New Testament conversions, their manifoldness...

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Preface

THE history of this volume of sermons is soon told. Daring his pastorates, East and West, the writer was frequently consulted by members of his congregation regarding the validity of their conversion. After witnessing a revival of religion or listening to the experience of those converted at such a season, they often entertained doubts as to the genuineness of their own conversion. They had accepted the general impression that the means which arrest the sinner's attention, the path through which he is led to the Cross, aud the feelings experienced on accepting the Saviour, are exactly the same in all cases. The writer has spent many an hour in prayer and in efforts to convince such that men are not all converted in the same way, made to pass through the same struggles, or to experience the same joys. This has seemed to many like a new revelaton. It has brought them from painful bondage to the liberty of the children of God.

This pastoral experience suggested the propriety of preparing a series of discourses on 5

6 PREFACE.

the different phases of conversion. To remove every doubt as to the correctness of the truths presented, conversions recorded in the New Testament alone were selected as the themes. From the attendance at church and the interest manifested by the secular press, it became evident that the subject was one of more than ordinary interest. The discourses were reported almost verbatim and published in one of the leading journals of the city. Since then they have been rewritten from the stenographic reports and, the author hopes, materially improved. Repeated requests have been received that they should be put into a permanent form for the benefit of the many who feel troubled about the genuineness of their conversion. Compliance with this request has led me to throw this new volume upon the public.

The conversions considered in this volume are arranged in four classes, according to peculiarities common to the members of each. The first class comprises men who had been religiously reared, but differently situated in after life. The first sermon is on the conversion of the disciples who were not only religiously reared, but who also enjoyed the pungent preaching of John the Baptist. The second is on the conversion of a son of Abraham who had gone far astray from the faith of his fathers; and the third is on the conversion of an Israelite religiously reared, but who, through

PKEFACE. 7

bodily infirmities, bad been deprived of many of the privileges which others enjoyed. The second class comprises three women, one of whom was an afflicted member of the Jewish Church, another belonged to a heretical sect, and the third was a heathen, conscious of not being one of the chosen people. The third class comprises two men, one wrecked in body and in mind by his dissipated life, and the other a malefactor drawing his la§t breath on the cross. The fourth class comprises three who occupied a very different position from all the others, both in society and in the world. One was the prime minister of a great monarch ; the second was a member of the most illustrious family of Rome ; and the third was the greatest genius of his age.

As these discourses have been largely prepared for the press from stenographic reports, it has been impossible to give credit by name to all those from whose writings extracts have been taken. It is not claimed that even quotation marks have been always put when the expressions of others have been incorporated. The aim of the author has not been to be original and novel, but useful to every one who asks, " Am I his or am I not ?"

Chapter i. THE CONVERSION OF THE RELIGIOUSLY- REARED ANDREW AND JOHN

John i. 37-50 : "And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus."

THE only entrance into the kingdom of heaven is through regeneration. The announcement of this fact perplexes and even discourages many sincere seekers after it. It causes them to ask such questions as, " Is every renewed person required to know the time, the place and the order of his spiritual birth ? " " Must he be able to tell the arresting means, the convicting truth and the hour of deliverance ? "

These questions arise from the mistaken idea that all men are converted in the same manner, pass through the same struggles and experience the same joys. Those who have fallen into this mistake conclude that, if they have not taken the same steps and felt the same agony of soul as those whom they have heard tell their experience, they have not been born again. They often become troubled in mind if they do not pronounce themselves selfdeceived. Thus multitudes of God's children deny themselves for years the comforts of religion and deprive the Church of years of valuable service.

