REMARKS.
1. The labor of ministers is greatly increased, and the difficulties in the way of salvation are greatly multiplied, by the false instructions that have been given to sinners. The consequence has been, that directions which used to be plain are now obscure. People have been taught so long, that there is something awfully mysterious and unintelligible about conversion, that they do not try to understand it. Sinners have been taught these false notions, till now they are every where entrenched behind these sentiments, such as "cannot repent," "must wait for God," and the like. It was once sufficient, as we learn from the Bible, to tell sinners to repent, or to tell them to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. But now faith has been talked about as a principle, instead of an act, and repentance as something put into the mind, instead of an exercise of the mind, and sinners are perplexed. Ministers are charged with preaching heresy, because they presume to teach that faith is an exercise, and not a principle, and that sin is an act, and not a part of the constitution of man. And sinners have become so sophisticated, that you have to be at great pains in explaining not only what you do not mean, but what you do mean, otherwise they will be almost sure to misunderstand you, and either gain a false relief from their anxiety, by throwing their duty off upon God, or else run into despair from the supposed impracticability of doing what is requisite for their salvation. It is often the greatest difficulty to lead them out of these theological labyrinths and mazes, into which they have been deluded, and to lead them along the straight and simple way of the Gospel. It seems as if the greatest ingenuity had been employed to mystify the minds of people and weave a most subtle web of false theology, calculated to involve a sinner in endless darkness.
Who that has been in revivals, has not encountered that endless train of fooleries, which have been inculcated, till it has become necessary to be as plain as A B C, and the best educated have to be talked to just like children. So much has been done to mystify and befool people's minds, in the plainest matters. Tell a sinner to believe, and he turns round to you, and stares, "Why, how you talk; is not faith a principle implanted in the soul, and how am I to believe until I get this principle?" So, if a minister tells a sinner the very words that the apostles used, in the great revival at the day of pentecost, "Repent and be converted, every one of you," and they reply as they have been taught, "Oh, I guess you are an Arminian; I do not want any of your Arminian teaching for me; do not you deny the Spirit's influences?" It is enough to make humanity weep to see the fog and darkness that have been thrown around the plain directions of the Gospel, till many generations have been emptied into hell.
2. These false instructions to sinners are infinitely worse than none. The Lord Jesus Christ found it more difficult to get the people to yield up their false notions of theology than anything else. This has been the great difficulty with the Jews to this day, that they have received false notions in theology, have perverted the truth on certain points, and you cannot make them understand the plainest points in the Gospel. So it is with sinners, the most difficult thing to be done is to get away these refuges of lies, which they have gotten from false theology. They are so fond of holding on to these refuges, because they are called orthodox, and because they excuse the sinner, and condemn God, that it is found to be the most perplexing, and difficult, and discouraging part of a minister's labor to drive them away.
3. No wonder the Gospel has taken so little effect, encumbered as it has been with these strange dogmas. The truth is, that very little of the Gospel has come out upon the world, for these hundreds of years, without being clogged and obscured by false theology. People have been told that they must repent, and, in the same breath, told that they could not repent until the truth itself has been all mixed up with error, so as to produce the same practical effect with error, and the Gospel that is preached has been another Gospel, or no Gospel at all.
4. You can understand what is meant by healing slightly the hurt of the daughter of God's people, and the danger of doing it. It is very easy when sinners are under conviction, to say something that shall smooth over the case, and relieve their anxiety, so that they will either get a false hope, or will be converted with their views so obscure, that they will always be poor, feeble, wavering, doubting, inefficient Christians.
5. Much depends on the manner in which a person is dealt with, when under conviction. Much of his future comfort and usefulness depends on the clearness, and strength, and firmness, with which the directions of the Gospel are given, when he is under conviction. If those who deal with him are afraid to use the probe thoroughly, he will always be a poor, sickly, doubting Christian. If converted at all, he will never do much good. The true mode, is to deal thoroughly and plainly with a sinner, to tear away every excuse he can get up, and show him plainly what he is, and what he ought to be, and he will bless God to all eternity, that he fell in with those who would be so faithful to his soul. For the want of this thorough and searching management, many are converted who seem to be stillborn. And the reason is, they never were faithfully dealt with. We may charitably hope they are Christians, but still it is uncertain and doubtful. Their conversion seems rather a change of opinion, than a change of heart. But if, when a sinner is under conviction, you pour in the truth, put in the probe, break up the old foundations, and sweep away his refuges of lies, and use the word of God, like fire and like a hammer, you will find that they will come out with clear views, and strong faith, and firm principles, not doubting, halting, irresolute Christians, but such as follow the Lord wholly. This is the way to make strong Christians. This has been eminently the case in many revivals of modern days. I have heard old Christians say of the converts, "These converts were born men and women, full grown, they never were children, but have, at the very outset, all the clearness of view, and strength of faith, of old Christians. They seem to understand the doctrines of religion, and to know what to do, and how to take hold, to promote revivals, better than one in a hundred of the old members in the church."
