Sermon 1774. God's Work Upon Minister and Convert
(No. 1774)
A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, APRIL 6, 1884,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"'But rise, and stand upon your feet: for I have appeared unto you for this purpose to make you a minister and a witness bothof these things which you have seen, and of those things in which I will appear unto you; delivering you from the people,and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send you, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from thepowerof Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith thatis in Me.' Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: but showed first unto them of Damascus,and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God,and do works meet for repentance." Acts 26:16-20.
BEHOLD an amazing sight! Saul of Tarsus at the feet of Jesus of Nazareth! Listen! The persecutor's voice is changed into thatof an enquiring disciple. He asks, "What will You have me to do?" If angels sang with delight over a new-made world, theirsong must have been seven times as joyous over a new-made Apostle! The change was miraculous. At this distance of time wecan hardly appreciate it, but if we had been living in daily fear of our lives-if we had seen our father or our brother draggedoff to death by this ferocious enemy of the Cross-and then had suddenly heard that he was converted to the faith which heopposed, we would have cried, "Incredible!" For the Ethiopian to change his skin, or for the leopard to lose his spots wouldbe little compared with this cruel Pharisee bowing himself in lowly penitence before the Lord Jesus whom He had persecuted!
Do you wonder that when Saul came to Jerusalem and assayed to join himself to the disciples, they were all afraid of him andbelieved not that he was a disciple? My Brothers and Sisters, as in history, so in the Grace of God, it is the unexpectedwhich frequently occurs! The men and women whom I expected to confess Christ long ago have not yet come. I have seen Felixtremble, but I have not seen him converted. I have seen Agrippa almost persuaded, but he is not yet a Christian. Meanwhile,I have beheld a Saul of Tarsus, who, before, raged against the Cross, bowing himself submissively before the Lord Jesus! Letus never be discouraged, but let us expect to see signs and wonders in the world of Divine Grace!
Though priestcraft is far too dominant in our land, we may yet hear that "a great company of the priests" has believed inChrist. Though free thought rides roughshod over everything, we may yet hear that the boldest freethinkers have been madetruly free and have felt the power of His thoughts, which are as high above our thoughts as the heavens are above the earth!Who knows, good Brother, but that son who has caused you the greatest grief may yet give you the greatest pleasure? Who knowsbut that one among your relatives who seems most decidedly to take the wrong side may yet become a leader in the armies ofChrist? Hope on! Hope always!
Note with care how men are converted. I shall show you God's preparation for it, in a work worked upon the minister, makinghim a fit witness for the Truths of God. Then I shall speak upon God's work worked in the convert in opening his eyes andturning him from darkness to light. And, lastly, I shall call your attention to a work which must be worked by the convert,himself, for Paul preached that they should repent and turn to God and do works meet for repentance.
I. First, let us notice A WORK WORKED BY GOD UPON THE MINISTER. "It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save themthat believe." "Faith comes by hearing." "How shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they aresent?" In order to the conversion of the hearer, many processes must be experienced by
the preacher-he must be made, called, sent and, afterwards, delivered. All the work of the Lord upon him is a work of Graceon behalf of those who shall be converted by his means. The minister whom God sends is, first of all, himself subdued andmade to be obedient to the will of his Lord.
While a man is a rebel, the Lord does not appoint him to act as an ambassador. While he is dead in sin, He does not commissionhim to preach the way of life. Paul was struck down to the earth-if he had not, himself fallen, he would not have known howto lift up others whom the Lord has laid low. There flashed into his face a Light above the brightness of the sun. He declares,"I could not see for the glory of that light." He remained blind for three days and this, also, was necessary-for if he hadnot been shut up in that darkness, he would not have been qualified to deal with others on whom the darkness of convictionhad settled. An experience of breaking down and of soul-horror is necessary to prepare a man for later usefulness among theconvicted, the desponding and the despairing.
