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diff --git a/old/51931-0.txt b/old/51931-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index ee1db4a..0000000 --- a/old/51931-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3209 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of How to bring men to Christ, by R. A. Torrey - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: How to bring men to Christ - -Author: R. A. Torrey - -Release Date: May 1, 2016 [EBook #51931] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOW TO BRING MEN TO CHRIST *** - - - - -Produced by Heiko Evermann, Lisa Anne Hatfield and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This book was produced from scanned images of public -domain material from the Google Books project.) - - - - - - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes - - -Italic text enclosed with _underscores_. - -Bold text enclosed with =equal signs=. - -Small–caps replaced by ALL CAPS. - -More notes appear at the end of the file. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - HOW TO BRING MEN TO CHRIST - - BY - - R. A. TORREY - - _Superintendent Chicago Bible Institute_ - - - CHICAGO: - - THE BIBLE INSTITUTE COLPORTAGE ASSOCIATION - - 250 LA SALLE AVE. - - Eastern Depot: East Northfield, Mass. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - _JUST PUBLISHED. By the same Author._ - - =Vest Pocket Companion for Christian Workers.= - - The best texts for personal work. Classified for practical use, - printed in full, and arranged for ready reference. - - From Mr. Torrey’s preface: - - “There is medicine in the Bible for every sin–sick soul, but - every soul does not need the same medicine. This book attempts - to arrange the remedies according to the maladies.” - - 120 pages, bound in Russia leather in vest pocket size, price 25 - cents. - - _Fleming H. Revell Company, Publishers_, - NEW YORK. CHICAGO. TORONTO. - - - - - Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1893 - BY FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY - In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington D. C. - - - - - _By the same Author._ - - =Ten Reasons Why I Believe the Bible is the Word =.15= - of God. 16mo., paper= - - - “Masterful.”―_Indiana Baptist._ - - “Of sterling excellence.”―_Christian at Work._ - - “Thoughtful, helpful and timely.”―_Golden Rule._ - - “It gives in clear and comprehensive style a cogent argument for - the complete inspiration and absolute authority of the Bible. - Because of its terseness and freedom from technical expressions - it will form a useful compendium of information for Christian - workers.”―_Messiah’s Herald._ - - _Fleming H. Revell Company, Publishers._ - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - PREFACE - - -This book is written because it seems to be needed. The author has been -repeatedly requested by Ministers, Y. M. C. A. Secretaries, Christian -Workers, and his own students to put into a permanent and convenient -shape the substance of what he has said at Conventions, Summer Schools -and in the class–room on personal work. The time has come to yield to -these requests. Never before in the history of the Church were there so -many who desire to win others to Christ. The good work done by the Young -People’s Society of Christian Endeavor is in no other direction so -evident as in the many thousands of young people in this land who to–day -are on fire with a desire to win souls. But while they desire to do this -work, many do not know how. This little book aims to tell them. There -are several well–known and valuable manuals of texts to be used with -inquirers, but this book is intended not only to point out passages to -be used but to show how to use them, illustrating this use by cases from -actual experience. It is hoped that from a careful study of these pages -any earnest Christian can learn how to do efficient work in bringing -others to the Saviour. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - PREFACE. - - CHAPTER. PAGE. - - I. THE GENERAL CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS IN BRINGING MEN TO CHRIST 7 - - II. HOW TO BEGIN 14 - - III. DEALING WITH THE INDIFFERENT OR CARELESS 20 - - IV. DEALING WITH THOSE WHO ARE ANXIOUS TO BE SAVED BUT DO NOT 29 - KNOW HOW - - V. DEALING WITH THOSE WHO ARE ANXIOUS TO BE SAVED AND KNOW 36 - HOW, BUT WHO HAVE DIFFICULTIES - - VI. DEALING WITH THOSE WHO ENTERTAIN FALSE HOPES 50 - - VII. DEALING WITH THOSE WHO LACK ASSURANCE, AND BACK–SLIDERS 57 - - VIII. DEALING WITH PROFESSED SKEPTICS AND INFIDELS 65 - - IX. DEALING WITH THE COMPLAINING 77 - - X. DEALING WITH THOSE WHO WISH TO PUT OFF DECISION UNTIL SOME 83 - OTHER TIME - - XI. DEALING WITH THE WILLFUL AND THE DELUDED 87 - - XII. SOME HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS 94 - - XIII. THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 104 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - HOW TO BRING MEN TO CHRIST - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - THE GENERAL CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS IN BRINGING MEN TO CHRIST - - -There are certain general conditions, the fulfilment of which is -absolutely essential to real success in bringing men to Christ. These -conditions, fortunately, are few and simple and such as any one can -meet. - - -1. _The one who would have real success in bringing others to Christ -must himself be_ A THOROUGHLY CONVERTED PERSON. Jesus said to Peter, -“When thou art _converted_ strengthen thy brethren.” He was in no -position to help his brethren until he himself, after his cowardly -denial, had turned again to his Lord with his whole heart. If we would -bring others to Christ we must turn away from all sin, and worldliness -and selfishness with our whole heart, yielding to Jesus the absolute -lordship over our thoughts, purposes and actions. If there is any -direction in which we are seeking to have our own way and not letting -Him have His own way in our lives, our power will be crippled and men -lost that we might have saved. The application of this principle to the -numerous questions that come up in the life of every young Christian as -to whether he should do this or that, each individual can settle for -himself if Christ’s honor and not his own pleasure is upper–most in his -mind and if he looks honestly to God to guide him. - - -2. _The one who would have real success in bringing others to Christ -must have a_ LOVE FOR SOULS, _i. e._ _a longing for the salvation of the -lost_. If we have no love for souls, our efforts will be mechanical and -powerless. We may know how to approach men and what to say to them, but -there will be no power in what we say and it will not touch the heart. -But if like Paul we have “great heaviness and unceasing pain in our -hearts” for the unsaved, there will be an earnestness in our tone and -manner that will impress the most careless. Furthermore if we have a -love for souls we will be on the constant watch for opportunities to -speak with the unsaved and will find opportunities on the street, in the -store, in the home, on the cars and everywhere that would otherwise have -entirely escaped our notice. - -But how is one to get a love for souls? This question is easily -answered. First of all, a love for souls like every other grace of -Christian character, is the work of the Holy Spirit. If then we are -conscious that we do not have that love for souls that we should have, -the first thing to do is to go to God and humbly confess this lack in -our lives and ask Him by His Holy Spirit to supply that which we so -sorely need, and expect Him to do it (1 Jno. v. 14, 15; Phil. iv. 19). -In the second place Jesus Christ had an intense love for souls (Matt. -xxiii. 37; Luke xix. 10), and intimate and constant companionship with -Him will impart to our lives this grace which was so prominent in His. -In the third place feelings are the outcome of thoughts. If we desire -any given feeling in our lives we should dwell upon the thoughts which -are adapted to produce that feeling. If any saved person will dwell long -enough upon the peril and wretchedness of any man out of Christ and the -worth of his soul in God’s sight as seen in the death of God’s Son to -save him, a feeling of intense desire for that man’s salvation is almost -certain to follow. In the fourth place, reflection upon our own ruined -and unhappy condition without Christ and the great sacrifice that Christ -made to save us, is sure to fill our hearts with a desire to bring -others to the Saviour we have found. - - -3. _The one who would have real success in bringing men to Christ must -have a_ WORKING KNOWLEDGE OF THE BIBLE. The Word of God is the sword of -the Spirit (Eph. vi. 17). It is the instrument God uses to convict of -sin, to reveal Christ and to regenerate men. If we would work together -with God, the Bible is the instrument upon which we must rely and which -we must use in bringing men to Christ. We must know how to use the Bible -so as (1) to show men their need of a Saviour, (2) to show them Jesus as -the Saviour they need, (3) to show them how to make this Saviour their -own Saviour, (4) to meet the difficulties that stand in the way of their -accepting Christ. A large part of the following pages will be devoted to -imparting this knowledge. - - -4. _The one who would have real success in bringing men to Christ must_ -PRAY MUCH. Solid work in soul winning must be accompanied by prayer at -every step. (1). We must pray God to lead us to the right persons to -approach. God does not intend that we speak to every one we meet. If we -try to do it, we will waste much valuable time in speaking to those whom -we cannot help, that we might have used in speaking to those to whom we -could have done much good. God alone knows the one to whom He intends us -to speak, and we must ask Him to point him out to us, and, expect Him to -do it. (Acts viii. 29). (2). We must pray God to show us just what to -say to those to whom He leads us. After all our study of the passages to -be used in dealing with the various classes of men, we shall need God’s -guidance in each specific case. Every experienced worker will testify to -the many instances in which God has led them to use some text of -Scripture that they would not otherwise have used but which proved to be -just the one needed. (3). We must pray God to give power to that which -He has given us to say. We need not only a message from God but power -from God to send the message home. Most workers have to learn this -lesson by humiliating experiences. They sit down beside an unsaved man -and reason and plead and bring forth texts from the word of God, but the -man does not accept Christ. At last it dawns upon them that they are -trying to convert the man in their own strength and then they lift an -humble and earnest prayer to God for his strength, and God hears and in -a short time this “very difficult case” has settled the matter and is -rejoicing in Christ. (4). We must pray God to carry on the work after -our work has come to an end. After having done that which seems to have -been our whole duty in any given instance, whatever may have been the -apparent issue of our work, whether successful or unsuccessful, we -should definitely commit the case to God in prayer. If there is anything -the average worker in this hurrying age needs to have impressed upon -him, it is the necessity of more prayer. By praying more we will not -work any less and we will accomplish vastly more. - - -5. _The one who would have real success in bringing men to Christ must -be_ “BAPTIZED WITH THE HOLY GHOST.” “Ye shall receive power after that -the Holy Ghost, is come upon you,” said Jesus to his disciples after -having given them the great commission to go out and bring men to -Himself. The supreme condition of soul winning power is the same to–day: -“after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.” A later chapter will be -given to a study of what “the Baptism of the Holy Ghost” is and how any -Christian can obtain it. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - HOW TO BEGIN - - -When God has led us to think that He wishes us to make an effort to lead -some given individual to Christ, the first question that confronts us -is, “How shall I begin?” If the person has gone into an inquiry room, or -remained to an after–meeting, or even if they are merely present at -prayer–meeting, Sunday–school or other ordinary service of the church, -it is comparatively easy. You can then ask him if he is a Christian, or -if he would not like to be a Christian, or why he is not a Christian or -some other direct and simple question that will lead inevitably to a -conversation along this line. But if the person is one in whom you have -become interested outside the religious meeting and who is perhaps an -entire stranger, it does not at first sight appear so simple, and yet it -is not so very difficult. The person can be engaged in conversation on -some general topic or on something suggested by passing events, and soon -brought around to the great subject. Christ’s conversation with the -woman of Samaria in the 4th chapter of John is a very instructive -illustration of this. Oftentimes even in dealing with entire strangers -it is well to broach the subject at once and ask them if they are -Christians or if they are saved or some similar question. If this is -done courteously and earnestly it will frequently set even careless -people to thinking and result in their conversion. It is astonishing how -often one who undertakes this work in humble dependence upon God and -under His direction, finds the way prepared and how seldom he receives -any rebuff. One day the writer met a man on one of the most crowded -streets of Chicago. As I passed him the impulse came to speak to him -about the Saviour. Stopping a moment and asking God to show me if the -impulse was from Him, I turned around and followed the man. I overtook -him in the middle of the street, laid my hand upon his shoulder and -said: “My friend, are you a Christian?” He started and said: “That’s a -strange question to ask a man.” I said, “I know it, and I do not ask -that question of every stranger, but God put it into my heart to ask it -of you.” He then told me that his cousin was a minister and had been -urging this very matter upon him, that he himself was a graduate of -Amherst college, but had been ruined by drink. After further -conversation we separated but later the man accepted Christ as his -Saviour. - -It