Lecture XVIII. Directions to Sinners (2)

Repentance always implies abhorrence of sin. It is willing and feeling as God does in respect to sin. It of course involves the love of God, and an abhorrence of sin. It always implies forsaking sin. Sinners should be made to understand this. The sinner that repents does not feel as impenitent sinners think they should feel, at giving up their sins if they should become religious. Impenitent sinners look upon religion just like this, that if they become pious, they shall be obliged to stay away from balls and parties, and 350obliged to give up theatres, or gambling, or other things that they now take delight in. And they see not how they could ever enjoy themselves, if they should break off from all those things. But this is very far from being a correct view of the matter. Religion does not make them unhappy, by shutting them out from things in which they delight, because the first step in it is to repent, to change their mind in regard to all these things. They do not seem to realize that the person who has repented has no disposition for these things, he has given them up, and turned their mind away from them. Sinners feel as if they should want to go to such places, and want to mingle in such scenes, just as much as they do now, and that it will be such a continued sacrifice as to make them unhappy. This is a great mistake.

I know there are some professors who would be very glad to betake themselves to their former practices, were it not that they feel constrained, by fear of losing their character, or the like. Now, mark me. If they feel so, it is because they have no religion, they do not hate sin. If they desire their former ways, they have no religion, they have never repented, for repentance always consists in a change of choice of views and feelings. If they were really converted, instead of choosing such things, they would turn away from them with loathing. Instead of lusting after the flesh-pots of Egypt, and desiring to go into their former circles, parties, balls, and the like, they find their highest pleasure in obeying God.

2. Sinners should be told to believe the Gospel. Here, also, they need to have it explained to them, and to be told what is not faith, and what is. Nothing is more common than for a sinner, when told to believe the Gospel, to say, “I do believe it.” The fact is, he has been brought up to admit the fact, that the Gospel is true, but he does not believe it, he knows nothing about the evidence of it, and all his faith is a mere admission without evidence. He holds it to be true, in a kind of loose, indefinite sense, so that he is always ready to say, “I do believe the Bible.” It is strange they do not see that they are deceived in thinking that they believe, for they must see that they have never acted upon these truths, as they do upon those things that they do believe. Yet it is often quite difficult to convince them that they do not believe.

But the fact is, that the careless sinner does not believe the Gospel at all. The idea that the careless sinner is an intellectual believer, is absurd. The devil is an intellectual believer, 351and that is what makes him tremble. What makes a sinner anxious is, that he begins to be an intellectual believer, and that makes him feel. No being in heaven, earth, or hell, can intellectually believe the truths of the Gospel, and not feel on the subject. The anxious sinner has faith of the same kind with devils, but he has not so much of it, and, therefore, he does not feel so much. The man that does not feel nor act at all, on the subject of religion is an infidel, let his professions be what they may. He that feels nothing and does nothing, believes nothing. This is a philosophical fact.

Faith does not consist in an intellectual conviction that Christ died for you in particular, nor in a belief that you are a Christian, or that you ever shall be, or that your sins are forgiven. But faith is that trust or confidence in God, and in Christ, that commits the whole soul to him in all his relations to us. It is a voluntary trust in his person, his veracity, his word. This was the faith of Abraham. He had that confidence in what God said, which led him to act as if it were true. This is the way the apostle illustrates it in the eleventh of Hebrews. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” And he goes on to illustrate it by various examples. “Through faith we understand that the worlds were made,” that is, we believe this, and act accordingly. Take the case of Noah. Noah was warned of God of things not seen as yet, that is, he was assured that God was going to drown the world, and he believed it, and acted accordingly; he prepared an ark to save his family, and by so doing, he condemned the world that would not believe; his actions gave evidence that he was sincere. Abraham, too, was called of God to leave his country, with the promise that he should be the gainer by it, and he obeyed and went out, without knowing where he should go. Read the whole chapter and you will find many instances of the same kind. The whole design of the chapter is to illustrate the nature of faith, and to show that it invariably results in action. The sinner should have it explained to him, and be made to see that the faith which the Gospel requires is just that confidence in Christ which leads him to act on what he says as a certain fact. This is believing in Christ,