It may be that some young man present, this morning, is undergoing a singularly severe discipline at the hands of the HolySpirit. His sins are exceedingly heavy upon him and relief does not come. A companion of his who was awakened at the sametime has found rest and is already rejoicing in the Light of God-but this young Brother finds the darkness thicken about him.Dear Friend, it may be that your deeper conviction and more oppressive sense of sin are necessary because in your future lifeyou are to be made largely helpful to troubled hearts. Do not think that everybody is blind for three days, as Paul was whenhe did neither eat nor drink during all that time-but conclude that some peculiar end is to be served by this remarkable experience.
Lydia, whose heart the Lord opened to receive the Truth of God, was not thus blinded and troubled-but then she was not calledto be an Apostle to preach the Gospel from Jerusalem to Spain! The weapon which is to be most used in battle must be morecompletely hardened than that which is for peaceful service! Discipline in our own spiritual life is a part of ministerialeducation which the chosen of the Lord shall not miss. See then, how God may be working for the conversion of generationsyet unborn in the deep and painful experience of individuals who are now being turned from darkness to His Light. See, mydear Hearer, what God may have done already in the hearts of His chosen ministers to fit them to become the means of yourconversion! In order to slay your sins, the shaft has been polished!
Another has groaned and wept and cried out in bitter agony, in order that he may know how to speak a word in season to you.Each of the best locks made by our eminent locksmiths is unique and by itself. And when this is the case, each lock needsits own special key. So is it with human minds-there is a peculiarity about each one. Certain minds will never be reacheduntil they come in contact with other minds constituted on purpose to touch them! I know that there is a suitability in myexperience to affect many of my fellow men-and they open to me when the Lord takes me in His hands and uses me as His key.But I also feel that in all probability I shall never move certain other individuals because my mental conformation excitesprejudice in them-I do not fit them and they will not permit me to be of use to them. Thank God, He has other servants andby these, I trust, He will accomplish good for those to whom I am an unsuitable instrument. Assuredly I know that much ofthe experience through which I have passed has not been with a view to myself, but with a view to those persons to whom theLord will make me His channel of blessing! Consider, then, how gracious is the Lord thus to be working upon His own servantswith the design of saving some of you who are far from Him.
The next preparation for the Lord's minister was that he should be encouraged. The Lord Jesus said to him, "Rise, and standupon your feet." As much as to say-"You are forgiven, you are chosen, you are beloved-therefore lie no longer prostrate, overwhelmedwith fear. Give not way to despondency. Resign yourself into My hands and be prepared, with activity and diligence, to spendthe rest of your life in doing good. Arise, stand on your feet, for work is to be done at once which will need all your courageand might!"
Men can hardly be very useful till they cease to be despondent, diffident, depressed and become energetic and hopeful. Evengood men need to be braced up that they may rise to bold attempts and believing labors for their Lord. Many are slow to takethe encouragement which is offered them and need to hear a voice, saying, "Shake yourself from the dust, O captive! Rise andserve your God." I wish that I could speak to any Brother here whose heart is true and right, and who has the power to beexceedingly useful, but who has not yet the courage to proceed to his proper work. O my Brother, rise and stand upon yourfeet!
"Alas," you say, "I have tried to do good, but I have seen no effects following my endeavors. I have spoken to one or twoabout their souls, but I have not yet won a heart for Christ." Did you really expect to do so? I have noticed that
those who do not believe that they will be successful seldom are so-but those who rise and stand upon their feet and manfullyexpect that God will bless them are not disappointed. We are not to hope for success because there is anything in us, butbecause God has promised that His Word shall not return unto Him void! And if we, therefore, sow in faith, a harvest willassuredly follow. Faith receives promises-unbelief goes empty-handed. Arise, then, and stand upon your
feet!
Who knows but somebody who shall receive encouragement this morning will, from this day, become the messenger of God to openthe blind eyes of others? The strengthening of the worker is as necessary a part of God's work as the immediate operationof the Spirit with the message. The vessel must be prepared for the Master's use and Grace is to be clearly seen in the makingand fitting of that vessel for so Divine a purpose. The uplifting work being done, it remained that Paul should now be made,constituted and ordained a minister-and to this end he must see the Lord for himself. The Lord said, "I have appeared untoyou for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness."