A careful examination of the conversions described in the New Testament will show that they differed from each other both in the means employed and in the feelings experienced. The conversion of the disciples who had been John's followers presents nothing startling in the means emplo} T ed, the mental process through which the} 7 passed, or in their outward conduct. This is not strange when it is remembered that they had been reared religiously, made to obey the commandments, trained to live moral lives, led to pass through the baptism of repentance and taught to look for the coming of the Messiah. The conversion of Zaccheus, on the other hand, was very different. He had disregarded the demands of the law and abandoned the religious practices of the true Israel; he had become thoroughly identified with the world and lived like the heathen around him. He was suddenly arrested in a life of extortion, and brought to confess his sins and to begin to live a better life. The conversion of the thief on the cross was different from both. He had lived the desperate life of a thief or a murderer. Spiritual things had found no place in his life or thoughts. The words of Christ on the cross, like the strains of celestial music, were probably the first means that softened his heart. The hand nailed to the cursed tree snatched him as a brand from the burning. His exclamation, " Lord, remember me," shows that he found the Saviour at the last moment. His conviction, conversion and sanctification were almost synchronous. The conversion of Cornelius, whilst it was not accompanied by any special outward demonstration, was a great surprise. The power that could bring a proud Roman to the feet of the humble Nazarene must have been above anything earthly. The bringing of a member of the haughty Cornelian family to mingle with Jewish peasants and Galilean fishermen marked a change of views and feelings which none but God could effect. The conversion of Saul of Tarsus was in most of its features miraculous — the very kind of conversion looked for, unfortunately, by the majority of unregenerate men. He was arrested in his wild career of persecution and smitten to the ground by light from heaven ; he was struck with blindness and made to hear the voice of Jesus saying, " Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" He listened to the heavenly voice which changed the whole current of his life. After experiencing such a conversion he found no difficulty in remembering the day, the means, or the circumstances connected with it.

Similar varieties of conversion are witnessed in our own day. The carefully instructed and religiously reared are often brought to Christ like the disciples, without anything to mark the time or the means. President Edwards states that he could not remember when he was brought to Christ. Thousands like him have no more knowledge of the day of their spiritual than they have of the day of their natural birth. There are many, on the other hand, who can tell, in the words of another, the exact time of it, " Giving the day and the date, the hour, the providence, the place, the text, the preacher, and all the circumstances connected with it. They can show the arrow which, shot from some bow drawn at a venture, pierced the joints of their armor and quivered in their heart. They can show the pebble from the brook that, slung it may be by a youthful hand, but directed by God, was buried in the forehead of their giant sin. They can show the word that prostrated their soul and — some truth of Scripture — the salve that healed the sore, the balm that stanched the blood, and the bandage that Christ's own hands wrapped on the bleeding wounds. Able to trace the steps of the whole process of their conversion, its most minute details, they can say with David : ' Come and hear, all ye that fear the Lord, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.'"

Inability to recall the moment when our hearts were changed, or to tell the circumstances which led to it, or to describe the joy T\hich followed, is no cause of discouragement. None of us can tell when or where the first faint steel-graj^ gleam of morn appears, though we turn our faces to the East and our backs to the setting sun; we know it only after the' day has appeared. In like manner thousands of Christians can only say with the man in the gospel, u "Whereas I was blind, now I see." They are conscious of the presence of a life that they did not once possess throbbing within them in feelings and acts of godliness. Consciousness of their spiritual existence is all the proof men need of their birth into Christ's kingdom.

In this series of discourses it will be shown that every conversion is a new conversion; that is to say, it is different in some of its aspects from every one that has gone before or that will follow. The structure of men's minds is different, the individual bias is different, the training is different, the surrounding circumstances are different, and the effects of the change are different, though conversion itself is in every case genuine. No one, therefore, should feel discouraged when he fails to find much in common between his own experience and that of his pious neighbors. In our treatment of New Testament conversions we shall endeavor to correct the error that the circumstances, the means used and the outward effects of conversion are in all cases the same.

The subject of this discourse is " The Conversion of the Religiously-Reared Andrew and John."

These disciples had followed the Baptist into the wilderness, where they heard words which proved like a hammer, breaking in pieces their flinty hearts and piercing like a flame of fire their hidden thoughts. Though they had been brought up religiously, yet not until John came did they learn the awful character of the law of Sinai or see its full purity or grandeur. Under the Baptist's preaching they realized their guilt and felt their need of the Lamb of God now pointed out to them.

Notice, first, what men of this character are required to do in order to enter the kingdom of God. Three things are here mentioned, namely, coming to Christ, trusting his saving power, and following him through evil and good report. Recognizing the valuable preparation which they had received under the preaching of his forerunner, the Saviour invited Andrew and John to visit his abode. Mark the breadth and beauty of this invitation, "Come and see"; not to one brief interview, not to a desultory conversation, not to one passing hour of fellowship in -which they might listen to his words, but to see, to know, ancl to live with him. The same invitation is still sent to all who have not found him.

