There is no doctrine in which it is more important to be completely orthodox than the doctrine of conversion. If repentance is missing, you have antinomianism, "easy-believism." If faith is left out, you have a works salvation. If the understanding of either faith or repentance is faulty, there is little chance of the conversion being genuine. Pastor Albert N. Martin of the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey, says in his foreword, "What is involved in true conversion is the area in which there is abounding confusion and frightening delusion in our day, even among the evangelicals who are clear on the question of the ground of the sinner's acceptance with God. It is precisely in the area of setting forth the Biblical doctrine of conversion that the Puritan preachers have so much to teach us."
These three Puritan treatises will help the reader to better understand the doctrine of conversion. Each of these writings examines conversion from a different perspective. These treatises, never before available in reprint form, are:
• "Sin: The Greatest Evil" ~ Samuel Bolton
• "The Conversion of a Sinner" ~ Nathaniel Vincent
• "The One Thing Necessary" ~ Thomas Watson
Each work has its own distinct areas of strength in setting forth both a sound theology of conversion as well as penetrating pastoral insights into the method of conversion. Again, Pastor Martin says, "If there is to be any hope that a true doctrine of conversion will once again be sounded forth in the power and passion of the Holy Spirit, it is most likely that the authors of these sermons and these pages will be our most helpful guides."