It is plain from these Words that the right way to make ministers is for the Lord Jesus Christ to appear to them. We haveheard of making men into ministers, but we have no belief in the result of such a manufacture. If one man makes another mana minister, he will be very badly made-and the sooner he is broken up, again, the better! The fabrication of man is not fitto be an instrument for the Lord! All the laying on of hands and all the fitness that can be given in College or Universitycannot possibly make a minister apart from the Revelation of the Son of God to the heart. If God intends to use any man, hemust be as much the creation of God as are the heavens and the earth.
The means which the Lord uses for the true preacher's education and ordination are here displayed before us. It is by Christ'sappearing to the man that he is prepared to preach the Lord Christ among men. Our Lord's appearing to a man operates two ways-first,it makes him willing to be a servant, for that is the meaning of the word, "minister." When the renewed mind beholds the Lord,it adores Him and cries out, "What will You have me do?" A sight of the Glory of Christ, of the love of Christ, of the sufferingsof Christ forces a Believer to render onto the Lord all that lies in his power of cheerful service. Who that has beheld theunrivalled beauties of Jesus can refuse Him honor? Having seen You, O my Lord, I become, forever, Your servant, and feel ita privilege to minister to the very least of Your redeemed according as You may appoint!
The same heavenly vision qualifies the Believer to act as a witness for Jesus. We cannot bear witness to that which we havenever seen. Hearsay is of small value-we must see for ourselves. Christ must appear to His elect servant or he will not beable to go forth and tell what he has seen. The true Prophet is a Seer-he sees and, therefore, speaks. "We speak what we know,and testify what we have seen." If you have had no vision, hold your tongue, for you have no message. But if you have seen,then tell carefully only what you have seen, adding nothing to it and taking nothing from it. Your message is that which Godhas revealed to you by His Holy Spirit in His Word and in your own spiritual experience.
See then, dear Friends, that in order to the conversion of those who are not yet saved, the Lord Jesus has been at work uponothers, making them fit to be servants and witnesses. And He has used, as His chief means of instruction, the revealing ofHimself. This is instructive, for it gives us a clear indication as to the best method of accomplishing the salvation of thosearound us. Beloved, if you want to win souls, follow up this line of things. Soul-winning is generally accomplished not byargument, but by testimony. The best minister is a witness-bearer. "Butler's Analogy" is one of the most notable works indefense of Revelation and it is eminently calculated to impress the student with the truthfulness of our holy religion.
But I should like to know whether there ever was a man, woman, or child truly converted to the Lord Jesus by "Butler's Analogy."I do not think so! Nor do I depreciate the work on that account, for it has other uses which it admirably serves. This, however,I am certain of, that a little book like the "Dairyman's Daughter," by Leigh Richmond, which is not worthy, for a moment,to be compared with "Butler's Analogy" as a display of intellectual power, has led thousands to saving faith in the Lord Jesus!That little biography of a peasant girl, a mere nothing as to thought compared with the wonderful, "Analogy," has broughttens of thousands to the Savior's feet, where the other has brought few, if any!
What is the reason? The "Analogy" is a very clear and admirable argument, but the "Dairyman's Daughter" is a witness of whathas been seen, tasted and handled by one like ourselves. Heads are won by reasoning, but hearts are won by witness-bearing.Our line of thought should be that of David-"I will declare what the Lord has done for my soul." Paul frequently repeatedthe story of his own conversion, for he knew of nothing more likely to convince and convert. I
do not believe that people will ever be converted by gaudy rhetoric. Poetical expressions are too fine to draw men away fromsin to holiness-men do not come to Christ on the back of Pegasus!