What encouragement and promise are contained in the word "see." It implies that the deepest longing of the human heart is to see Jesus. The Greeks who had heard of him cried, " We would see Jesus." To see him is to have one's inquiring soul satisfied. There are, however, degrees of seeing him. Great was the glory of Him which was seen by Moses on the Mount, but greater was that beheld by Andrew and John as they accompanied him to the place of his abode. The entire Christian life may be included in the act of seeing Jesus — seeing him under his own guidance; seeing his glory day by day ; seeing his divine kindness in providing for their wants and in watching over their steps; seeing the blessings of the covenant sealed by his blood ; seeing here the privileges of his spiritual kingdom, and seeing in the dim distance some of the glory still to be revealed.

Those who are religiously reared are not only to come to where Jesus dwells, but to trust him for their salvation. Finding Simon, Andrew's brother, the two disciples announced to him the wonderful discovery they had made : "We have found the Messiah," and have committed to him our keeping. This simple declaration must have brought to the mind of Simon multitudes of facts and incidents already familiar to him. It may have suggested to him the first promise ; the majesty of that wonderful night when Jehovah appeared unto Abraham on the open plains and showed him the sky with its myriad stars, and gave him the promise of one who should redeem Israel ; of the glorious manifestation of God's interest in his people in bringing them out of their Egyptian bondage by the hand of Moses, and of the bright star which cast its sweet light on the plains of Moab. Can it be that the glorious One whose advent is repeatedly foretold has at last come to earth? Has my own ln*other seen him and committed to him his keeping ?

The revelation of Christ to those who have been religiously reared in our day brings to mind many passages of Scripture with a significance and vividness they never had before. In this new light they connect Jesus with the salvation of their own souls and cast on him their all for time and eternity. It is only when they find themselves safe in the arms of Jesus that their hearts are melted, and the snows of the long winter of their unbelief are dissolved into sweet waters, which now, freed from their icy chains, flow with music in their ripples and fruitfulness in their path through their lately bare and barren lives. They now see that there is no spiritual life without vital connection with the Son of God.

The disciples not only went to see Jesus and intrusted to him their all, but they left the world to follow him. " Straightway they forsook their nets and followed him." Ko mention is here made of a remonstrance or hesitation. INTot one of them asked if he might once more cast his nets into the sea, or have a day to mend them, or a few hours to dry those which had just been pulled out of the deep. They heard the call and instantly obeyed it. The voice of Jesus is the same to every one of us, and our reply should be identical with that of Andrew and John. We must not ask his permission to weave any more righteousness of our own, or to patch our character that it may present a better appearance to the world, or to go any longer through the dull round of religious ceremonies which we may have mistaken for walking with God. We must straightway follow him.

Secondly, men are not all brought to do this in the same manner. In the text is set forth the way in which those who have been religiously reared are brought to Christ. Andrew and John had from childhood correct theoretical knowledge of God's demands; they had lived, to all human appearance, religious lives, and had been roused by the preaching of John to look beyond the shadow to the substance, s beyond the form to the reality, beyond the abstract doctrine to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. All enjoyed those privileges and heard the voice of Jesus inviting them. All still, no matter how great their privileges or correct their lives, how deep their conviction of sin or vivid their sense of guilt, must hear the voice of Jesus and obey. None will take a single step towards Christ until they hear his voice. The faintest longing after him, the first tear of penitence that trickles clown the cheek, the first cry of the soul for rest and the first motion towards Christ result from hearing his voice. Have 3 t ou, dear reader, experienced tender feelings towards him ; felt the tear of penitence moistening the eye, or a secret prompting of the soul to follow him ? That is the echo of his voice speaking in the depth of your heart. It is an emotion born of God. It is the first breath from the four winds passing over the valley of dry bones in your soul. It may be the first pulsation of the new life within. It may be feeble ; it may be only a whisper darting through the soul like a flash of lightning, a faint longing after God — it is nevertheless born- from above. Stop not there, but ask the Saviour to quicken this spark into a flame. Seek the godly sorrow which worketh repentance not to be repented of. Let nothing make you linger ; cast aside every hindrance and break through all the barriers in your way to Jesus' arms. The heavenly messenger who is now calling may never issue another invitation.