is often best to win a person’s confidence and affection before -broaching the subject. It is well to select some one and then lay your -plans to win him to Christ. Cultivate his acquaintance, show him many -attentions and perform many acts of kindness great and small and at last -when the fitting moment arrives take up the great question. An old and -thorough going infidel in Chicago was in this way won to Christ by a -young woman, who found him sick and alone. She called day after day and -showed him many kindnesses and as the consumption fastened itself more -firmly upon him she spoke to him of the Saviour and had the joy of -seeing him accept Christ. - -A wisely chosen tract placed in the hand of the one with whom you wish -to speak will often lead easily and naturally to the subject. One day I -was riding on a train and praying that God would use me to lead some one -to His Son. A young lady, daughter of a minister, with whom I had had -some conversation on this subject came in with a friend and took the -seat immediately in front of me. I took out a little bundle of tracts -and selected one that seemed adapted for the purpose and handed it to -her and asked her to read it. As she read, I prayed. When she had -finished, I leaned over and asked her what she thought about it. She was -deeply moved and I asked her if she would not accept Christ right there. -Her difficulties were soon met and answered and she accepted Christ. As -she left the train she thanked me very heartily for what I had done for -her. - -You will often meet some one whose face tells the story of unhappiness -or discontent: in such a case it is easy to ask the person if he is -happy and when he answers “no” you can say, “I can tell you of one who -will make you happy if you will only take Him.” Skill in beginning a -conversation will come with practice. One may be rather awkward about it -at first but as we go on we will acquire facility. - -When the subject is once opened the first thing to find out is where the -person with whom you are dealing stands; then you will know how to -wisely treat his case. In the chapters immediately following this all -the classes of men one is likely to meet will be given, and the first -point to be ascertained is to which class any given individual belongs. -But how can we find out to which class any person belongs? First. By -asking him questions. Such questions as “Are you a Christian?” “Are you -saved?” “Do you know that your sins are forgiven?” “Have you eternal -life?” “Are you confessing Christ openly before the world?” “Are you a -friend of Jesus?” “Have you been born again?” One may answer these -questions untruthfully, either through ignorance or a desire to mislead -you. Nevertheless, their answers and the manner of them will show you a -great deal about their real state. Second. By watching his face. A man’s -face will often reveal that which his words try to conceal. Any one who -cultivates the study of the faces of those with whom he deals will soon -be able to tell in many instances the exact state of those with whom -they are dealing irrespective of anything they may say. Third. By the -Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit if we only look to Him to do it will often -flash into our minds a view of the man’s position, and just the -scripture he needs. - -When we have learned where the person with whom we are dealing stands, -the next thing to do is to lead him as directly as we can to accept -Jesus Christ, as his personal Savior and Master. We must always bear in -mind that the primary purpose of our work, is not to get persons to join -the church or to give up their bad habits or to do anything else than -this, to accept Jesus Christ, as their Saviour—the one who bore their -sins in his own body on the tree and through whom they can have -immediate and entire forgiveness,—and as their Master to whom they -surrender absolutely the guidance of their thoughts, feelings, purposes -and actions. Having led any one to thus accept Christ the next step will -be to show him from God’s word that he has forgiveness of sins and -eternal life. Acts x. 43; xiii. 39; Jno. iii. 36; v. 24, will answer for -this purpose. The next step will be to show him how to make a success of -the Christian life upon which he has entered. How to do this will be -told later. Each person is to be led to accept Christ through a use of -the word of God. In the chapters that immediately follow this we will -try to show what specific portions of the word to use in given cases and -how to use them. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - DEALING WITH THE INDIFFERENT OR CARELESS - - -One of the classes of men most frequently met with, is The Indifferent, -or Careless. There are several ways of dealing with them. One is to show -them their need of a Saviour. A good verse to use for this purpose is -Romans iii. 23. Get the person with whom you are dealing to read the -verse, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Then -say to him: “Who have sinned?” “All.” “Who does that include?” and keep -up the questioning until he says, “It includes me.” Then ask him what it -is that he has done, and keep at it until he comes out plainly and says: -“I have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” This is likely to -make him feel his need of a Saviour. Another good verse to use is Isaiah -liii. 6. After the verse has been read, ask him who it is that has gone -astray and by a series of questions bring him to the point where he will -say, “I have gone astray.” Then ask him what kind of a sheep one is that -has “gone astray” and hold him to it until he says “a lost sheep.” “What -are you then?” “Lost.” Then ask him what the Lord has done with his sin, -and hold him to that point until he sees the truth of the verse, that -God has laid his sin on Jesus Christ. Now, he is in a position for you -to put to him the direct question: “Will you accept this Saviour upon -whom the Lord has laid your sin?” Still another verse to use is Psalms -cxxx. 3. When the verse has been read, ask him, “If the Lord marked -iniquities could you stand?” In dealing with this class of men I use -Matthew xxii. 37, 38 more frequently than any other passage of -Scripture. Before having the person read the verse, it is well to ask -him, “Do you know that you have committed the greatest sin that a man -can commit?” In all probability he will answer, “No, I have not.” Then -ask him what he thinks the greatest sin a man can commit. When he has -answered, say to him, Now let us see what God considers the greatest -sin. Read the verses and ask him, “What is the first and greatest of the -commandments?” Then ask him, “What then is the greatest sin?” He will -soon answer that the violation of the first and greatest of the -commandments must be the greatest sin. Ask him if he has kept that -commandment and when he confesses, as sooner or later he must, that he -has not, ask him of what he is guilty in the sight of God, and hold him -to that point until he admits that he is guilty of committing the -greatest sin that a man can commit. An illustration from life may help -to make the use of this verse clear. I was dealing with a very bright -young man who evidently had no deep sense of sin nor of his need of a -Saviour. In fact when I asked if he was a Christian he said promptly -that he always had been; but there was something in his manner that -showed that he had no clear understanding of what it meant to be a -Christian. I then asked if he had been born again and he did not even -understand what I was talking about. I next asked if he knew he had -committed the greatest sin that a man could possibly commit and he at -once answered, “No, I never did in my life.” I asked what he considered -the greatest sin, and he replied “murder.” I took my Bible and opened it -to Matthew xxii. 37, 38, and asked him to read the verses, which he did. -I then asked him, “If this is the first and greatest commandment, what -must be the greatest sin?” He answered, “I suppose the breaking of that -commandment.” I then asked if he had always kept that commandment, if he -had always loved God with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all -his mind. If he had always put God first in everything. He replied that -he had not. I then asked him, “Of what then are you guilty?” The Spirit -of God carried the text home and with the greatest earnestness he -replied, “I have committed the greatest sin that a man can commit, but I -never saw it before in my life.” Another verse that can be used with -effect is John viii. 34. After the man has read the verse, “Whosoever -committeth sin is the servant of sin,” ask him “what is one who commits -sin?” Then ask him if he commits sin. Then put to him the direct -question, “What are you then,” and hold him to it until he says “the -servant of sin.” Then ask him if he does not desire to be delivered from -that awful bondage. Hold him to this point until he sees his need of -Jesus Christ as a Deliverer from the slavery of sin. The Holy Spirit has -used Isaiah lvii. 21 to the salvation of many men who have been -indifferent to the claims of the Gospel. After the verse, “There is no -peace saith my God to the wicked,” has been read slowly, thoughtfully, -and earnestly, ask him who it is that says this. Then ask him if it is -true; then ask him if it is true in his case. “Have you peace?” One -night a careless young man was going out of one of our tents in Chicago -and as he passed by me I took him by the hand and said to him, “You need -the Saviour.” He wanted to know why I thought so. I replied, “Because -you have no peace.” He said, “Yes I have.” “No you have not.” He then -asked me how I knew that. I told him God said so and quoted the above -passage. He tried to laugh it off and say the verse was not true in his -case. Then he became angry and went out of the tent in a rage, but the -next night I saw him kneeling with one of our workers in prayer and when -he arose from his knees, the worker came over and said he wished to -speak with me. As I approached him he held out his hand and said, “I -wanted to beg your pardon for what I said last night; what you said was -true, I didn’t have peace.” I asked him if he had now accepted the -Saviour. He said he had. - -Galatians iii. 10 is a verse which we very frequently use in our work in -dealing with the Indifferent. After the one with whom you are dealing -has read the verse, “For as many as are of the works of the law are -under the curse; for it is written cursed is every one that continueth -not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them” -ask him the question, “What is every one that continueth not in all -things which are written in the book of the law to do them?” When he -answers, “Cursed,” ask him if he has continued in all things which are -written in the book of the law to do them and when he replies, “No, I -have not,” put to him the direct question, “What are you then?” and hold -him to that point until he says, “I am under the curse.” In very many -cases the inquirer will be ready at once to be led to the thirteenth -verse of the same chapter which shows how he may be saved from that -curse under which he rests. Romans vi. 23 can often be used with good -effect. “For the wages of sin is death.” Ask “what are the wages of -sin?” Then, “who earns those wages?” Then, “Are you a sinner?” “What -wages then have you earned?” “Do you wish to take your wages?” John iii. -36 is a verse which can be used in a similar way. Ask the question, -“Upon whom is it that the wrath of God abides?” Then, “Do you believe on -the Son?” “What then abides upon you?” Then put the decisive question, -“Are you willing to go away with the wrath of God abiding upon you?” -2 Thes. i. 7‒9, and John viii. 24; Rev. xx. 15; xxi. 8; xiv. 10‒11, set -forth in a most impressive way the awful consequences of sin. If these -verses are used they should be read with the deepest earnestness and -solemnity and dwelt upon until the person with whom you are dealing -realizes their terrible import. - -There is another way to arouse a man from his indifference, and that is -by showing what Jesus has done for him. I have found Isaiah liii. 5‒6 -more effectual for this purpose than any other passage in the Bible. An -incident from life will illustrate its use. A lady had asked prayers for -her daughter, a young woman about twenty years of age. At the close of -the services I stepped up to the daughter and asked her if she would not -accept Jesus Christ as her Saviour at once. She stamped her foot in -anger and said, “My mother should have known better than to do that; she -knows it will only make me worse.” I asked her if she would not sit down -for a few minutes and as soon as we were seated I opened my Bible to -this passage and began to read, “But he was wounded for our -transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of -our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like -sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the -Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” I made no comment upon -the verses whatever, but the Spirit of God carried them home and tears -began to roll down the cheeks of the young woman. She did not come out -as a Christian that night but did shortly afterward. It is well in using -these verses, whenever it is possible, to get the inquirer to change the -pronoun from the plural to the singular. “He was wounded for _my_ -transgressions; he was bruised for _my_ iniquities, etc.” John iii. 16 -can be used in a similar way. I was talking one night to one who was -apparently most indifferent and hardened. She told me the story of her -sin, with seemingly very little sense of shame, and when I urged her to -accept Christ, she simply refused. I put a Bible in her hands and asked -her to read this verse. She began to read, “God so loved the world that -He gave His only begotten Son,” and before she had finished reading the -verse she had broken into tears, softened by the thought of God’s -wondrous love to her. First Peter ii. 24 is a verse of similar -character. Ask the inquirer whose sins they were that Jesus bore in his -own body on the tree, and hold him to it until he says, “My sins.” -1 Peter i. 18‒19; Luke xxii. 44; Matt. xxvii. 