The Gospel Call and True Conversion (Recovering the Gospel Book 2)

by Paul David Washer

Charles Spurgeon used the following illustration to demonstrate the true nature of the unconverted and the power of regeneration. Imagine that we place two dining options before a pig. On one side of the room, we set a table with the finest food available to us. On the other side, we place a trough of slop on the floor. The pig is then set free to choose the option it most desires. To the astonishment of city folk—but not to the farmer, who knows pigs—the specimen runs straight for the slop without giving the slightest thought to the lavish meal on the other side. It then plunges its head into the trough and eats with reckless abandon until its desires have been satisfied. It suffers no ailment from the refuse it has gulped down, and bears no shame before others for its behavior. In fact, it has acted in perfect conformity with its nature. It has done exactly what a pig should and will always do. However, for the sake of argument, let’s say that we have the power to change the nature of the swine and transform it into that of a human. What will be the result of this supernatural and ontological change? First, what the human had only moments before desired would now repulse him. The horrid smells that he had not noticed would become acute. Second, he would pull his head out of the trough and vomit up the filth for which he had previously hungered. There are some foods palatable to swine that the human stomach simply cannot bear. Third, he would realize that others had notic...