Simon was brought to Christ by his own brother, Andrew. This presents to us a very suggestive thought. Instead of going first to tell the story of his discovery to the multitudes without, who are perishing for the lack of knowledge, he went first to his own household. In this he followed the order of nature as well as of grace. The conversion of the man who overlooks the perishing among his own relatives and friends, and goes immediately after the distant ones, is not Scriptural in his conduct. It is not natural to feel anxious for the souls of those whom we have never seen and be indifferent towards those among whom we live. If you, reader, have found Jesus, go at once to those who are near and dear to 3 ou and tell them that you have found the Messiah. Bid them " Come and see." Then go after the outside world with the same zeal.

"The clay following, Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me." There is apparent imperiousness in this command, but no apology is offered. Jesus does not give Philip time to deliberate or hours for decision. He listens to no plea for delay nor entertains an excuse. The command is, " Follow me." It is thus that Christ speaks to every one. He may find us, as he found Philip, busily engaged in worldly pursuits and fully occupied with family affairs or household duties, and says, " Follow me." He tells us that his claim is paramount to that of all others, admitting of no delay. " Follow me " is heard above the voice of pleasure and the clatter of worldly cares. When the request, " Let me first bury my father," is made, Christ's reply is, " Let the dead bury the dead." " Follow thou me."

The feeling w T hich prompted Andrew to go after Simon now prompted Fhilip to go after Nathanael. But he found his mind full of questionings and misgivings. He did not, however, stop to reason with him regarding the causes of his perplexities. He entered into no controversy about the probability or the improbability of any good coming out of Nazareth. He met his doubts and fears with the kindly invitation, " Come and see." Nathanael followed Jesus and, in following him, his doubts disappeared, his difficulties passed away, and the light of assurance concerning the identity of the Messias dawned upon his soul.

Are you, dear reader, troubled with doubts and fears? Has the poisonous arrow of unbelief penetrated your soul ? Has the cloud of disappointment eclipsed your faith or intervened between you and the light of } T our Father's countenance ? Waste no time in surveying the intricate fields of apologetics. Do not weary your soul with efforts to solve the dark problems of providence. Follow Jesus and all will be well. Are you, like Martha, troubled about many things? Do crosses multiply? Has God's providence hedged your way so that you know not how to proceed ? Follow Jesus, and the path of duty will be made plain, rays of heavenly love will dart through the clouds which now obstruct your vision.

The call of Jesus to Andrew and John, Simon, Philip and Nathanael was to them the dawn of a new and better day. It broke upon their view whilst the rest of the world was as yet sleeping the sleep of death. But by degrees the true Israel, who had heard the voice of the harbinger and had long waited for the promised redemption, saw tbe rising of the Sun of Righteousness and rejoiced. At last the bridegroom for whom they had been looking came. He met and recognized the bride. The bride finally met and recognized the bridegroom. She listened to his voice and obeyed his call. He appeared to them meek and lowly. His royalty was as yet concealed. The glory which he had had with the Father was veiled in human flesh ; nevertheless, he attracted to himself all whom the Father had given him. All who had been prepared by God through the prophecies, the types and the shadows ; by the preaching of the law and the baptism of John, followed him. They found in him the fulfillment of the prophecies, the substance of the shadows, and the realization of the hopes and longings of God's people in all ages.

Are you, impenitent reader, satisfied "with your bare morality and the performance of a meaningless round of religious duties? Are you still unable to see the need of an3'thing more than an upright conduct? Has not God spoken to you through his providence, his Word and Spirit ? Has he not awakened doubts in regard to the safety of your present attitude of mind and heart? Has he not, through the preaching of the word, the faith of a friend, a wife or a mother, shown you that something more is needed? Has he not stirred up some longings after like faith and communion with God with that of loved ones gone to glory? Hear, this moment, the voice of the Baptist, saying, " Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world." That Lamb is the Christ. It is the long-looked-for Alessias. It is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the ending. He says to you, " Follow me," " Come and see." Remain no longer under the teachings of the law r or in the school of morality. Having worshiped long enough in the outer court, accept at once the invitation to " Come and see." Believe Christ's word, seek his fellowship, and see that your name is enrolled among his followers.