I once knew a young man who was converted, away from home. The place where he lived had no minister, and no preaching, and no religion. He went home in three days after he was converted, and immediately set himself to work, to labor for a revival. He set up meetings in his neighborhood, and prayed and labored, and a revival broke out, of which he had the principal management through a powerful work, which converted most of the principal men of the place. The truth was, he had been so dealt with, that he knew what he was about. He understood the subject, and knew where he stood himself. He was not all the while troubled with doubts, whether he was himself a Christian. He knew that he was serving God, and that God was with him, and so he went boldly and resolutely forward to his object. But if you undertake to make converts, without cutting up all their errors, and tearing away their false hopes, you may make a host of hypocrites, or of puny, dwarfish Christians, always doubting, and easily turned back from a revival spirit, and worth nothing. The way is, to bring them right out to the light. When a man is converted in this way, you can depend on him, and know where to find him.
7. Protracted seasons of conviction are generally owing to defective instruction. Wherever clear and faithful instructions are given to sinners, there you will generally find that convictions are deep and pungent, but short.
8. Where clear and discriminating instructions are given to convicted sinners, if they do not soon submit, their convictions will generally leave them. Convictions in such cases are generally short. Where sinners are deceived by false views, they may be kept along for weeks, and perhaps months, and sometimes for years, in a languishing state, and at last, perhaps, be crowded into the kingdom and saved. But where the truth is made perfectly clear to the sinner's mind, and all his errors are torn away, if he does not soon submit, his case is hopeless. Where the truth is brought to bear upon his mind, and he directly resists the very truth that must convert him, there is nothing more to be done. The Spirit will soon leave him, for the very weapons he uses are resisted. Where instructions are not clear, and are mixed up with errors, the Spirit may strive even for years, in great mercy, to get sinners through the fog of false instruction. But not so, where their duty is clearly explained to them, and they are brought right up to the single point of immediate submission, and have all their false pretences exposed, and the path of duty made perfectly plain. Then, if they do not submit, the Spirit of God forsakes them, and their state is well nigh hopeless.
If there be sinners in this house, and you see your duty clearly, TAKE CARE how you delay. If you do not submit, you may expect the Spirit of God will forsake you, and you are LOST.
8. A vast deal of the direction given to anxious sinners amounts to little less than the popish doctrine of indulgences. The pope used to sell indulgences to sin, and this led to the reformation under Luther. Sometimes people would purchase an indulgence to sin for a certain time, or to commit some particular sin, or a number of sins. Now, there is a vast deal in Protestant churches, which is little less than the same thing. What does it differ from this, to tell a sinner to wait? The amount of it is, telling him to continue in sin a while longer, while he is waiting for God to convert him. And what is that but an indulgence to commit sin? Any direction given to sinners that does not require them immediately to obey God, is an indulgence to sin. It is in effect, giving them liberty to continue in sin against God. Such directions are not only wicked, but ruinous and cruel. If they do not destroy the soul, as no doubt they often do, they defer, at all events, the sinner's enjoyment of God and of Christ, and he stands a great chance of being lost for ever, while listening to such instructions. Oh, how dangerous it is, to give a sinner reason to think he may wait a moment, before giving his heart to God.
9. So far as I have had opportunity to observe, those conversions which are most sudden have commonly turned out to be the best Christians. I know the reverse of this has often been held and maintained. But I am satisfied there is no reason for it, although multitudes, even now, regard it as a suspicious circumstance, if a man has been converted very suddenly. But the Bible gives no warrant for this supposition. There is not a case of protracted conviction recorded in the whole Bible. All the conversions recorded there, are sudden conversions. And I am persuaded there never would have been such multitudes of tedious convictions, and often ending in nothing after all, if it had not been for those theological perversions which have filled the world with cannot-ism. In Bible days, they told sinners to repent, and they did it then. Cannot-ism had not been broached in that day. It is this speculation, about the inability of sinners to obey God, that lays the foundation for all the protracted anguish and distress, and perhaps ruin, through which so many are led. Where a sinner is brought to see what he has to do, and he takes his stand at once, AND DOES IT, he generally does so afterwards, and you generally find that such a person will hold out so, and prove a decided character. You will not find him one of those that you always have to warp up to duty, like a ship, against wind and tide. Look at those professors who always have to be dragged forward in duty, and you will generally find that they had not clear and consistent directions when they were converted, and most likely they will be very much "afraid of these sudden conversions."
Afraid of sudden conversions! Some of the best Christians of my acquaintance were convicted and converted in the space of a few minutes. In one quarter of the time that I have been speaking, many of them were awakened, and came right out on the Lord's side, and have been shining lights in the church ever since, and have generally manifested the same decision of character in religion, that they did when they first came out and took a stand on the Lord's side.