly of our own strength and wisdom, and be very dependent on our Father in heaven. Like children, we shall not seek great things in this world; but having food and raiment and a Father’s love, we shall be content. Truly this is a heart-searching test!

For instance, we often hear grown-up people complaining of having to hang about a railway station and wait for a train. Did you ever hear a small boy complain of having to hang about a railway station and wait for a train? No; for to …

For my part, I should be inclined to suggest that the chief object of education should be to restore simplicity. If you like to put it so, the chief object of education is not to learn things; nay, the chief object of education is to …

It is not only possible to say a great deal in praise of play; it is really possible to say the highest things in praise of it. It might reasonably be maintained that the true object of all human life is play. Earth is a …

Peter, oddly enough, made exactly the opposite request; he said he had long wished to be a pigmy about half an inch high; and of course he immediately became one. When the transformation was over he found himself in the midst of an immense plain, …

He actually thought that fairy tales ought not to be told to children. That is (like a belief in slavery or annexation) one of those intellectual errors which lie very near to ordinary mortal sins. There are some refusals which, though they may be done …

Strictly they do not see the prisoner in the dock; all they see is the usual man in the usual place. They do not see the awful court of judgment; they only see their own workshop. Therefore, the instinct of Christian civilisation has most wisely …

In order to strike, in the only sane or possible sense, the note of impartiality, it is necessary to touch the nerve of novelty. I mean that in one sense we see things fairly when we see them first. That, I may remark in passing, …

There is only one reason why all grown-up people do not play with toys; and it is a fair reason. The reason is that playing with toys takes so very much more time and trouble than anything else. Playing as children mean playing is the …

But that paradise was not clear until Christianity had gradually cleared it. The pagan world, as such, would not have understood any such thing as a serious suggestion that a child is higher or holier than a man. It would have seemed like the suggestion …

The child is, indeed, in these, and many other matters, the best guide. And in nothing is the child so righteously childlike, in nothing does he exhibit more accurately the sounder order of simplicity, than in the fact that he sees everything with a simple …

Christianity, even enormous as was its revolution, did not alter this ancient and savage sanctity; it merely reversed it. It did not deny the trinity of father, mother, and child. It merely read it backwards, making it run child, mother, father. This it called, not …

And it must be remembered that the most purely practical science does take this view of mental evil; it does not seek to argue with it like a heresy, but simply to snap it like a spell. Neither modern science nor ancient religion believes in …

All the towering materialism which dominates the modern mind rests ultimately upon one assumption; a false assumption. It is supposed that if a thing goes on repeating itself it is probably dead; a piece of clockwork. People feel that if the universe was personal it …

As he ran he realized that the landscape around him was changing in shape though not in colour. The houses seemed to dwindle and disappear in hills of snow as if buried; the snow seemed to rise in tattered outlines of crag and cliff and …