46, are useful as bringing -out in detail what Christ has suffered for us. - -There is still another way to arouse indifferent persons, and that is by -showing them that the one damning sin is that of which they themselves -are guilty—the sin of rejecting Jesus Christ. Heb. x. 28‒29 is very -effective for this purpose. John xvi. 9; iii. 18, 19, 20, and Acts ii. -36 can also be used. - -Oftentimes you will meet one who is not willing to sit down and let you -deal with him in this deliberate way. In that case the only thing to do -is to look up to God for guidance and power and give him some pointed -verse in great earnestness, such for example as Heb. x. 28‒29; Romans -vi. 23; John iii. 36; Isaiah lvii. 21, and leave it for the Spirit of -God to carry the truth home to his heart. A passing shot of this kind -has often resulted in the salvation of a soul. The passages given above -can be wisely used with one who is not altogether indifferent or -careless but who has not a sufficiently deep sense of sin and need to be -ready to accept the Gospel. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - DEALING WITH THOSE WHO ARE ANXIOUS TO BE SAVED BUT DO NOT KNOW HOW - - -There is a very large class of persons who are anxious to be saved but -simply do not know how. It is not difficult to lead this class of -persons to Christ. Perhaps no other passage in the Bible is more used -for this purpose than Isaiah liii. 6. It makes the way of salvation very -plain. Read the first part of the verse to the inquirer, “All we like -sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way.” Then -ask, “Is that true of you,” and when he has thought it over and said -“yes,” then say to him, “Now let us see what God has done with your -sins,” and read the remainder of the verse, “And the Lord hath laid on -him the iniquity of us all.” “What then is it necessary for you to do to -be saved?” Very soon he can be led to see that all that it is necessary -for him to do is to accept the sin bearer whom God has provided. Some -years ago I noticed in a meeting a white–haired man who did not stand up -with the Christians. At the close of the service I walked down to him -and said, “Are you not a Christian?” He said he was not. I was sure he -was interested, so I put to him the direct question, “Would you become a -Christian to–night if I would show you the way?” and he replied that he -would. We sat down together and I opened my Bible to Isaiah liii. 6 and -read the first part of the verse, “All we like sheep have gone astray, -we have turned every one to his own way.” I then said to him, “Is that -true of you?” and he answered “yes.” “Now,” I said, “let us read the -rest of the verse, ‘And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us -all.’” “What has the Lord done,” I said, “with your sins?” He thought a -moment and said “he has laid them on Christ.” “What then” I said “is all -that you have to do to be saved?” and he replied quite promptly, “Accept -him.” “Well,” I said, “will you accept him to–night?” He said, “I will.” -“Let us then kneel down and tell God so.” We knelt down and I led in -prayer and he followed in a very simple way telling God that he was a -sinner but that he believed that He had laid his sins upon Jesus Christ, -and asking God for Christ’s sake to forgive his sins. When he had -finished I asked him if he thought God had heard his prayer and that his -sins were forgiven, and he said “yes.” I then asked him if he would -begin to lead a Christian life at once, set up the family altar and -openly confess Christ before the world, and he replied that he would. -Some months after I met his pastor and made inquiries about him and -found that he had gone to his home in a distant village, set up the -family altar and united with the church together with his son, the only -remaining member of the family out of Christ. Apparently all that this -man was waiting for was for some one to make the way of salvation plain -to him. I sometimes put it this way in using this verse: “There are two -things which a man needs to know and one thing he needs to do in order -to be saved. What he needs to _know_ is, first, that he is a lost sinner -and this verse tells him that; second, that Christ is an all–sufficient -Saviour and this verse tells him that. What he needs to _do_ is simply -to accept this all–sufficient Saviour whom God has provided.” John i. 12 -brings out this thought very clearly, “As many as _received him_ to them -gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on -his name.” After the verse has been read you can ask the one with whom -you are dealing, “To whom is it that God gives the power to become the -sons of God?” “As many as receive him.” What must you then do to become -a son of God? “Receive him.” Well, will you receive him as your Saviour -and as your master now? Isaiah lv. 7; Acts xvi. 31; John iii. 16 and -iii. 36 are all useful in making the way of salvation plain. John iii. -14 compared with Numbers xxi. 8 and the following verses, can often be -used with good effect. When they are used you should lead the inquirer -to see just what the serpent–bitten Israelite had to do to be saved—that -he had simply to look at the brazen serpent lifted up upon the pole—then -show him that the sin–bitten man has to do simply the same thing—look at -Christ lifted up on the Cross for his sins. Romans i. 16 is another -excellent verse to use. It makes the way of salvation very clear. You -can ask the inquirer whom it is, according to his verse, that the Gospel -saves, and he will see that it is “every one that believeth.” Then ask -him, “What then is all that is necessary for one to do in order to be -saved,” and he will see that it is simply to believe. Then ask him -“believe what,” and the answer is “the Gospel.” The next question that -naturally arises is, what is the Gospel? This is answered by 1 Cor. xv.; -1‒4. These verses show what the Gospel is, “that Christ died for our -sins according to the Scriptures; that he was buried and that he rose -the third day according to the scriptures” and this is what he must -believe in order to be saved. He must believe from his heart that Christ -died for his sins and that he rose again. Then ask the inquirer, “do you -believe that Christ died for your sins? do you believe that he rose -again?” If he says that he does, ask him if he will make this a heart -faith and get down and ask God for Christ’s sake, to forgive his sins -and believe he does it because he says so, and then trust in the living -Saviour to save him day by day from the power of sin. Romans x. 9–10 -also makes the way of salvation clear to many minds where other verses -fail. Romans x. 13 makes it, if possible, more simple still. This shows -that all that a man has to do to be saved is to “call upon the name of -the Lord.” You can ask the inquirer “Are you ready now and here to get -down and call upon the name of the Lord for salvation and to believe -that God saves you because he says he will?” The way of salvation can be -made plain by the use of Exodus xii. 7, 13, 23. These verses show that -it was the blood that made the Israelites safe and just so it is to–day -the blood that makes us safe, and when God sees the blood he passes over -us. The only thing for us to do is to get behind the blood. Then show -the inquirer that the way to be behind the blood is by simple faith in -Jesus Christ. Luke xviii. 10–14 is exceedingly useful in showing what a -man may have and yet be lost (the Pharisee) and what a man may lack and -yet be saved (the Publican) and that all that a man has to do to be -saved is simply to do as the Publican did, that is take the sinner’s -place and cry to God for mercy and then he will go down to his house -justified. This passage can be used in the following manner to make the -meaning more clear. Ask the inquirer, “Which one of these two (the -Pharisee or the Publican) went down to his house justified?” Then ask -him, “What did the Publican do that the Pharisee did not do, that -brought him the forgiveness of his sins while the Pharisee went out of -the Temple unforgiven?” When he studies the passage he will soon see -that what the Publican did was simply to take the sinner’s place before -God and cry for mercy and that as soon as he did this he was “justified” -or forgiven. Then you can ask him, “What is all that it is necessary for -you to do to find forgiveness?” Then ask him, “Will you do it now and -here?” and when he has done so ask him if he believes God’s word and if -he is going down to his house justified. What saving faith is, is -beautifully illustrated by Luke vii. 48–50. The fiftieth verse tells us -that this woman had saving faith. Now ask the inquirer, “What was the -faith she had,” and show him that her faith was simply such faith that -Jesus could and would forgive her sins, that she came to him to do it. -This is saving faith. Galatians iii. 10–13 also makes the way of -salvation very simple. The tenth verse shows the sinner’s position -before accepting Christ—“under the curse.” The thirteenth verse shows -what Christ has done—has been made a curse for us. What the sinner had -to do is, evidently, simply to accept Christ. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - DEALING WITH THOSE WHO ARE ANXIOUS TO BE SAVED AND KNOW HOW, - BUT WHO HAVE DIFFICULTIES - - -A very large number of persons whom we try to lead to Christ, we will -find are really anxious to be saved and know how, but are confronted -with difficulties which they deem insurmountable. - - -1. One of the difficulties is, “_I am too great a sinner_.” 1 Tim. i. 15 -meets this fully. One Sunday morning a man who had led a wild and -wandering life and who had recently lost $35,000 and been separated from -his wife, said to me in response to my question, why he was not -Christian, “I am too great a sinner to be saved.” I turned at once to -1 Tim. i. 15. “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, -that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am -chief.” He quickly replied, “well, I am the chief of sinners.” “Well,” I -said, “that verse means you then.” He replied, “It is a precious -promise.” I said, “Will you accept it now?” and he said, “I will.” Then -I said, “Let us kneel down and tell God so,” and we knelt down and he -confessed to God his sins, and asked God for Christ’s sake to forgive -him his sins. I asked him if he had really accepted Christ and he said -he had. I asked him if he really believed that he was saved and he said -he did. He took an early opportunity of confessing Christ. He left the -city in a short time but I was able to follow him. He became a most -active Christian, working at his business day times but engaged in some -form of Christian work every night in the week. He was reunited to his -wife and adopted a little child out of an orphan asylum and had a happy -Christian home. Luke xix. 10 is also a very useful passage to use in -dealing with this class of men; especially useful when a man says, “I am -lost.” You can say, “I have a passage intended expressly for you. If you -really mean what you say, you are just the man Jesus is seeking. ‘For -the Son of man is come to seek and save that which was lost.’” Romans v. -6‒8 is a very effective passage. I stopped a man one night as he was -hurrying out of a meeting. Laying my hand on his shoulder I said “Did -you not hold your hand up to–night for prayers?” He said “yes.” I said, -“Why then are you hurrying away? Do you know God loves you?” He replied, -“You do not know who you are talking to.” “I do not care who I am -talking to but I know God loves you.” He said: “I am the meanest thief -in Minneapolis.” I said “If you are the meanest thief in Minneapolis, -then I know God loves you,” and I opened my Bible to Romans v. 8. “But -God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners -Christ died for us.” “Now,” I said, “If you are the meanest thief in -Minneapolis, you are a sinner, and this verse tells that God loves -sinners.” The man broke down and going into another room with me told me -his story. He was just out of confinement for crime; had started out -that very night to commit what he said would have been one of the most -daring burglaries ever committed in the city of Minneapolis; with his -two companions in crime he was passing a corner where he happened to -hear an open–air meeting going on and stopped a few minutes to hear and -in spite of the protests and oaths of his companions stayed through the -meeting and went with us to the Mission. After telling me his story we -kneeled in prayer. Through tears he cried to God for mercy, having been -led by God’s precious promise to believe that God loved a sinner even as -vile as he. Matt. ix. 12, 13; Romans x. 13 (Emphasize “whosoever”); John -iii. 16 (Emphasize the “whosoever”); Isaiah i. 18; 1 John iv. 14; John -ii. 1‒2; Isaiah xliv. 22; Isaiah xliii. 25 are also useful passages in -dealing with this class of men. Isaiah i. 18 and Ps. li. 14 are -especially useful in dealing with men who have committed murder. Never -tell any one that his sins are not great. It is well sometimes to say to -these men, “Yes, your sins are great, greater than you think, but they -have all been settled” and show them Isaiah liii. 6; 1 Peter ii. 24. A -woman once came to me in great agitation. After many ineffectual -attempts she was at last able to unburden her heart. Fourteen years -before she had killed a man and had borne the memory of the act upon her -conscience until it had almost driven her crazy. When she told the story -to another Christian and myself, we turned to Isaiah liii. 6. After -reading the verse very carefully to her, I asked her what the Lord had -done with her sin. After a few moments’ deep and anxious thought she -said, “He has laid it on Christ,” I took a book in my hand. “Now,” I -said “let my right hand represent you, and my left hand Christ, and this -book your sin.” I laid the book upon my right hand and I said: “Where is -your sin now?” She said “On me.” “Now,” I said, “what has God done with -it?” She said “Laid it on Christ,” and I laid the book over on the other -hand. “Where is your sin now?” I asked. It was long before she could -summon courage to answer, and then with a desperate effort she said, “On -Christ.” I said, “then is it on you any longer?” Slowly the light came -into her face and she burst out with a cry, “No, it is on Him, it is on -Christ.” John i. 29; Acts x. 43; Heb. vii. 25, are also helpful texts in -dealing with this class of men. - - -2. Another difficulty we frequently meet with, is “_I can’t hold out_,” -or “_I am afraid of failure_.” 