Argument which appeals only to the intellect is poor fuel with which to kindle the fire of love to Christ! Even sound instructionwill not suffice without personal witness to vivify and support it. To convince men of the truth of a statement is one thing-toconvict them ofpersonal sin is another thing-and to convert them is a step still higher! Bear witness to what you know, towhat you feel, to the power of Christ to pacify the conscience and to change the life! Bear, I say, your witness to Jesus,and you will have done that which God will bless to the opening of the eyes of the spiritually blind.
Further, dear Friends, the man who is to win a soul for Christ must be continuously instructed of God. He is to be a witnessnot only of those things which he has seen, but also of those things in the which the Lord will yet appear unto him. The disciplineand intuition which our Lord vouchsafes to His servant, when he begins his witness, will not suffice him for the whole ofhis life-he must continue to be taught that he may continue to teach. You who wish to win souls for Jesus-and I know manyof you do-must always sit at His feet, yourselves. Your eyes must always be fixed upon your Master, so that His dear Imagemay photograph itself perpetually upon your heart.
Our message, if it is to daily win souls for Jesus, must come to us daily. The manna of last year, where is it if we havehoarded it? In a day it bred worms-where is it after many days? As the manna fell fresh and fresh each morning, so must we,each day, learn more and more of Him. We should strive each day to obtain a closer, more tender, more experimental view ofHim. We must feel our sinnership more deeply and, therefore, recognize more fully the power of His precious blood. We mustgrieve over our corruption more bitterly and, therefore, understand better the power of the renewing Spirit who cleanses theheart. We need to live upon Jesus hourly so that we may talk of the Tree of Life with the flavor of its fruit upon our palates.
It is poor work to talk of a Savior whom we have not communed with for months-but it is blessed to come forth from His Presenceto describe His beauties! Oh to live in Christ and love Christ-and then to preach live sermons from live texts! Even the deadin sin will feel the force of so vital a ministry! God the Holy Spirit must work all this in those whom He prepares to bethe implements of His gracious work. Herein He shows much love to sinners who as yet care nothing for His operations.
But where all this is done, there yet remains something more, namely, that God should constantly preserve His messenger; asHe said to Paul, "Delivering you from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send you." Paul's life was alwaysin danger and yet never in real peril, for the Lord was His Keeper. He was daily delivered unto death and yet he was immortaltill his life-work was complete! They stoned him and supposed that he was dead-but he rose up and began to cheer the Brethren!Till his time came and his work was finished, the stormy sea could not drown him! The beasts of Ephesus could not devour him!The mob could not kill him-even sworn conspirators could not slay him!
When he had finished his course, he submitted his neck to the headsman's sword. But till that moment, he was delivered outof the mouth of the lion and guarded from perils of robbers, perils of rivers and perils by false brethren. So shall everytrue servant of Christ be kept as with a garrison from all evil. We do not, nowadays, run risks of the kind which beset theApostle, but ours are more subtle and insinuating-yet the true servant of God shall be preserved from all evil. He shall bekept from the pride which comes of visible success and from the despondency which comes of apparent failure. He shall be deliveredfrom the temptations common to man and from the peculiar temptations which compass him as a minister of Christ. He shall bedelivered from the strife of tongues and from the tumult of the people.
If God has sent him, the devil cannot withstand him-he shall perform his mission in the conversion of those whom the Lordintends to save. I earnestly invite you to look at this portion of the machinery of Grace, for some entirely overlook it.Conversion is a very simple business and yet if I were to say that the heavens, the earth and all things that are, and areto be, are made subservient to its accomplishment, I should not go too far! Everything is laid under commission to save thechosen! Each elect soul might say, "You have given commandment to save me."
I have known the Lord bring men to Himself not only by His ministers, but by the simplest things and most common events. Ayoung woman, utterly careless and godless, returned to her room one night where she had left her lamp burning, but, lo, ithad gone out and she was in darkness! As she sought for the lamp she remembered the parable of our Lord and the cry of thefoolish virgins, "Our lamps have gone out." She reflected that her lamp had gone out because she had forgotten to put oilin it that morning-and then and there, under the power of the Word of God-she knelt down and
gave her heart to Christ! A funeral knell, a tempest, a faded flower, a picture-have all been God's means of bringing Hisbanished home to Himself!
