The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-02-04


from motives purely selfish.
To glorify God; the true Christian be-
cause he loves to see God glorified, and
the deceived person because he knows
that is the way to be saved. The trne
convert has his heart set on the glory OF
God, as his great end, and he desires to
glorify God as an end for its own sake.
The other desires it as means OF his
great end, the benefit of himself
To repent. The true convert abhors
sin on account of its hateful nature, be-
cause it dishonors God, and therefore he
desires to repent of it. The other do
sires to repent because he knows that
unless he does repent he will be
damned.
To believe in Jesus Christ. Tho true
saint desires 1t to glorify God, and be-
cause ne loves the truth for its own
sake. Tue other desires to believe,
that no may have stronger hope of going
10 heaven.
To obey God. The true saint that he
may increase in holiness; the false pro
fessor because he desires tho rewards of
obedience.
Z. They may agree not only in their
desires, but in their resolutions. They
may both resolve to give up sin and to
obey God, and to lay themselves out in
promoting religion and building up the
kingdom of Christ; and they may both
resolve it with great strength Of pur.
pose, but with different motives.
8. They may also agree in their de-
,igns They may both really design to
Rlorify God and to convert men, and to
extend the kingdom uf Christ, and to
have tho world converted; the true
Cristian from love Of God and holiness,
and the other for the sake of securing
his own happiness. One chooses it as
an end, the other as means to promote
q selfish end.
They may, both design to be truly
holy; the true saint because he loves
holiness, and the deceived person be-
cause he knows that he can be happy
in no other way.
0. They may agree not only in their
desires and resolutions and designs, but
also in their affection towards many OBJ
jects.
They may both low the Bible; the
true Christian because it is Gods truth,
and he delights in it. and feasts his
soul on it; the other because he thinks
it is in his own favor, and is the charter
of his own hopes.
They may both love God; the ono be-
cause he sees Gods character to be-
supremely excellent and lovely in itself,
and he loves IL for it's own sake; the
other because he thinks God is his par
ticular friond, that he is going to mako
him happy forever, and he connects the
idea Of God with his own interest.
They may both love Christ. The true
convert loves his character; tho deceivod
person thinks He will save him from
hell and give him eternal life-and why
should he not love Him?
They may both love Christians; the
true convert because he secs in them
tho image of Christ, and the deceived
person because they belong to his own
denomination. or because they are on
hix side, and he feels tho same interest
and hopes with them.
10. They may also agree in hating the
same things. They may both hate in.
fidelity and oppose it strenuously-
true saint because it Is opposed to God
and holiness, and the deceived person
because 1t Injuries an interest in which
no 10 deeply concerned and, II true, des-
troys all his own hopes for eternity.
SO they may hate error; one because ii
ia detestable in itself and contrary to
God, and the other because it is contrary
to his views and opinions.
They may both hate sin; tho true
the deceived persod because 1t ia injur-
ious to himself Cases have occurred
where An individual has hated his own
sins and yet not forssken them. How
often the drunkard. AZ no looks back ut
what be once was, and contrasts his
present degradation with what he might
have been; abhors his drink, not for it's
own sake, but because it has ruined
him. And he still loves his cups and
continues to drink, though, when he
looks at their effects, he feels indigna-
ton.
They may be both opposed to sinners.
The opposition OF true saints is benev.
client opposition, viewing and sbhorring
their character and conduct as calcu-
lated to subvert the kingdom of God.
The other is opposed to sinners because
they are opposed to the religion he has
espoused, and because they are not ON
his side.
IL. So they may both rejoice in the
same things. Both may rejoice in the
prosperity of the church and the con-
version Of souls; the true convert be-
cause he has his heart set upon 1t and
loves it for it's own sake, as the greatest
good, and the deceived person because
that particular thing in which he thinks
he has such great interest is advanc.
ing.
IL. Both may mourn and feel dis
tressed at tho low state Of religion in
the church; the true convert because
God is dishonored, and the deceived
person because his own soul is not
happy, or because religion is not in
favor.
Both may love the society of the
Christians; the true convert because his
soul enjoys their spiritual conversation,
the other because he hopes to derive
como advantage from their company.
The first enjoys it because out OF the