God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)
We must never forget that good feelings alone in religion are not the grace of God. We may know the truth intellectually. We may often feel pierced in conscience. We may have religious affections awakened within us, have many anxieties about our souls, and shed many tears. But all this is not conversion. It is not the genuine, saving work of the Holy Spirit.
The gospel is a call for every one of us to die – to die to sin and to die to self – and to live with unshakable trust in Christ, choosing to follow His Word even when it brings us into clear confrontation with our culture.