I am constantly meeting with instances of individuals who, for years, were careless, irreligious, dissipated and vicious.And yet, though they rose one Sabbath morning to waste the day as usual-by some circumstance or other they were induced tohear Mr. Moody, or to turn in here, or to attend a theater service-and then and there the Lord met with them! That God whocould control the crowing of a cock to work conversion in His servant, Peter, has servants everywhere-from the highest angelto the tiniest insect! It is delightful to think that God can put any man or any creature into commission to carry out Hispurposes of love!
Is it not a wonderful proof of His great love, that He thus makes all things subservient to the salvation of men, and especiallythat He creates ministers-and leads, trains and fits them to become the spiritual parents of others? Oh, Sinners, how gladI should be if you would think of yourselves, for you see how practically God thinks of you!
II. And now, secondly, we come to describe THE WORK WHICH IS WORKED IN THE HEARER when God is
saving him. It usually begins by illumination-the Lord sends His servant "to open their eyes." Men are born blind and continueblind till, by the power of Jesus, sight is given to them. Opening the eyes of the mind is not an operation which usuallydemands much time. In Paul's case we read, "Immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sightforthwith, and arose, and was baptized."
The mind sees the Truth of God all of a sudden. The aspect of everything is altered and the man has obtained a new faculty.What a blessing it will be if the Lord has sent me to any of you this day, that you may receive your sight and be filled withthe Holy Spirit! A film shuts out the light from your souls, so that you grope as blind men, but the Lord can remove it atonce. Perhaps you are ignorant. If you did but know the Truth, you would see by its light. Oh, that the Holy Spirit may teachyou! Or your education and your surroundings have placed a film of prejudice over your eyes-if a candid, child-like spiritwere given you, you would speedily see! Or possibly some favorite sin is like a cataract upon the eyes of your conscienceand you cannot see the evil of sin, or the beauty of holiness, or the desirableness of being renewed. The Lord can take awaythese scales! Oh, that the Lord would cause you to see sin in its true colors and holiness in its own splendor!
Or it may be that unbelief darkens your soul. Those who will not believe cannot see the salvation of God. What a differenceis made by Divine illumination! A moment ago the man was in the dark, but now he is brought into marvelous light! He was notin the dark because the sun was set or the shutters were closed, but because he was blind. What matters how bright the daywhen the eyes are sealed? If the light that is in us is darkness, no outside light can be of use to us. Jesus came on purposeto give eyes to the blind and by a single word of the preacher, or a text of Scripture, or a verse of a hymn, the Lord cancause the darkened mind to enter upon the life of light and discernment-"The eyes of your understanding being enlightened."
The next thing which the minister is made to do is conversion-Paul was sent "to turn them from darkness to light, and fromthe power of Satan unto God." Much depends upon the direction in which a man's face is turned. Here stands a blind man withhis face to the darkness-if he goes forward, he advances into blacker night! How necessary, then, is that work of the blessedSpirit by which men are turned completely round and their front is reversed! The darkness is now behind the convert and thelight is ahead, so that every step he takes, he advances towards the Light of God which increases upon his vision as he nearsit! He loves the Light! He seeks it! He sighs to get nearer and nearer to it-he runs towards it that he may read everythingby its aid-and he turns away from darkness, which is now dreaded by him as an Egyptian plague. He has not received all theLight he desires, but one thing he knows-whereas he was once blind, he now sees!
What a blessed turning is that which makes us face truth, goodness, God and Heaven-and leave ignorance, sin and Hell behind!The soul is brought into a new element-the Light of God is its life in which alone it flourishes and bears fruit-darknessis its death in which it shivers, pines and withers. As the soul is brought into a new element, so is it also brought undera new government. Translation has taken place. The man is translated from the power of darkness into the kingdom of God'sdear Son, or, as our text has it, "from the power of Satan unto God." Notice the man is turned "from the power of Satan,"the tyrannical dominion and crushing grasp of the evil, cunning, malicious, hateful Prince of
fallen angels. Once he was hopelessly under that power, but now he has clean escaped from the slavery of the devil and hascome into the liberty of a child of God!