1 Peter i. 5 is useful in showing that we -are not to keep ourselves but are “kept by the power of God.” John x. -28, 29 shows that the safety of the one who accepts Christ does not -depend upon his “holding out” but upon the keeping power of the Father -and the Son. 2 Tim. i. 12 shows that it is Christ’s business and not -ours to keep that which is entrusted to him and that he is able to do -it. Isaiah xli. 10, 13 are also helpful. Jude 24 shows that whether we -can keep from falling or not, Christ is able to keep us from falling. -2 Chron. xxxii. 7, 8; Romans xiv. 4; 2 Thes. iii. 3, are also good texts -to use. 1 Cor. x. 13 is especially useful when one is afraid that some -great temptation will overtake him and he will fall. - - -3. Another difficulty very similar to the preceding one, is “_I am too -weak_.” With such a person, use 2 Cor. xii. 9, 10. Ask him “where is it -that Christ’s strength is made perfect?” When he answers “in weakness,” -tell him “then the weaker you are in your own strength the better.” -Philippians iv. 13 shows that however weak we may be, we can do all -things through Christ which strengtheneth us. 1 Cor. x. 13 will show -that God knows all about our weakness and will not permit us to be -tempted above our strength. - - -4. “_I cannot give up my evil ways or bad habits._” Gal. vi. 7, 8, will -show them that they must give them up or perish. Philippians iv. 13 will -show them that they can give them up in Christ’s strength. It is an -excellent plan to point the one who fears that he cannot give up his bad -habits, to Christ, as a risen Saviour, 1 Cor. xv. 3, 4. A man once came -to me and said: “I come to you to know if there is any way I can get -power to overcome my evil habits.” He told me his story; he had been -converted in childhood but had come to Chicago, fallen in with evil -companions and gone down, and now could not break away from his sins. I -said to him: “You know only half the gospel, the gospel of a crucified -Saviour. Through trusting in the crucified Saviour you found pardon. But -Jesus Christ is also a risen Saviour, 1 Cor. xv. 4, ‘All power is given -unto Him,’ Matt. xxviii. 18. He has power to give you victory over your -evil habits. Do you believe that?” He said, “yes.” “You trusted,” I -continued, “in the crucified Christ and found pardon, did you not?” -“Yes,” he replied. “Now,” I said, “will you trust the risen Christ to -save you from the power of your sins?” “Yes, I will.” “Let us kneel down -then, and tell him so.” We knelt and talked it all over with the -Saviour. When he arose his very countenance was changed. “I am so glad I -came,” he said. Some time after I received a letter from him telling me -how he found constant victory through trusting in the _risen_ Christ. - - -5. “_I will be persecuted if I become a Christian._” Never tell any one -that he will not be persecuted, but show him from such passages as -2 Tim. ii. 12; 2 Tim. iii. 12; Matt. v. 10, 11, 12; Mark viii. 35; Acts -xiv. 22, that persecution is the only path to Glory. Show them from -Romans viii. 18 that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy -to be compared with the Glory which shall be revealed in us. Show them -from Acts v. 41; 1 Peter ii. 20, 21, that it is a privilege to be -persecuted for Christ’s sake. Heb. xii. 2, 3 is useful in showing them -where to look for victory in persecution. - - -6. “_It will hurt my business_,” or “_I can’t be a Christian in my -present business_.” Point such an one to Mark viii. 36. This will show -him that it is better to lose his business than to lose his soul. After -this thought has been sufficiently impressed upon his mind, show him -Matt. vi. 32, 33 which contains God’s promise that if we put God and His -kingdom first, that He will provide for all our real temporal needs. -Matt. xvi. 24‒27; Luke xii. 16‒21; xvi. 24‒26 are also very effective -passages to use with this class. - - -7. “_Too much to give up._” Mark viii. 36 will show them that they had -better give up everything than to lose their soul. Philippians iii. 7, -8; Ps. xvi. 11 will show them that what they give up is nothing compared -with what they get. Ps. lxxxiv. 11; Romans viii. 32 will show them that -God will not ask them to give up any good thing; in other words, that -the only things God asks them to give up are the things that are hurting -them. A young woman once refused to come to the Saviour saying, “There -is too much to give up.” “Do you think God loves you?” I answered. -“Certainly.” “How much do you think he loves you?” She thought a moment -and answered, “Enough to give his son to die for me.” “Do you think, if -God loved you enough to give his son to die for you, he will ask you to -give up anything it is for your good to keep?” “No.” “Do you wish to -keep anything that it is not for your good to keep?” “No.” “Then you had -better come to Christ at once.” And she did. 1 John ii. 17; Luke xii. -16‒21 will show them how worthless are the things which they are trying -to keep. - - -8. “_The Christian life is too hard._” Say to the inquirer, “Let me show -you from God’s word that you are mistaken about the Christian life being -hard.” Then turn him to Matt. xi. 30; Prov. iii. 17; Ps. xvi. 11; 1 John -v. 3, and show him that a Christian life is not hard but exceedingly -pleasant. Then turn him to Prov. xiii. 15, and show him that it is the -sinner’s life that is hard. - - -9. “_I am afraid of my ungodly companions_;” or “_I will lose my friends -if I take Christ_.” Prov. xxix. 25 will show them the consequence of -yielding to the fear of man and the security of the one who trusts in -the Lord. Prov. xiii. 20 will show them the result of holding on to -their companions, and Ps. i. 1 will show the blessedness of giving up -evil companions. 1 John i. 3 shows how much better companionship one -gets than he loses by coming to Christ. - - -10. “_My heart is too hard._” Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27, will show them that -though their hearts are hard as stone, that will make no difference -because God will give them a new heart. - - -11. “_I have no feeling._” Ask the inquirer what kind of feeling he -thinks he must have before he comes to Christ. If it is the peace of -which Christians speak, show him from Gal. v. 22; Eph. i. 13; Acts v. -32; 1 Peter i. 8; Matt. x. 32, that this feeling is the result of -accepting Christ and confessing Him, and that he cannot expect it until -he accepts and confesses Christ. If the feeling which he thinks he must -have is the feeling that he is a sinner, then show him by Is. lv. 7 that -it is _not the feeling_ that we are sinners that God demands, _but a -turning away_ from sin. Or, from Acts xvi. 31; John i. 12; that God does -not ask us to feel that we are sinners but to confess that we are -sinners and trust in Christ as a Saviour. Is. lv. 1; Rev. xxii. 17, will -show the inquirer that all the feeling he needs is a desire for -salvation. - -It is often times well, however, with this class of inquirers to show -them the passages for “The Indifferent” until they do feel that they are -sinners. - - -12. “_I am seeking Christ, but cannot find Him._” - -Jer. xxix. 13, shows that when we seek him with the whole heart we shall -find him. Speaking with a woman one evening in an after–meeting she said -to me, “I have been seeking Christ two years and cannot find Him.” I -replied, “I can tell you when you will find him.” She looked at me in -surprise and I turned to Jer. xxix. 13, and read “And ye shall seek me, -and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” “There,” -I said, “that shows you when you will find Christ. You will find him -when you search for him with all your heart. Have you done that?” After -a little thought she answered “No.” “Well, then,” I said, “let us kneel -right down here now.” She did this and in a few moments she was -rejoicing in Christ. You can point one who has this difficulty to Luke -xv. 1‒10; xix. 10. These passages show that Jesus is seeking the sinner -and you can say, “if you are really seeking Christ it will not take a -seeking Saviour and a seeking sinner very long to find each other.” - - -13. “_I cannot believe._” - -In most cases where one says this the real difficulty which lies back of -their inability to believe is unwillingness to forsake sin. John v. 44, -is a good passage to use with such a one, or Is. lv. 7. In the use of -the latter passage, hold the man’s attention to the fact that all God -asks of him is that he turn away from sin and turn to Him. - - -14. “_God won’t receive me_,” or “_I have sinned away the day of -grace_,” or “_I am afraid I have committed the unpardonable sin_.” - -The people who honestly say this, are as a rule about the most difficult -class to deal with of any that you will meet. John vi. 37, is the great -text to use with them for it shows that Jesus will receive any one who -will come to him. Hold him continually to that point, “Him that cometh -to me I will in no wise cast out” and if they keep saying “He won’t -receive me” repeat the text, looking to the Spirit of God to carry the -truth home. Many an utterly despondent soul has found light and peace -through this verse in God’s word. Rev. xxii. 17, is also useful as it -shows that any one who will can have the water of life freely. Is. lv. -1, shows that any one who desires salvation can have it. Is. i. 18, -shows that no matter how great a man’s sins may be still here is pardon. -Acts x. 43, and John iii. 16, that “_whosoever_” will believe upon -Christ will find pardon and eternal life. Romans x. 13, shows that any -one, no matter who or what he is, who will “call upon the name of the -Lord shall be saved.” It is well sometimes to turn to Heb. vi. 4‒6, and -Matt. xii. 31‒32, and show the inquirer just what the unpardonable sin -is and what its results are. Matt. xii. 31, 32, shows that it is -blasphemy against the Holy Ghost and put it squarely to him, “have you -ever blasphemed against the Holy Ghost?” Heb. vi. 4‒6, shows that the -difficulty is not in God’s unwillingness to forgive, but in the man’s -unwillingness to repent and that any one who is concerned about his -salvation evidently has not committed the unpardonable sin nor sinned -away his day of grace. A little instruction along this line is often -times all that is needed. - - -15. “_It is too late._” - -When an inquirer says this, it is often times well to use 2 Cor. vi. 2, -and tell him that God says, it is just the time. Luke xxiii. 39‒43, is -useful as showing that even at the last hour Jesus will hearken to the -sinner’s cry. 2 Peter iii. 9, will show that His will is that none -should perish, but that He is delaying the judgment that He may save as -many as will come. Deut. iv. 30, 31, is an especially helpful passage as -it says “Even in the latter days” if thou turn to the Lord he will be -merciful. Is. i. 18, and Rev. xxii. 17, can alone be used here. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - DEALING WITH THOSE WHO ENTERTAIN FALSE HOPES - - -1. Among those who entertain false hopes, perhaps the largest class are -_those who expect to be saved by their righteous lives_. These persons -are easily known by such sayings as these, “I am doing the best I can.” -“I do more good than evil.” “I am not a great sinner.” “I have never -done anything very bad.” Gal. iii. 10, is an excellent passage to use, -for it shows that all those who are trusting in their works are under -the curse of the law and that there is no hope on the ground of the law -for any one who does not “continue in all things which are written in -the book of the law to do them.” James ii. 10 is also useful. Gal. ii. -16, and Romans iii. 19, 20 are very effective by showing that by the -deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in God’s sight. Matt. -v. 20—All these passages show the kind of righteousness God demands and -that no man’s righteousness comes up to God’s standard, and that if a -man wishes to be saved he must find some other means of salvation than -by his own deeds. It is sometimes well in using these passages to say to -the inquirer: “You do not understand the kind of righteousness that God -demands or you would not talk as you do. Now let us turn to His word and -see what kind of righteousness it is that God demands.” There is another -way of dealing with this class, by the use of such passages as Luke xvi. -15; Rom. ii. 16; 1 Sam. xvi. 7. These passages show that God looks at -the heart. Hold the inquirer right to that point. Every man when brought -face to face with that, must tremble because he knows that whatever his -outward life may be, his heart will not stand the scrutiny of God’s eye. -No matter how selfrighteous a man is, we need not be discouraged for -somewhere in the depths of every man’s heart is the consciousness of sin -and all we have to do is to work away until we touch that point. Every -man’s conscience is on our side. Matt. xxii. 37, 38 can be used when a -man says “I am doing the best I can, or doing more good than evil.” Say -to him, “You are greatly mistaken about that; so far from doing more -good than evil, do you know that you have broken the first and greatest -of God’s laws?” Then show him the passage. Heb. xi. 6, John vi. 29, show -that the one thing that God demands is faith and that without that it is -impossible to please God, and John xvi. 9, shows that unbelief in Christ -is the greatest sin. John iii. 36, shows that the question of eternal -life depends solely upon a man’s accepting or rejecting Jesus Christ, -and Heb. x. 28, 29, that the sin which brings the heaviest punishment is -that of treading under foot the Son of God. Before using this latter -passage, it would be well to say, “You think you are very good, but do -you know that you are committing the most awful sin in God’s sight which -a man can commit?” If he replies, “No,” then say “Well let me show you -from God’s word that you are;” then turn to this passage and read it -with great solemnity and earnestness. - - -2. Another class of those who entertain false hopes, are _those who -think_ “_God is too good to damn anyone_.” - -When any one says this, you can reply, “We know nothing of God’s -goodness but what we learn from the Bible, and we must go to that book -to find out the character of God’s goodness. Let us turn to Romans ii. -2, 4, 5.” Having read the verses, you can say something like this, “Now, -my friend, you see that the purpose of God’s goodness is to lead you to -repentance, not to encourage you in sin and when we trample upon his -goodness, then we are treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath and -revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” John viii. 21, 24 and iii. -36, will show the man that however good God may be that he will reject -all who reject His Son. Still another way to deal with these men is by -showing them from John v. 40; 2 Peter iii. 9‒11 or Ezek. xxxiii. 