The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1868-03-18


to work out a Righteousness OF his own
he might have been converted at once
Just as the Jailor was. After all this
time and effort spent in seeking the Lord,
he is brought just to the state OF mind OF
the jailor when he simply believed on the
Lord Jesus Christ. 1t was his duty to
believe at once; but he did see his lost
condition, until he found by experience
that he could not pray, he could not re-
pent, he could not feel.
But the question will yet arise, "Will
God command me to pray with an unbe-
lieving and impenitent heart an order that
being thus convinced of my lost condi-
ton, may at last be led to the Cross OF
Christ? Is not that requiring me to do
evil that good may comet" | answer
God never requires sinner to pray with
an unbelieving, impenitent heart. God
now requires of the Devils obedience to
His holy laws, but not with such hearts
as they now have. Let it ever be borne
in mind that the sinner is guilty in not
having the right sort of heart to begin
with; and it is of this evil heart of un
belief that the Spirit convinceth him. He
feels sense Of guilt in not having right
| hi
for not praying with trusting, penitent
spirit.
1t might here be remarked that the
Holy Spirit does otconfne Himself toany
particular period of time in consummat-
ing the work of conversionupon the heart.
He may so impress the man with a sense
of his lost condition, (the impression af-
fecting slightly or deeply his emotional
nature,) by means Of one sermon, or one
text of Scripture casually perceived, that
he is led at once to cast himself at the
foot of the cross, as was the case with the
5000 converted on the day of Pentecost
as was the case Saul of Tarsus, and
of Lydia What the Holy Spirit may do,
and what the sinner is required to do, are
two different things.
But, now, the difficulty is presented to
the inquirer's mind in another form. God
tells me to use the means of grace, to
strive to enter in at the strait gate, and
yet commands me at the same time, to
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ now !;
"now is the accepted time" How can
these two things be consistent with each
other? Must | not first use such means
as will bring me to the condition of seeing
my helplessness, so that | may then be-
lieve on the Lord Jesus Christ? If so,
how can l be required to believe on Him
now?"
Leaving out of view the depravity of
the heart, this difficulty arises from for
getfulness of two things.
1. The man fo5gets that he ought to
be convinced aos0 q his lost and helpless
condition, upon the testimony Of God, and
so be prepared nOw to accept Christ.
2 He forgets that whenever he reads,
or hears read or preached, the word of
God, he is at that very time, in the en-
joyment of the means of grace, and in
their proper use may be saved; that it
is not the quantity of the means to be
used that is to produce the required eff
feet; that it is not so many given SER
mons, so many given prayers, so many
given hours of reading the Bible, that
are necessary; but that non, in the use
of the present means of grace, he may
seek and find God. His hoping to be
better prepared at another time to accept
Christ, is to neglect the present means Of
grace. His expectation, or hope that af-
ter he has meditated and prayed, and
then heard another sermon, and prayed
and meditated again, he will be better
prepared to believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, shows that he is depending upon
some sort of virtue contained in the
means of grace themselves, or his own
feelings elected by the use of them. He
is thus in danger of indulgng false
hope, or of losing the serious impressions
induced by the immediate religious exer-
cises, of which he is making an improper
use He loses sight of the promise that
"whosoever shall call upon the name Of
the Lord shall be saved, not to NOR
row, but no,0; that whosoever, on an or
binary Sabbath day, hears the word of
God, as Peters hearers heard it on the
day of Pentecost shall be saved with the
like readiness.
But let it not be supposed that after a
sinner has been brought to see his lost
condition, he even then, without the con-
verting grace of the Spirit, casts himself
upon Christ. Without the Holy Comfor-
ter, he would be filled with despair, as
Judas was, as every sinner is, who on his
dying bed is given up of the Spirit, and
is aware of the fact; and as Devils and
damned spirits are. For man to see his
undone state is one thing, and to see
Jesus hanging on the cross as his Saviour
is another thing.