To the Lord whom he had forgotten, he has turned, so that he thinks of Him, cares for Him, trusts in Him. His heart, his desire,his longing, his hope all look toward his Savior! He longs to become more and more like his God and to enjoy more and morethe favor of the great Father! What a blessed turning this is-from the power of Satan to the power of God! Happy are the menwho are the means of converting their fellows in this fashion! Somebody says, "Well, I know there is such a fact as conversion,but I do not understand how it can be performed in a minute." I reply that I do not understand how regeneration, which isthe secret cause of conversion, could occupy so long as a minute! Should not goodness rule at once?
Two men are fighting and we beg them to stop. Do you recommend them to stop gradually! Shall they take an hour or two overit? Why, they might kill one another in that time! A fire is about to consume your house-do you say to the firemen, "Put itout gradually"? If my house were on fire, I should long to see the flame quenched at once! If anybody held a pistol at myhead I should not say, "Take it away by degrees." I would wish him to remove the revolver at once. Yet all these things arematters which could be prolonged over a space of time without such risk as would be involved in a slow process of conversion!Changes of mind such as are necessary to conversion had need be quick when sin is to be forsaken, for every moment deepensthe guilt.
I grant you that in many persons, conversion appears to be gradual, and many things lead up to it as by an inclined plane,but as to the new birth and the reception of the Divine life, there is a distinct line of demarcation-on that side of theline all is death-and on this side of it all is life. I cannot tell you when any one man crosses that line, but there mustbe an instant when he does so! It may seem a very gradual process by which a man who was dead comes to life, but, for certain,there is a point at which he left the dead and became alive-and that point God sees very clearly even though we do not. Lifeto the body may at first be perceived only by some painful tingling sensation, or a gentle attempt at breath-ing-but thereis a sharp division between life and death though we may not perceive it. The outward appearance of life may become graduallyvisible, but there must be an instant-and no more-in which life enters and death ends.
Conversion may be effected by the power of the Holy Spirit in less time than it takes me to tell you of it. The man beingregenerated straightaway turns to his God. Oh, that the Lord would work such a marvel of power here under our eyes! It canbe done! I preach with the full conviction that it will be done! He who turned me to Himself has sent me to turn others inthe name of Jesus by the power of His Spirit. Together with conversion comes complete forgiveness. Read the passage-"thatthey may receive forgiveness of sins." When a man turns to God, it is a proof that God has turned to him! When he hates hissins, the Lord has put them away-as soon as ever he confesses and forsakes them, they are blotted out forever. The completeturning of his mind from darkness to the Light of God is a proof to the convert that God, the righteous Judge, has turnedaway His wrath from him.
When the love of sin has gone, the guilt of sin has gone, also. Full conversion carries with it full pardon. The same momentthat we receive Christ, we "receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified." Think of that! Oh,that you may all know what it means! What a blessing to become an heir of God! Yet in the moment of forgiveness, we receivepower to become the sons of God. We are put among the children-and the children's portion is our portion. All that belongsto the sanctified belongs to you, poor Sinner, the moment you turn to God, through faith in Christ Jesus-yes, all that belongsto the glorified belongs to you, for, though as yet you cannot pass the golden gate, nor join in the celestial song-yet theglory is yours, reserved for you till the day of God's appointment!
Be of good cheer, if you are, indeed, turned from darkness to light-you have obtained an inheritance among them that are sanctified!What more do you need? To what choice company is a sinner introduced when he believes in Jesus! He, alas, was only fit toherd with the profane, or to make his bed in Hell with devils! But now he obtains an inheritance among all them that are sanctified!He is a freeholder among the burgesses of the New Jerusalem! What a wonderful procession it would be if all those who aresanctified could pass before us now! Martyrs-their noble army! Confessors- their goodly fellowship! Prophets and Apostlesand ministers of the Word, of whom the world was not worthy! What a joy to be numbered among them!