11, -that it is not so much God who damns men as men who damn themselves in -spite of God’s goodness because they will not come to Christ and accept -the life freely offered. You can say “God is not willing that any should -perish and he offers life freely to you, but there is one difficulty in -the way. Let us turn to John v. 40, and see what the difficulty is.” -Then read the passage: “Ye will not come to me that ye might have life,” -and say, “My friend here is the difficulty, you won’t come; life is -freely offered to you but if you will not accept it, you must perish.” -2 Peter ii. 4‒6, 9; Luke xiii. 3, show how the “good” God deals with -persons who persist in sin. Sometimes this last passage can be -effectively used in this way: “You say God is too good to damn any one. -Now let us see what God Himself says in his word.” Then turn to the -passage and read, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” -Repeat the passage over and over again until it has been driven home. - - -3. A third class of those who entertain false hopes, are _those who say -“I am trying to be a Christian.”_ John i. 12, will show them that it is -not “trying” to be a Christian or “trying” to live a better life or -“trying” to do anything that God asks of us, but simply to receive Jesus -Christ, who did it all, and you can ask the inquirer, “will you now stop -your trying and simply receive Jesus as Saviour?” Acts xvi. 31, shows -that God does not ask us to _try_ what we can do but _trust_ Jesus and -what He has done and will do. Romans iii. 23‒25, shows that we are not -to be justified by trying to do, “but freely by His grace, through the -redemption that is in Christ Jesus” on the simple condition of faith. - - -4. Still another class of those who entertain false hopes are _those who -say_, “_I feel I am going to Heaven_,” or “_I feel I am saved_.” Show -them from John iii. 36 that it is not a question of what they feel but -what God says, and what God says distinctly in his word is that, “He -that believeth not on the Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God -abideth on him.” One afternoon I was talking with a lady who a few weeks -before had lost her only child. At the time of the child’s death she had -been deeply interested, but her serious impressions had largely left -her. I put to her the question, “Do you not wish to go where your little -one has gone?” She replied at once “I expect to.” “What makes you think -you will?” I said. She replied, “I feel so, I feel that I will go to -heaven when I die.” I then asked her, if there was anything she could -point to in the word of God which gave her a reason for believing that -she was going to heaven when she died. “No,” she said, “there is not.” -Then she turned and questioned me, saying, “Do you expect to go to -heaven when you die?” “Yes,” I replied, “I know I shall.” “How do you -know it?” she said. “Have you any word from God for it?” “Yes,” I -answered and turned her to John iii. 36. She was thus led to see the -difference between a faith that rested upon her feelings and a faith -that rested upon the word of God. - -Luke xviii. 9‒14, can also be used in the following way; you can say -“there was a man in the Bible who felt he was all right, but was all -wrong. Let me read you about him.” Then read about the Pharisee who was -so sure that he was all right, but who was all the time an unforgiven -sinner; and make the inquirer see how untrustworthy our feelings are and -what the ground of assurance is, viz: God’s word. Prov. xiv. 12 can also -be used as showing that “there is a way which seemeth right unto a man -but the end thereof are the ways of death.” - - -5. The last class of those who entertain false hopes, are _those who say -they are saved though they are leading sinful lives_. In the case of -many forms of sin, a good passage to use is 1 Cor. vi. 9‒10. 1 John ii. -29 will also in many cases sweep away this false hope. 1 John v. 4‒5 is -useful as showing that one who is really born of God overcomes the world -and the fact that they are living in sin and are not overcoming the -world is evidence that they have not been born of God. - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - DEALING WITH THOSE WHO LACK ASSURANCE AND WITH BACK–SLIDERS - - -I. THOSE WHO LACK ASSURANCE. - -Those who lack assurance may be divided into two classes. - - -1. _Those who lack assurance because of ignorance._ 1 John v. 13, will -show all such that we may know that we have eternal life. Often times -when you ask people if they know they are saved, or if they know their -sins are forgiven, or if they know they have eternal life, they will -reply, “Why no one knows that.” You can say to them, “Yes the Bible says -that all who believe may know it,” and then show them 1 John v. 13. John -i. 12 shows that Christ gives to as many as receive Him, power to become -the Sons of God. A good way to use this verse is to ask the inquirer -questions regarding it. “What does every one who receives Him receive -power to become?” The inquirer if he is attentively looking at the verse -will answer, “A son of God.” Then ask the next question, “Have you -received Him?” If he replies “Yes,” then ask him, “What are you then?” -It will probably be necessary to go over it several times but at last -the inquirer will see it and say “I am a son of God.” John iii. 36 can -be used in a similar way. Ask the inquirer “who do these verses say has -everlasting life?” “He that believeth on the Son.” “Do you believe on -the Son?” “What have you then?” In a little while he will see it and say -“Everlasting life.” Then have him say over and over again “I have -everlasting life,” and have him kneel down and thank God for giving him -everlasting life. One night I found a young man upon his knees at the -close of the service in great distress. I showed him from the Bible how -Jesus Christ had borne his sins and asked him if he would accept Christ -as his Saviour; he said he would; but he seemed to get no light and went -out of the meeting in deep distress. The next night he was there again, -professing to have accepted Christ but with no assurance that his sins -were forgiven. I tried to show him from God’s word what God said of -those who accepted the Saviour, but the light did not come. Finally he -rose to leave the meeting. I had just shown him from John iii. 36 that -God said that “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.” As -he turned to leave me, he said, “Will you pray for me?” I said “Yes.” He -walked a little way down the aisle and I called to him and said, “Do you -believe I will pray for you?” He turned with a look of astonishment and -replied, “Yes, of course.” “Why do you think I will pray for you?” I -then asked. “Because you said so,” he replied. I said “Isn’t God’s word -as good as mine?” He saw it at once, that while he had been willing to -believe my word, he had not been willing to believe God’s word, and he -received assurance on the spot and knew that he had everlasting life. -John v. 24 and 1 John v. 12 can be used in a similar way. - -Acts xiii. 39 is very useful in dealing with this class of persons. Ask -the inquirer: “What does this verse say that all who believe are?” -“Justified.” Then ask him, “Do you believe?” “What are you then?” It -will probably take two or three times going over it before he sees it -and when he answers “I am justified,” tell him to thank God for -justifying him and confess Christ, and see to it that he does so. Many -inquirers of this class stumble over the fact that they have not the -witness of the Holy Spirit. Show them from 1 John v. 10 that the witness -of the word to their acceptance is sufficient, and that, if they believe -not this witness of God in His word, they make Him a liar. Show them -further from Eph. i. 13, that it is after we believe the testimony of -the word that we are “sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.” The -natural order in assurance is this: First, assurance of our -justification, _resting on the “Word of God.”_ Second, public confession -of Christ, “with the mouth,” Romans x. 10. Third, the witness of the -Holy Spirit. The trouble with many is that they wish to invert this -order and have the witness of the Holy Spirit before they confess Christ -with the mouth. From Matt. x. 32, 33, we learn that when we confess -Christ before men, then He confesses us before the Father. We cannot -reasonably expect the witness of the Spirit from the Father until we are -confessed before the Father. So confession of Christ logically precedes -the witness of the Spirit. - -It is very important in using these texts to make clear what saving -faith is; because many may say that they believe when they do not, in -the sense of these texts, and so get a false assurance and entertain -false hopes and never find deliverance. There is a great deal of -careless dealing with those who lack assurance. Workers are so anxious -to have inquirers come out clearly that they urge them on to assurance -when they have no right to have assurance of salvation as they have not -really accepted Christ. - -John i. 12, and 2 Tim. i. 12, make very clear what believing -is—receiving Jesus or committing to Jesus. Romans x. 10, will serve a -similar purpose by showing that it “is _with the heart_ man believeth -unto righteousness.” - - -2. _Those who lack assurance because of sin._ The trouble with those who -lack assurance is, often, that there is some sin or questionable -practice which they ought to confess and give up. John viii. 12; Is. lv. -7; Prov. xxviii. 13; Ps. xxxii. 1‒5, are useful passages in dealing with -this class of men, for they show that it is when sin is confessed and -forsaken and we follow Christ, that we receive pardon, light and -assurance. Often times it is well when one lacks assurance to put the -question squarely to him: “Do you know of any sin on to which you are -holding or anything in your life which your conscience troubles you -about?” - - -II. BACK–SLIDERS. There are two classes of back–sliders and they should -be dealt with in different ways. - - -1. _Careless back–sliders; those who have no great desire to come back -to the Saviour._ With such persons use Jer. ii. 5, drive the question -right home, “What iniquity have you found in the Lord?” Show them the -base ingratitude and folly of forsaking such a Saviour and Friend. Very -likely they have wandered away because of unkind treatment by professed -Christians, but hold them right to the point of how _the Lord_ treated -them and how they are now treating Him. Use also Jer. ii. 13, and show -them what they have forsaken and for what. Have them read the verse and -ask them, “is not that verse true? When you forsook the Lord did you not -forsake the ‘fountain of living waters’ and turn to ‘broken cisterns -that can hold no water?’” Illustrate the text by showing how foolish it -would be to turn from a fountain of pure living water to broken cisterns -or muddy pools. God has greatly honored this verse in bringing -back–sliders back to himself. Use Jer. ii. 19. When they have read it -ask them whether they have not found it “an evil thing and bitter” -having forsaken the Lord their God. Prov. xiv. 14; 1 Kings xi. 9, and -Luke xv. 13‒17, can often times be used with effect with an impenitent -back–slider, showing him the result of his wandering. I have a friend -who always uses Amos. iv. 11, 12, and often times with good results. - - -2. _Back–sliders who are sick of their wanderings and sin and desire to -come back to the Lord._ These are perhaps as easy a class to deal with -as we ever find. Jer. iii. 12, 13, and 22, will show them how ready the -Lord is to receive them back and that all he asks of them is that they -acknowledge their sin and return to him. Hos. xiv. 1‒4, is full of -tender invitation to penitent back–sliders and also shows the way back -to God. Is. xliii. 22, 24, 25, and Is. xliv. 20‒22; Jer. xxix. 11‒13; -Deut. iv. 28‒31; 2 Chron. vii. 14; 1 John i. 9; ii. 1‒2, set forth God’s -unfailing love for the back–slider and His willingness to receive him -back. Mark xvi. 7; 2 Chron. xv. 4; xxxiii. 1‒9, 12, 13, give -illustrations of great back–sliders who returned to the Lord and how -lovingly He received them, 1 John i. 9; Jer. iii. 12‒13; 2 Chron. xv. -12, 15; vii. 14, show just what steps the back–slider must take to come -back to the Lord and be restored to his favor, viz: humble himself, -confess his sins and turn from his sin. Luke xv. 11‒24, is perhaps the -most useful passage of all in dealing with a back–slider who wishes to -return for it has both the steps which the back–slider must take and the -kind of reception he will receive. - -When a back–slider has returned he should always be given instructions -as to how to live so as not to back–slide again. The instruction to be -given will be found in Chapter xii. sec. 15. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - DEALING WITH PROFESSED SKEPTICS AND INFIDELS - - -There are various classes of Sceptics and the same methods of dealing -will not answer for all. - - -1. _Skeptics who are mere triflers._ With such use 1 Cor. i. 18. If a -man says the Bible is foolishness to him, you can say “Yes, that is just -what the Bible itself says.” He will probably be surprised at this reply -and then you can show him 1 Cor. i. 18; “the preaching of the cross is -to them that perish foolishness.” Then you can say to him, “You see that -the Bible says that it is foolishness to some—them that _perish_—and the -reason it is foolishness to you is because you are perishing.” 1 Cor. -ii. 14, can be used in a similar way. A worker was one night dealing -with a man who said to him when he was trying to persuade him to come to -Christ, “all that you are saying is foolishness to me.” The worker -quickly replied, “Yes, that is just what the Bible says.” The man looked -at him in astonishment and said: “What?” “You said all that I have been -saying to you was foolishness to you, and that is just what the Bible -says.” The man was more astonished then than ever and the worker turned -him to 1 Cor. ii. 14, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of -the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he -know them because they are spiritually discerned.” The man said “I never -saw that before; I never thought of it in that light before.” 