3. Another direction proper to be given to the sinner is that he should give his heart to God. God says, “My son, give me thine heart.” But here also there needs to be explanation, to make him understand what it is. It is amazing that there should be any darkness here. It is the language of common 352life, in everybody’s mouth, and everybody understands just what it means, when we use it in regard to any thing else. But when it comes to religion, they seem to be all in the dark. Ask a sinner, no matter what may be his age, or education, what it means to give the heart to God, and, strange as it may appear, he is at a loss for an answer. Ask a woman what it is to give her heart to her husband, or a man what it is to give his heart to his wife, and they understand it. But then they are totally blind as to giving their hearts to God. I suppose I have asked more than a thousand anxious sinners this question. When I have told them they must give their hearts to God, they would always say they were willing to do it, and, sometimes, that they were anxious to do it, and even seem to be in an agony of desire about it. Then I have asked them what they understood to be giving their hearts to God, as they were so willing to do it. And very seldom have I received a correct or rational answer from a sinner of any age. I have sometimes had the strangest answers that can be imagined—anything but what they ought to say. Now, to give your heart to God is the same thing as to give your heart to anybody else; the same as for a woman to give her heart to her husband. Ask that woman if she understands this? “Oh, yes, that is plain enough, it is to place my affections on him, and strive to please him in everything.” Very well, place your affections on God, and strive to please him in everything. But alas, when they come to the subject of religion, people suppose there is some wonderful mystery about it. Some talk as if they supposed it was to take out this bundle of muscles, or fleshy organ, in their bosom, and give it to God. Sinner, what God asks of you is, that you should love him supremely.

3. Submit to God, is also a proper direction to anxious sinners. And, Oh, how dark sinners are here too. Scarcely a sinner can be found, who will not tell you he is willing to submit to God. But they do not understand it. They need to be told what true submission is. Sometimes they think it means that they should be willing to be damned. Sometimes they place themselves in this attitude, and call it submission; they say, if they are elected, they shall be saved, and if not, they shall be damned. This is not submission. True submission, is yielding obedience to God. Suppose a rebel, in arms against the government, was called on to submit. What would he understand by it? Why, that he should yield the point, and lay down his arms, and obey the laws. That is just what it means, for a sinner to submit to God. He must cease his strife and conflict against his Maker, 353and take the attitude of a willing and obedient child, willing to be and do whatever God requires. “Here, Lord, am I; Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”

Suppose a company of soldiers had rebelled, and Government had an army to put them down, and had driven them into a strong hold, where they were out of provisions, and had no way to escape, and they should not know what to do. Suppose the rebels to have met in this extremity, to consider what is to be done? and one rises up, and says, “Well, comrades, I am convinced we are all wrong from the beginning, and now the reward of our deeds is like to overtake us, and we cannot escape, and as for remaining here to die, I am resolved not to do it. I am going to throw myself on the mercy of the commander-in-chief.” That man submits. He ceases, from that moment, to be a rebel in his heart, just as soon as he comes to this conclusion. So it is with the sinner when he yields the point, and consents in his heart to do, and be, whatever God shall require. The sinner may be in doubt what to do, and may feel afraid to put himself in God’s hands, thinking that if he does, perhaps God will send him down to hell, as he deserves. But it is his business to leave all that question with God, and not resist his Maker any longer, but give all up to God, make no conditions, and trust it wholly to God’s benevolence and wisdom to decide what shall be done, and to appoint his future condition. Until you do this, sinner, you have done nothing to the purpose.

5. Another proper direction to be given to sinners, is to confess and forsake your sins. This means that they should both confess and forsake them. They must confess to God their sins against God, and confess to men their sins against men, and forsake them all. A man does not forsake his sins till he has made all the reparation in his power. If he has stolen money, or defrauded his neighbor out of property, he does not forsake his sins by merely resolving not to steal any more, or not to cheat again; he must make reparation to the extent of his power. So, if he has slandered any one, he does not forsake his sin by merely saying he will not do so again. He must make reparation. So, in like manner, if he has robbed God, as all sinners have, he must make reparation, as far as he has the power. Suppose a man has made money in rebellion against God, and has withheld from him his time, talents and service, has lived and rioted upon the bounties of his providence, and refused to lay himself out for the salvation of the world; he has robbed God. Now, if he should die feeling that this money was his own, and should he 354leave it to his heirs without consulting the will of God—why, he is just as certain to go to hell as the highway robber. He has never made any satisfaction to God. With all his whining and pious talk, he has never confessed HIS SIN to God, nor forsaken his sin, for he has never felt nor acknowledged himself to be the steward of God. If he refuses to hold the property in his possession, as the steward of God; if he accounts it his own, and as such gives it to his children, he says, in effect, to God. “That property is not yours, it is mine, and I will give it to my children.” He has continued to persevere in his sin, for he does not relinquish the ownership of that of which he has robbed God.