We are so numbered as soon as we take upon ourselves to trust ourselves with Jesus. We are akin to the perfect! Where theydwell we dwell! Where they die we shall die and where they live forever we shall live, for our inheritance is
with all them that are sanctified! Oh, Brothers and Sisters, it is worth living, is it not, to become servants of God in anyform, so as to introduce our poor sinful fellows into such society as this? May the Lord prepare all Believers to deliverthe life-giving message, that they may bring many heirs of wrath to be heirs of Heaven! And all this has for its certificateand mark of genuineness these words-"By faith that is in Me." Those words are not merely appended to sanctification, thoughit is worth noticing that sanctification is by faith, since so many look at it as if it were by effort rather than by believing.But the whole process of salvation is by faith!
The preacher is to preach in faith. Dear Friends, you that teach in the Sunday school, do you always teach in faith, believingthat God will save your children? You, dear Brothers, who are going to hold a service in the streets, are you going to doit in faith? If not, you need not do it at all, because nothing will come of it. Without faith it is impossible to pleaseGod-and if He is not pleased with what you do-no saving result can follow. All work is true when it is worked by faith inJesus. Men's eyes are opened through their believing in Jesus-that is the great means of illumination. They are turned fromdarkness to light by God's giving them faith in Jesus. By faith they receive forgiveness of sins and the Divine inheritance.It is all of faith from first to last.
May God work it in your souls! I feel pleased, at times, to dig down to the old granite formation which underlies the Gospel.You know there are certain topsoil Truths which we have to plow, and out of which we raise harvests for the Lord. But everynow and then, when things go rather hard with our little farm, I like to dig down to the underlying rock. Salvation is ofthe Lord and He is Omnipotent and works out His eternal purposes. The child of God can get oil out of this flinty rock, forGod will save His own elect, and all the skeptics in the world cannot prevent the operations of the Holy Spirit from beingeffectual!
His purpose shall stand and He will do all His pleasure. His miracles of Grace shall be worked and all the devils in Hellshall not be able to prevent them. Neither skeptics nor fiends can hinder, even for a moment, the eternal purpose of God whichmust and shall be fulfilled-and this is it-"He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied." This work inthe hearts of men He must and will carry on to His own praise and Glory-let who will, say no to Him.
III. Now, I close by the last point, which is A WORK WHICH MUST BE DONE BY THE HEARER HIMSELF.
This text speaks of Paul being an instrument in the hands of God of opening men's eyes and turning them to God, that theymay receive pardon and so forth-in all of which they seem to be passive. But in this later verse they are called upon to beactive-"That they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance." Paul was commanded to go and do such-and-suchthings in the power of the Spirit, but when he commenced to do them, it was by telling men that they should repent.
God gives repentance, but men must, themselves, repent. We are created thinking, intelligent beings and we are saved as such.If we were blocks of wood or masses of iron, God could carve or mold us most readily, and then He would have done no morethan men commonly do with such materials. But if we remain free agents and yet the Lord works His will upon us, it is an amazingmiracle-worthy of the Lord who works it! Never let us forget either the free agency of man or the purposes of God! God leavesus free agents and yet, in Infinite Wisdom, He accomplishes His purposes and fulfils His decree! Grace reigns not over slaves,but over obedient children. The will of the Lord is done and yet the responsibility and freedom of men are left untouched!
How the Lord does this I do not know. He has never deigned to explain His Infinity to us, nor need we desire that He should.It is a great blessing to have something to wonder about. I had rather have reasons for adoration than temptations for indulgingmy pride! Dear Hearer, if you would be saved, you must repent! It is not the work of God the Holy Spirit to repent for you,but to lead you to repent. The Holy Spirit has nothing to repent of and it is not a work which can be done by proxy. We cannotgive you repentance as a doctor may inject morphine under the skin-it must be your own act and deed, your own feeling andemotion. You cannot be saved unless you personally turn from sin-it is the work of God's Holy Spirit to bring you to do so,but you have to repent with your own heart and mind.