2 Cor. iv. -3, 4, is very useful in showing the trifler that he is lost and that his -skepticism arises from the fact that the “god of this world hath blinded -his mind.” 2 Thes. ii. 10‒12, is useful in showing the origin of -skepticism, “because they received not the love of the truth” and the -consequences of skepticism—delusion and damnation. John viii. 21, 24, is -also very searching in dealing with this class of skeptics, showing the -terrible consequences of unbelief. John v. 44; iii. 18, 19, 20 expose -the origin of scepticism. Ps. xiv. 1, is useful in some cases though one -needs to be guarded in its use, using it only when it can be done with -earnestness and tenderness. 2 Thes. i. 7, 8 can also be used with good -results. - - -2. _Serious minded skeptics._ There is a large class of men and women in -our day who are really desirous of knowing the truth but who are in an -utter fog of skepticism. John vii. 17 is a very helpful passage in -dealing with such. It shows the way out of skepticism to faith. Get the -skeptic to act along the line of that verse. Put to him the question, -“Will you surrender your will to God and promise to search honestly and -earnestly to find out what God’s will is that you may do it, to ask God -to show you whether you need a Saviour and whether Jesus is a Divine -Saviour, the Son of God; and will you promise that, if God will show you -that Jesus is the Son of God, to accept Him as your Saviour and confess -Him before the world?” Have him make his promise definite, by putting it -down in black and white. If you get him to do this, his skepticism will -soon take wings. - -One evening at the close of a service I asked a gentleman why he was not -a Christian. He replied: “I will tell you. I do not talk much about it; -for I am not proud of it as some are, but I am a skeptic. I have lain -awake nights thinking about this matter.” “Do you believe there is a -God?” “Yes, I never gave up my faith that there was a God.” “Well, if -there is a God you ought to obey him. Will you to–night take your stand -upon the will of God to follow it wherever it carries you even if it -carries you over the Niagara Falls?” “I try to do as near right as I -know how.” “That is not what I asked; will you take your stand on the -will of God to follow it wherever it carries you?” “I have never put it -that way.” “Will you put it that way to–night?” “I will.” “Do you -believe God answers prayer?” “I don’t know; I am afraid not.” “You don’t -know that he does not?” “No.” “Well, here is a possible clue to the -truth, will you follow it, will you ask God to show you whether Jesus is -His Son; and what your duty concerning him is?” “I will.” Not long after -that the man came into a meeting with a new look in his face. He arose -and said: “I was all in a mist. I believed nothing.” Then he told us -what he had done. He had done just as he promised. “And now,” he -continued, “my doubts are all gone. I don’t know where they have gone -but they are gone.” If the skeptic will not act in this way you can -“stop his mouth” by showing him that he is not an honest skeptic and -that the trouble with him is not his skepticism but his sin. If the man -does not believe there is a God, you can begin one step further back. -Ask him if he believes there is an absolute difference between right and -wrong (if he does not he is a mere trifler). If he says he does, ask him -if he will take his stand upon the right and follow it wherever it -carries him. He may try to put you off by saying “What is right?” or -that he is doing the right as nearly as he knows how. Get him to promise -that he will take his stand upon the right, whatever he may find it to -be and follow it whatever the consequence may be. Then show him that if -he is honest in this promise, he will try to find out what the right is. -Next say to him, “You do not know whether God answers prayer or not. I -know He does, and you will admit that here is a possible clue to -knowledge. If you are honest in your desire to know the truth, you will -follow this possible clue. You can get down and at least pray, ‘O my -God, if there be a God, teach me thy will and I will do it. Show me -whether Jesus is thy son or not. If you show that he is, I will accept -Him as my Saviour and confess Him before the world.’” Then tell the man -to begin reading the Gospel of John, reading slowly and thoughtfully, -only a few verses at a time, asking God for light each time before -reading and promising God that he will follow the light as fast as He -makes it clear. If the man will follow this rational course, it will -result in every case in the skeptic coming out into the clear light of -faith in the Bible, as the word of God, and Jesus Christ as the Son of -God. If the man is not an honest skeptic, this course of treatment will -reveal the fact and then you can show him that the difficulty is not -with his skepticism but with his rebellious heart. - -If the man says that he does not know whether there is an absolute -difference between right and wrong, then you can set it down at once -that he is bad and turn upon him kindly and earnestly and say to him, -“My friend, there is something wrong in your life; no man that is living -right doubts that there is a difference between right and wrong. Now you -probably know what is wrong and the trouble is not with your skepticism, -but with your sin.” One afternoon after I had given out an invitation -for any skeptic or any one else who wished to talk with me, to remain -after the meeting, a young man with whom I had dealt some months before -stayed. I asked him what his trouble was. He replied, “The same trouble -that I told you in the spring, I cannot believe that there is a God.” I -asked him if he had done as I had advised him to do in our former -conversation; if he had taken his stand upon the right to follow it -wherever it carried him. He replied that he did not know that there was -any difference between right and wrong. “I do not know that there is -such a thing as right.” I looked him right in the eyes and said, “Is -there some sin your life?” - -He said “Yes.” I said “what is it?” He replied, “The same that I told -you last spring.” I said, “You promised to give it up, have you given it -up?” He said “No, I have not.” “Well,” I said, “there is the difficulty, -not with your skepticism. Give up that sin and your skepticism will take -care of itself.” In some confusion he replied, “I guess that is the -trouble.” - - -3. _Those who doubt the existence of God._ - -The passages under 1 and 2 can also be used with this class and -generally it is wise to use them before those given under this head. -There are however, three passages that are often times effective with -this specific class of skeptics. Ps. xiv. 1; before using this passage -you can say to the man, “Let me read you from God’s own word what he -says about those who deny his existence.” Often times it is well to -leave the passage to do its own work. Sometimes, however, it is wise to -dwell a little upon it. Call the man’s attention to the fact that it is -“in his heart” that the fool says “there is no God.” He does not believe -there is a God because he does not wish to. You can add that the folly -of saying in one’s heart that there is no God is seen in two points; -first, there is a God and it is folly to say there is not one, and -second, the doctrine that there is not a God always brings misery and -wretchedness. Put it right to the man, and ask him if he ever knew a -happy atheist. Ps. xix. 1, 2; Romans i. 19‒22, are also effective -passages. - - -4. _Those who doubt that the Bible is the word of God._ - -Romans iii. 3, 4, is useful in showing that questioning the fact does -not alter the fact. Matt. xxiv. 35, is often used by the Spirit to carry -to the heart of the skeptic the certainty and immutability of God’s -word. Mark vii. 13; Matt. v. 18; John x. 35; Luke xxiv. 27, 44, are -useful as giving Christ’s testimony that the Old Testament is the Word -of God. They are especially helpful in dealing with those who say that -they accept the authority of Christ but not that of the Old Testament, -for in them Christ sets His seal to the Old Testament Scriptures and -they show conclusively that if we accept His authority we must accept -that of the Old Testament also. Along the same line John xiv. 26, and -xvi. 12, 13, are useful as containing Christ’s indorsement of the New -Testament. - -1 Thes. ii. 13, can be used with good effect to meet the statement which -is often made, that Paul nowhere claims that his teaching is the word of -God. 2 Peter i. 21, John viii. 47; Luke xvi. 30, 31, can also be used in -dealing with this class. 2 John v. 10, is very effective in showing the -guilt of those who believe not the record that God has given. Before -using this last passage you can say, “You doubt, do you, that the Bible -is the Word of God? Now let us see what God says about those that -believe not His testimony;” then turn them to the passage and have them -read it. - - -5. _Those who doubt a future existence._ - -1 Cor. xv. 35‒36; Jno. v. 28‒29; Dan. xii. 2. - - -6. _Those who doubt the doctrine of future punishment, or the conscious, -endless suffering of the lost._ Rev. xxi. 8, defines what “death” means -when used in the scriptures Rev. xvii. 8, compared with Rev. xix. 20, -shows what perdition or destruction means in the scriptures. Rev. xix. -20, compared with Rev. xx. 10 shows that “the lake of fire” is not a -place where those consigned to it cease to exist, for we find in the -latter passage the beast and false prophet are still there at the end of -a thousand years and that they, so far from being annihilated or losing -conscious existence are tormented night and day forever and ever. Rev. -xiii. 7‒8 show that those who are subjected to the terrible retribution -here described are those whose names are not written in the Book of -Life. Matt. x. 28 shows that there is destruction for the soul apart -from the destruction of the body. Luke xii. 5, shows that after one is -killed and is of course dead, there is a punishment in “hell.” Mark iii. -28‒29 (R. V.) shows that there is such a thing as eternal sin. Luke xvi. -23‒26, shows that the condition of the wicked dead is one of conscious -torment. Mark xiv. 21, shows that the retribution visited upon the -wicked is of so stern a character that it would be better for him upon -whom it is visited if he had never been born. - -2 Peter ii. 4; Jude 6, show that hell is not a place where the -inhabitants cease to exist, but where they are reserved alive, for the -purpose of God. Heb. x. 28‒29, show that while the punishment of -transgression of the Mosaic law was death, that sorer punishment awaits -those who have “trodden under foot the Son of God.” Matt. xxv. 41 gives -further light upon the subject. It shows that the wicked go to the same -place with the Beast and False Prophet and the Devil mentioned in Rev. -xix. 20, and xx. 10, and share the same endless, conscious torment. - - -7. _Those who doubt the divinity of Christ._ - -a. In Acts x. 36; 1 Cor. ii. 8, compare Ps. xxiv. 8‒10; Heb. i. 8; John -xx. 28; Rom. ix. 5; Rev. i. 17, compare Is. xliv. 6, we find several -divine titles applied to Christ, the same titles being applied to Christ -in the New Testament that are applied to Jehovah in the old. - -b. In Heb. i. 10, 3, we find divine offices attributed to Christ. - -c. In John v. 22‒23, compare Rev. v. 13; Heb. i. 6; Phil. ii. 10, we -find it taught that Jesus Christ should be worshiped as God. - -d. In John v. 22‒23 we find Jesus claiming the same honor as his Father, -and either He was Divine or the most blasphemous impostor that ever -lived. Drive it home that the one who denies Christ’s Divinity puts Him -in the place of a blasphemous imposter. Mark xiv. 61, 62, can be used in -a similar way. - -e. 1 Jno. ii. 22, 23, compared with 1 Jno. v. 1, 5, shows that the one -who denies the Divinity of Christ, no matter who he may be, is a liar -and an antichrist. 1 Jno. v. 10‒12, shows that he who does not believe -that Jesus is divine makes God a liar, “Because he believeth not the -record that God gave of His Son.” Heb. x. 28‒29, shows the folly, guilt -and punishment of rejecting Christ as the Son of God. John viii. 24, -shows beyond a question that no one who does not believe in the Divinity -of Jesus Christ will be saved. Jno. xx. 31, shows that we have life -through believing that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God. - -(Note. It is best as a rule before taking up specific difficulties to -deal with the inquirer with the passage under the head of “Skeptics who -are triflers,” or those under “Serious minded skeptics.”) - -Often times there is no need to take up specific questions as for -example about future punishment until the inquirer has first settled the -matter whether he will accept Christ as his Saviour. - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - - DEALING WITH THE COMPLAINING - - -1. THOSE WHO COMPLAIN OF GOD. - -Many that you wish to lead to Christ will say something to the effect -that God is unjust and cruel, Job. xl. 2, and Romans ix. 20, are very -pointed passages to use with inquirers of this class and need no -comment. It might be well to preface the reading of the passages with -some remark like this; “Do you know of how enormous a sin you are guilty -in accusing God of being unjust and cruel? Let me read what God says -about it in His Word.” Then read the passages. Romans xi. 33 will serve -to show the complaining that the reason God’s ways seem unjust and cruel -is because they are so deep and unsearchable; and that the trouble is -not with God’s ways but the limitation of their understanding. Heb. xii. -5, 7, 10, 11 are especially useful in cases where the inquirer complains -because of his own misfortunes or sorrows. Is. lv. 8‒9 will often times -prove helpful. Not infrequently you will meet with one who will say that -“God is unjust to create men and then damn them.” Turn such an one to -Ezek. xxxiii. 11. This passage meets this complaint by showing that God -has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but desires their welfare -and that the wicked bring damnation upon themselves by their stubborn -refusal to repent. 1 Tim. ii. 3‒4, shows that God, so far from creating -man to damn him, desires that all men be saved. 