As soon as Andrew comprehended the full meaning of the invitation, " Come and see," he uttered the jubilant cry, "We have found the Christ." This stirred the heart of Philip to reecho the same. Nathanael took up the strain which was passing from lip to lip, and added, " We have found him of whom Moses and the prophets did write." This set the hearts of all who believed on fire and filled their lips with praise. So let it be with you, dear reader. Let 3'our cry be, " Jesus, Jesus only ; " Jesus in my heart as the hope of glory ; Jesus in my affections as the one altogether lovely ; Jesus on my tongue as the only subject of praise : Jesus in my life as my present and eternal righteousness ; Jesus in my death as the Friend that sticketh closer than a brother, and Jesus in my heavenly joys as my all and in all.

Chapter ii. THE CONVERSION OF A RICH TAX GATHERER-ZACCHEUS

Luke xix. 5, 6 : " Zaccheus, make haste, and come down ; for to-day I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully."

THE disciples whose conversion was considered in our last, lived in the quiet hamlets that dotted the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Their calling was that of fishermen, which was held in high repute among the Jews. They had not been contaminated by the dissipation of societ} 7 or by the corruption of wealth in large and royal cities like Jericho. Zaccheus, on the other hand, was born and reared amid the pomp and splendor, the vice and temptations of the Herodian capital which was called " the city of fragrance," because the whole plain was covered with aromatic shrubs; " the city of roses," because the valley of the Jordan looked in the spring like a sea whipped into foam, and " the city of palm trees," because 24 the whole region abounded in richer vegetation than that found in any other part of Palestine. At this time, Jericho was able to boast of the royal palace of Herod Antipas and of the gorgeous abodes of his courtiers. It formed the golden key which unlocked Palestine and the Mediterranean to the nations of the East. Its population was about one hundred thousand souls, exclusive of the pilgrims who stopped there for a season on their way home from observing the Jewish passover.

Zaccheus not only lived in a place fall of temptations, but he occupied a position peculiarly tiying to his religious principles, so far as he had any. He was the chief of the publicans — an office of considerable importance under the Roman government. A publican was the collector of the imperial taxes. The methods used by the Romans of collecting them, in a city like Jericho, was to farm them out ; that is, to bind the officer to pay a certain sum to the government, with the understanding that he was entitled to all he could exact from the people. Under such circumstances a most favorable opportunity was afforded him for extortion, fraud and violence. The strongest temptation was thus laid in the publican's way to become rich by what the sacred penman calls " false accusation."

Zaccheus was not onl} T a native of Jericho, and the chief of the tax gatherers, but he was rich. It is not stated whether his wealth was accumulated by his own efforts or fell to bim by inheritance. The inference from the record is that be made most of it himself, and a large portion perhaps by extortion.

The subject to which 3 r our attention is invited is " The Conversion of a Rich Tax Gatherer — Zaccheus."

Notice first, the obstacles in the way of his conversion. These were mainly three ; viz., local, circumstantial and associational ; m other words, they sprang from the three sources referred to in the text, namely, the place where he lived, the office which he held, and the social position he occupied in the community.

The place in which he lived exposed him to three temptations. First, to a low estimate of the religion of his fathers. Jericho was a city of priests, who were at this time exceedingly corrupt. Consequently, the publicans concluded that a religion which had such men to minister at her altars was not of much value, if it was from God. On the same principle the people of Rome judge in our day of the Christian religion from the priests whose lives are known to all who observe them.

Zaccheus was exposed also to the paralysis arising from breathing the foulest atmosphere of home and foreign corruption. Jericho was not only a city of priests, but of all sorts of people, many of whom were among the most degraded of the nations. On account of its location, wealth and royal splendor, Jericho became the home of the Roman tax gatherers and extortioners generally. Through their wealth and numbers they commanded a larger amount of respect than they were really entitled to. For their low morally did not appear in as glaring a light there as it would have done in Jerusalem or Capernaum.

Zaccheus was further exposed to the temptations of gayety and licentiousness. In Jericho, Herod the Great lived and displayed his wealth and extravagance. The conduct of the king and his courtiers was naturally imitated by all who could afford it, and even by manjr, as in our own day, who could not afford it. This led the ambitious and unscrupulous to all kinds of expedients to amass riches in order to make a display.

Not only the place in which Zaccheus lived, but also the office he held, exposed him to temptations. First, to extortion — a practice which degraded him even in his own eyes. He knew that the only redress open to an overtaxed people was an appeal to law, in which their chance of redress was slender before a tribunal of which the judge was a heathen and the gatherer an unscrupulous official of the Roman government. This comparative freedom from detection was a temptation to indulge in dishonest}'' and fraud.