Observe this carefully. You have sinned and you must repent of it and turn from it. You must undergo a change in your mindabout everything. You think little of sin-you must thoroughly change your mind on that matter! You think little of Christ-yourmind must be totally changed upon that point! You must loathe sin and grieve over it! There can be no forgiveness unless thereis a confessing and forsaking of sin. Remember your child's verse and attend to it-
"Repentance is to leave
The sins we loved before
And show that we, in earnest, grieve
By doing so no more."
This is demanded of you by the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. "The times of this ignorance God winked at, but nowcommands all men everywhere to repent."
The next thing necessary is that you turn to God. Your prayer may be, "Turn me, and I shall be turned," but the command is,"Turn you, turn you, why will you die?" God will turn you, but you have to willingly yield and thus turn yourself! A numberof texts indicate that there can be no turning of a man's heart to God by any force put upon him- the turning which God grantsus is a perfectly willing and delighted turning on our part-we do it as freely as if there were no such thing as the Graceof God operating upon us! And yet we do it because Grace is sweetly working in us to will and to do. We cannot take you bythe ears and drag you into Heaven. No person can be unwillingly holy, or unwillingly happy, or go to Heaven unwillingly! Thegreat turn needed is to turn to God.
Now you turn away from Him. You do not like to think of Him-this morning you have heard quite as much as you can bear-andyou will try and forget it and so turn away from God. Would not it be grand news for some of you if there were no God, noLaw, no judgment to come, no Heaven, no Hell? It would create in you a sense of liberty, would it not? But as for some ofus, it would be slavery to us and the worst calamity that could possibly happen, for we should have lost our joy, our comfort,our all! O Sirs, you must turn to God-thinking of Him, trusting Him, loving Him, longing for Him, living for Him, delightingin Him! Your aversion must be removed by conversion-God the Holy Spirit will work this in you, but you must become willingin the day of His power. What do you say to this? If you live and die without this turning, you must be turned into Hell!I dare not set before you any other prospect.
And then, to conclude, it is added they must do works meet for repentance, for wherever there is true faith there will becorresponding works. Now what are, "works meet for repentance"? They are such as these-restitution if you have wronged anyone.Reconciliation if you are at enmity with anyone. Acknowledgment if you have spoken falsely. Giving up of evil habits and anearnest endeavor to be pure and holy. If you run into temptation willfully-that is not a work fit to go with repentance! Ifyou commit, again, the sin which you have committed before, and return to it as a dog to its vomit-that is not a work meetfor repentance! If you live in neglect of the means of Grace. If you disregard the Sabbath. If you neglect prayer. If youomit the study of God's Word-these are all not works that will agree with repentance! If you live wholly for yourself andyour own personal aggrandizement, that is not a work meet for repentance.
But if you do, indeed, repent, you must pray the Lord to change your whole life. "If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature"-thatis the whole of it-you must be new from head to foot, new in every thought and word and deed. The saved man is a creationand none can create him but God, Himself! Oh that we may, each one of us, feel His transforming power, that we may henceforth,"work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God which works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure."
After all, it comes to this, Will you have Christ or not? Dear Hearers, I would like to press that question home upon you.I pray that you may be enabled to say, "I will put my trust in Him. I will at once accept Him as my Lord and Savior." I amafraid you get so used to my voice that it does not strike you, now, as it used to do. But still, the Truth of God is thesame, whoever speaks it. If I talk nonsense, forget it! But if this is the Truth of God to which you are listening, I imploreyou to attend to it! Do not hear it and say, "Oh, yes," and then go away and think no more of it!
May God grant you Grace, at once, to really repent, to turn to God and to do works meet for repentance, through faith whichis in Christ, for His dear name's sake. Amen.