2 Peter iii. 9, teaches -that God is not willing that any should perish and is delaying His -purposes in order that all may come to repentance. John v. 40, and Matt. -xxiii. 37, show that the whole cause of man’s damnation is his own -willful and persistent refusal to come to Christ. John iii. 36, and iii. -16, are also helpful in many cases. - - -2. THOSE WHO COMPLAIN OF THE BIBLE. Men will often times say, “The Bible -is contradictory and absurd;” or “the Bible seems foolish to me.” Two -classes of passages can be used in dealing with such inquirers. - -a. 1 Cor. i. 18; ii. 14; 2 Cor. iv. 3‒4; Dan. xii. 10; Rom. xi. 33, 34 -and in extreme cases 2 Thes. ii. 10, 11, 12. - -b. Jno. vii. 17; Ps. xxv. 14; Matt. xi. 25, (see remarks under Serious -Minded Skeptics and Skeptics who are Triflers.) Sometimes the best thing -to do with a man who says the Bible is full of contradictions, is to -hand him your Bible and ask him to show you one. In most cases he will -not attempt to do it; as people who complain about the Bible, as a rule -know nothing about its contents. One day a man was brought to me to deal -with and when I asked him why he was not a Christian he replied, “The -Bible is full of contradictions.” I at once asked him to show me one. -“Oh!” he said, “it’s full of them.” I said, “If it is full of them you -ought to be able to show me one.” He said, “Well, there is one in -Psalms.” I said, “Show it to me.” He commenced looking in the back of -the New Testament for the book of Psalms. I said, “You are not looking -in the right part of the Bible for Psalms. Let me find it for you.” I -found him the book of Psalms and handed it to him. After fumbling around -he said, “I could find it, if I had my own Bible here.” “Well,” I said, -“Will you bring your Bible to–night?” He promised he would and agreed to -meet me at a certain place in the church. The appointed hour came, but -he did not. Some months afterwards in another series of meetings in the -same church one of the workers stopped me and said, “Here’s a man I wish -you would deal with; he is a skeptic.” I looked at him and recognized -him as the same man. “Oh!” I said, “you are the man that lied to me -here;” and with much confusion he admitted that he was, but he was still -playing his old game of saying that the Bible was full of -contradictions. In nine cases out of ten, men who say this, know nothing -about the Bible, and when you ask them to show you a contradiction in -the Bible they are filled with confusion. - - -3. THOSE WHO COMPLAIN OF GOD’S WAY OF SALVATION. - -A great many men will say, “I do not see why God could not save men in -some other way than by the death of His son.” Is. lv. 8, 9, Romans xi. -33 are useful in dealing with such. I have used Romans ix. 20 with -effect with men of this sort. A young student said to me one night, when -I asked why he was not a Christian, that he did not see why it was -necessary for Christ to die for him; why God did not save him in some -other way. I opened my Bible and read to him Romans ix. 20, and put the -question right to him, “Who art thou that repliest against God?” and -then said to him, “Do you realize what you are doing, that you are -condemning God?” The young man very much confused said “I did not mean -to do that.” “Well,” I said; “that is what you are doing.” “If that is -so,” he replied, “I will take it back.” A good way to do with such men -is to show them by the use of passages given under the chapter “Dealing -with the Indifferent” that they are lost sinners. When any one is led to -see this, God’s way of salvation will approve itself as just the thing. - - -4. THOSE WHO COMPLAIN OF CHRISTIANS. Very frequently when we try to -persuade men to accept Christ as their Saviour, they reply; “_There are -too many hypocrites in church_.” Romans xiv. 4 and 12, especially the -latter verse, are exceedingly effective in dealing with such. - -Romans ii. 1, and Matt. vii. 1‒5, are also excellent. Jno. xxi. 21, 22 -is useful in showing the objector that he is solely responsible for his -own relation to Christ and that what others do is none of his affairs. -Sometimes the inquirer will _complain of the way Christian people have -treated him_. In such a case turn the attention of the inquirer from the -way in which Christian people have treated him to the way in which God -has treated him. For this purpose use Jer. ii. 5; Is. liii. 5; Romans v. -6‒8. Then ask him if the fact that Christians have treated him badly is -any excuse for his treatment of a Heavenly Father who has treated him so -well. One night turning to an aged man I asked him if he was a -Christian. He replied that he was not, that he was a back–slider. I -asked him why he back–slid. He replied that Christian people had treated -him badly. I opened my Bible and read Jer. ii. 5, to him, “Thus saith -the Lord, what iniquity have your fathers found in _me_, that they are -gone far from _me_, and have walked after vanity and are become vain?” I -said, “Did you find any iniquity in God? Did God not use you well?” With -a good deal of feeling the man admitted that God had not treated him -badly and I held him right to this point of God’s treatment of him, and -not man’s treatment, and his treatment of God. Matt. xviii. 23‒35; Eph. -iv. 30‒32; Matt. vi. 14‒15, are also useful as showing the absolute -necessity of our forgiving men. - - - - - CHAPTER X. - -DEALING WITH THOSE WHO WISH TO PUT OFF A DECISION UNTIL SOME OTHER TIME - - -1. There are several classes of those who wish to put off a decision. -One of the largest is composed of _those who say “I want to wait,” or -“Not to–night,” or “I will think about it,” or “I will come to–morrow -night_,” or some such thing. Use Is. lv. 6. The inquirer having read the -passage, ask him when it is that he is to seek the Lord, and when he -answers “While he may be found,” ask him when that is and then drive it -home. Ask him if he is sure that he can find Him to–morrow if he does -not seek Him to–day. Or you can use Prov. xxix. 1. It is well after he -has read this verse to ask the one with whom you are dealing what -becomes of the one who “being often reproved hardeneth his neck” and -when he answers “He shall be destroyed,” ask him how he shall be -destroyed, and when he answers “Suddenly,” ask him if he is willing to -run the risk. Or you can use Matt. xxv. 10‒12. Ask him who it was that -went into the marriage? and when he answers “They that were ready” ask -him if he is ready. Then ask him what happened after those who were -ready went in. Then ask him where “those who were not ready” were. Then -put it to him, “Are you willing to be on the out–side?” Or you can use -Luke xii. 19, 20. Ask the inquirer for how long a time this man thought -he had made provision. Then ask him: “If God should call you to–night -would you be ready?” Matt. xxiv. 44, is especially effective in dealing -with those who say “I am not ready.” 1 Kings xviii. 21, can be used with -good effect. An excellent way to use this verse is by asking the person -whether he would be willing to wait a year and not have an opportunity -under any circumstances, no matter what came up, of accepting Christ. -When he answers, “No, I might die within a year,” ask him if he would be -willing to wait a month. Then bring it down to a week and finally to a -day, and ask him if he would like God and the Holy Spirit and all -Christians to leave him alone for a day and he not have an opportunity, -under any circumstances of accepting Christ? Almost any thoughtful -person will say, “No.” Then tell him that if that is the case he had -better accept Christ at once. Dr. Chalmers was the first one to use this -method and it has been followed by many others with great success. Prov. -xxvii. 1; James iv. 13, 14; Job. xxxvi. 18; Luke xiii. 24‒28; xii. 19, -20; John viii. 21; xii. 35; vii. 33‒34, can also be used with this -class. - - -2. Those who say “_I must get fixed in business first, then I will -become a Christian_,” or “_I must do something else first._” Matt. vi. -33, is the great passage to use in such cases; for it shows that we must -seek the kingdom of God first. - - -3. Those who say “_I am waiting God’s time_.” If one says this, ask him -if he will accept Christ in God’s time if you will show him when God’s -time is. Then turn to 2 Cor. vi. 2, or Heb. iii. 15. - - -4. Those who say “_I am too young_,” or “_I want to wait until I am -older_.” Ecc. xii. 1, is an all–sufficient answer to such. Matt. xix. -14, and xviii. 3, are also good passages to use as they show that youth -is the best time to come to Christ and that all must become children, -even if they are old, before they can enter into the kingdom of Heaven. -It is often times wise in dealing with persons who wish to put off a -decision until some time in the future to use the passages given for -“The Indifferent,” until such a deep impression is made of their need of -Christ that they will not be willing to postpone accepting Christ. - -In dealing with those under “1” above, it is best to use only one -passage and drive that home by constant repetition. One night I was -dealing with a man who was quite interested but who kept saying “I -cannot decide to–night.” I quoted Prov. xxix. 1. To every answer he made -I would come back to this passage. I must have repeated it a great many -times in the course of the talk until the man was made to feel not only -his need of Christ but the danger of delaying and the necessity of a -prompt decision. He tried to get away from the passage but I held him to -this one point. The passage lingered with him and it was emphasized by -the providence of God; for that very night he was assaulted and quite -seriously injured, and he came the next night with his head bandaged and -accepted Christ. The pounding which he received from his assailant would -probably have done him little good if the text of scripture had not been -pounded into his mind. - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - - DEALING WITH THE WILLFUL AND THE DELUDED - - -1. THE WILLFUL - -There are several varieties of the Willful. There are those for example -who say “_I do not wish you to talk to me_.” In such a case it is -usually best to give some pointed passage of scripture and let it talk -for itself and then leave the person alone to reflect upon it. Romans -vi. 23; Heb. x. 28, 29; Heb. xii. 25; Mark xvi. 16; Prov. xxix. 1, and -Prov. i. 24‒33, are passages which are good for this purpose. - -Then there are those who say “_I cannot forgive_.” Matt. vi. 15 and -xviii. 23‒35, are good to use as showing that they must forgive or be -lost. Phil. iv. 13, and Ezek. xxxvi. 26, will show them how they can -forgive. There are a great many people who are kept from Christ by an -_unforgiving_ spirit. Some times this difficulty can be removed by -getting the person to kneel in prayer and ask God to take away their -unforgiving spirit. I once reasoned a long time with an inquirer who was -under deep conviction, but was held back from accepting Christ by a -hatred in her heart toward some one who had wronged her. She kept -insisting that she could not forgive. Finally I said, “let us get down -and tell God about this matter.” To this she consented and scarcely had -we knelt when she burst into a flood of tears, and the difficulty was -removed and she accepted Christ immediately. - -There are those again who say “_I love the world too much_.” Mark viii. -36, is the great text to use with this class. Luke xiv. 33, will show -the absolute necessity that the world be given up. Luke xii. 16‒20; -1 Jno. ii. 15, 16, 17, will show the folly of holding on to the world -and Ps. lxxxiv. 11, Romans viii. 32, will show that the Lord will hold -back no good thing from them. - -There are those who say “_I cannot acknowledge a wrong that I have -done_.” Prov. xxviii. 13, will show the wretchedness and woe that is -sure to follow unless the wrong is acknowledged. Others will say “_I do -not want to make a public confession_.” Romans x. 10; Matt. x. 32, 33, -will show that God will accept nothing else. Mark viii. 38; Jno. xii. -42, 43, and Prov. xxix. 25, will show the peril of not making it. There -are those who say “_I want to have my own way_.” Is. lv. 8‒9, will show -how much better God’s way is, and Prov. xiv. 12, shows the consequences -of having our own way. Finally there are those who say “_I neither -accept Christ nor reject Him_.” Matt. xii. 30, will show that they must -do one or the other. This verse has been used to the conviction of a -great many. - - -2. THE DELUDED - -_a._ Under this head come the _Roman Catholics_. A good way to deal with -a Roman Catholic is to show him the necessity of the new birth and what -the new birth is. Jno. iii. 3, 5, 7, shows the necessity of the new -birth. What the new birth is, is shown in Ezek. xxxvi. 25‒27; 2 Cor. v. -17; 2 Peter i. 4. Many Roman Catholics understand the new birth to mean -baptism, but it can be easily shown them that the language used does not -fit baptism. Further than this, in 1 Cor. iv. 15, Paul says to the -Corinthian Christians he had begotten them again through the gospel. If -the new birth meant baptism he must have baptized them, but in 1 Cor. i. -14, he declares he had not baptized them. Acts viii. 13, 21, 23, shows -that a man may be baptized, and yet his heart not be “right in the sight -of God” so he has “neither part nor lot in this matter.” It is well to -take a step further and show the inquirer what the evidences of the new -birth are. 1 Jno. ii. 29; iii. 9, 14‒17; v. 1, 4, give the Biblical -evidences of the new birth. The next question that will arise is “How to -be born again.” This question is answered in Jno. i. 12; 1 Peter i. 23; -Jas. i. 18. - -Acts iii. 19, is a good text to use with Roman Catholics as it shows the -necessity of repentance and conversion. What repentance is, will be -shown by Is. lv. 7; Jonah iii. 10. Still another way of dealing with -Roman Catholics is by showing them that it is the believer’s privilege -to know that he has eternal life. Roman Catholics almost always lack -assurance. They do not know that they are forgiven, but hope to be -forgiven some day. If you can show them that we may _know_ that we are -forgiven and that we have eternal life, it will awaken in a great many -of them a desire for this assurance. 1 John v. 13, shows that it is the -believer’s privilege to know. Acts xiii. 38, 39; x. 43, John iii. 36, -are very useful in leading them into this assurance. Still another way -of dealing with them (but it is not best to use it until you have -already made some progress with them) is to show them the advantage of -Bible study. Good texts for this purpose are John v. 39; 1 Peter ii. 1, -2; 2 Tim. iii. 13‒17; Jas i. 21, 22; Ps. i. 1, 2; Josh. i. 8; Mark vii. -7, 8, 13; Matt. xxii. 29. These texts, excepting the one in 1 Peter ii. -1, 2, are all practically the same in the “Douay” or Roman Catholic -Bible as they are in the Protestant Bible and it is well oftentimes in -dealing with a Catholic to use the Catholic Bible. - -Still another way of dealing with a Roman Catholic is to use the same -method that you would in dealing with an impenitent sinner—that is to -awaken a sense that he is a sinner and needs Christ. For this purpose -use Matt. xxii. 37, 38; Gal. iii. 10, 13; Is. liii. 6. - -Many people think that there is no use of talking with Roman Catholics, -that they cannot be brought to Christ. This is a great mistake. Many of -them are longing for something they do not find in the Roman Catholic -church, and, if you can show them from the word of God how to find it, -they come along very easily and they make very earnest Christians. Do -not attack the Roman Catholic church. Give them the truth, and the -errors in time will take care of themselves. Often times our attacks -only expose our ignorance. - -There is one point at which we always have the advantage in dealing with -a Roman Catholic; that is that there is peace and power in Christianity -as we know it that there is not in Christianity as they know it, and -they appreciate the difference. - - -_b._ _Jews._ The best way to deal with a Jew is to show him that his own -Bible points to Christ. The most helpful passages to use are Is. liii.; -Dan. ix. 26; Zech. xii. 10. There are also useful passages in the New -Testament; the whole book of Hebrews, especially the ninth and tenth -chapters and the seventh chapter, 25th to 28th verses, and the whole -Gospel of Matthew. A great many Jews to–day are inquiring into the -claims of Jesus of Nazareth, and are open to approach upon this subject. -The great difficulty in the way of the Jew coming out as a Christian is -the terrific persecution which he must endure if he does. This -difficulty can be met by the passages already given under the head of -“Those Who are Afraid of Persecution.” - -(Note. There are a number of good tracts for Jews which can be had from -the Mildmay Mission to the Jews, 79 Mildmay Road, London.) - - -_c._ _Spiritualists._ Lev. xix. 31; xx. 6; Deut. xviii. 10‒12; 2 Kings -xxi. 1, 2, 6; 1 Chron. x. 13; Is. viii. 19, 20; 1 John iv. 1‒3; 2 Thes. -ii. 9‒12, are passages to be used with this class. - -In dealing with all classes of deluded people it is well to begin by -using Jno. vii. 17, and bring them to a place where they heartily desire -to know the truth. There is no hope of bringing a man out of his -delusion, unless he desires to know the truth. - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - - SOME HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS - - -There are a few general suggestions to be made that will prove helpful -to the worker. - - -1. _As a rule choose persons to deal with of your own sex and about your -own age._ There are exceptions to this rule. One should be always -looking to the Holy Spirit for his guidance as to whom to approach, and -He may lead us to one of the opposite sex, but unless there is clear -guidance in the matter, it is quite commonly agreed among those who have -had large experience in Christian work that men do, on the whole, most -satisfactory work with men, and women with women. Especially is this -true of the young. Many unfortunate complications oftentimes arise when -young men try to lead young women to Christ or vice versa. Of course, an -elderly motherly woman may do excellent work with a young man or boy, -and an elderly, fatherly man may do good work with a young woman or -girl. It is not wise ordinarily for a young and inexperienced person to -approach one very much older and maturer and wiser than themselves on -this subject. - - -2. _Whenever it is possible, get the person with whom you are dealing -alone._ No one likes to open his heart freely to another on this most -personal and sacred of all subjects when there are others present. Many -will from pride defend themselves in a false position when several are -present, who would fully admit their error or sin or need, if they were -alone with you. As a rule it is far better for a single worker to deal -with a single unconverted person, than for several workers to deal with -a single inquirer or for a single worker to deal with several inquirers -at once. If you have several to deal with take them one by one. Workers -often find that when they have made no headway while talking to several -at once, by taking individuals off by themselves they soon succeed in -leading them one by one to Christ. - - -3. _Let your reliance be wholly in the Spirit of God and the Word of -God._ - - -4. _Do not content yourself with merely reading passages from the -Bible—much less in merely quoting them, but have the one with whom you -are dealing read them himself that the truth may find entrance into the -heart through the eye as well as the ear._ - - -5. _It is ofttimes well to use but a single passage of scripture, drive -that home and clinch it_ so that the one with whom you have been dealing -cannot forget it, but will hear it ringing in his memory long after you -have ceased talking. Dr. Ichabod Spencer once in dealing with a young -man who had many difficulties kept continually quoting the passage “now -is the accepted time, behold now is the day of salvation.” The young man -tried to get Dr. Spencer on to something else, but over and over again -he rang out the words. The next day the young man returned rejoicing in -Christ and thanking the doctor that he had “hammered” him with that -text. The words kept ringing in his ears during the night and he could -not rest until he had settled the matter by accepting Christ. It is a -good thing when a person can point to some definite verse in the word of -God and say “I know on the authority of that verse that my sins are -forgiven and I am a child of God.” There are times, however when a -powerful effect is produced by a piling up of passages along some line -until the mind is convinced and the heart conquered. - - -6. _Always hold the person with whom you are dealing to the main point -of accepting Christ._ If he wishes to discuss the claims of various -denominations, or the question of baptism, or theories of future -punishment or any other question other than the central one of his need -of a Saviour and Christ the Saviour he needs; tell him that those -questions are proper to take up in their right place and time, but the -time to settle them is after he has settled the first and fundamental -question of accepting or rejecting Christ. Many a case has been lost by -an inexperienced worker allowing himself to be involved in a discussion -of some side issue which it is utter folly to discuss with an -unregenerated person. - - -7. _Be courteous._ Many well–meaning but indiscreet Christians by their -rudeness and impertinence repel those whom they would win to Christ. It -is quite possible to be at once perfectly frank and perfectly courteous. -You can point out to men their awful sin and need without insulting -them. Your words may be very searching, while your manner is very gentle -and winning. Indeed, the more gentle and winning our manner is, the -deeper our words will go, for they will not stir up the opposition of -those with whom we deal. Some zealous workers approach those with whom -they wish to deal in such a manner that the latter at once assume the -defensive and clothe themselves with an armor that it is impossible to -penetrate. - - -8. _Be dead in earnest._ Only the earnest man can make the unsaved man -feel the truth of God’s word. It is well to let the passages that we -would use with others first sink into our own souls. I know of a very -successful worker who for a long time used the one passage, “prepare to -meet thy God,” with every one with whom she dealt, but that passage had -taken such complete possession of her heart and mind that she used it -with tremendous effect. A few passages that have mastered us are better -than many passages that we have mastered from some text book. - -The reader of this book is advised to ponder, upon his knees, such of -the passages suggested in it as he decides to use until he himself feels -their power. We read of Paul that he “ceased not to warn every one night -and day, with tears.” (Acts xx. 31.) Genuine earnestness will go farther -than any skill learned in a training class or from the study of such a -book as this. - - -9. _Never lose your temper when trying to_ _lead a soul to Christ._ Some -persons are purposely exasperating, but even such may be won, by -patience, forbearance and gentleness. - -They certainly cannot be won if you lose your temper. Nothing delights -them more, or gives them more comfort in their sins. The more extremely -irritating they are in their words and actions the more impressed they -will be if you return insults with kindness. Often times the one who has -been most insufferable will come back in penitence. One of the most -insulting men I ever met afterwards became one of the most patient, -persistent and effective of workers. - - -10. _Never have a heated argument with one whom you would lead to -Christ._ This always comes from the flesh and not from the spirit. (Gal. -v. 20, 22, 23.) It arises from pride and unwillingness to let the other -person get the best of you in argument. Refuse to argue. If the one with -whom you are talking has mistaken notions that must be removed before he -can be led to Christ quietly and pleasantly show him their error. If the -error is not essential refuse to discuss it and hold the person to the -main question. - - -11. _Never interrupt any one else who is dealing with a soul._ You may -think he is not doing it in the wisest way, but if you can do it any -better, bide your time and you will have the opportunity. Many an -unskilled worker has had some one at the very point of decision when -some meddler has broken in and upset the whole work. On the other hand, -do not let others, if you can help it, interrupt you. Just a little word -plainly but courteously spoken will usually prevent it. - - -12. _Don’t be in a hurry._ One of the great faults of Christian work -to–day is haste. We are too anxious for immediate results and so do -superficial work. It is very noticeable how many of those with whom -Christ dealt came out slowly. Nicodemus, Joseph, Peter and even -Paul—though the final step in his case seems very sudden—are cases in -point. It was three days even after the personal appearance of Jesus to -Paul on the way to Damascus before the latter came out into the light -and openly confessed Christ. (Acts xxii. 16.) One man with whom slow but -thorough work has been done, and who at last has been brought out -clearly for Christ, is better than a dozen with whom hasty work has been -done, who think they have accepted Christ when in reality they have not. -It is often a wise policy to plant a truth in a man’s heart and leave it -to work. The seed on rocky ground springs up quickly but withers as -quickly. - - -13. _Whenever it is possible and wise, get the person with whom you are -dealing on his knees before God._ It is wonderful how many difficulties -disappear in prayer, and how readily stubborn people yield when they are -brought into the very presence of God himself. I remember talking with a -young woman, in an inquiry room, for perhaps two hours and making no -apparent headway; but, when at last we knelt in prayer, in less than -five minutes she was rejoicing in her Saviour. - - -14. _Whenever you seem to fail in any given case go home and pray over -it and study it to see why you failed._ If you have been at a loss as to -what scripture to use, study that portion of this book that describes -the different classes we meet and how to deal with them and see where -this case belongs and how you ought to have treated it. Then go back if -you can and try again. In any case you will be better prepared next -time. The greatest success in this work comes through many apparent -defeats. It will be well to frequently study these hints and suggestions -to see if your failures come through neglect of them. - - -15. _Before parting from the one who has_ _accepted Christ, be sure to -give him definite instructions as to how to succeed in the Christian -life._ The following are points that should be always insisted upon. -(a.) Confess Christ with the mouth before men every opportunity you get. -Rom. x. 9, 10; Matt. x. 32, 33. (b.) Be baptized and partake regularly -of the Lord’s supper. Acts ii. 38, 42; Luke xxii. 19; 1 Cor. xi. 24‒26. -(c.) Study the Word of God daily. 1 Pet. ii. 2; Acts xx. 32; 2 Tim. iii. -13‒17; Acts xvii. 11. (d.) Pray daily, often and in every time of -temptation. Luke xi. 9‒13; xxii. 40; 1 Thes. v. 17. (e.) Put away out of -your life every sin, even the smallest, and everything you have doubts -about, and obey every word of Christ 1 Jno. i. 6, 7; Rom. xiv. 23; Jno. -xiv. 23. (f.) Seek the society of Christians. Eph. iv. 12‒16; Acts ii. -42, 47; Heb. x. 24, 25. (g.) Go to work for Christ. Matt. xxv. 14‒29. -(h.) When you fall into sin don’t be discouraged, but confess it at -once, believe it is forgiven because God says so and get up and go on. -1 Jno. i. 9; Phil. iii. 13‒14. It would be well to give these -instructions in some permanent form to the one whom you have led to -Christ. You can write them out or get a little tract called the -“Christian Life Card” published by Jno. C. Collins, Bureau of Supplies, -New Haven, Conn. This contains them and some other matter. - - -16. _When you have led any one to Christ, follow him up and help him in -the development of his Christian life._ Many are led to Christ and then -neglected and get on very poorly. This is a great mistake. The work of -following up those who are converted is as important as the work of -leading them to Christ, and as a rule no one can do it so well as the -person whom God used in their conversion. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT - - -There is one condition of success in bringing men to Christ that is of -such cardinal importance, and so little understood, that it demands a -separate chapter. I refer to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. In Acts i. -5; Luke xxiv. 49 (comp. Acts i. 8), and Acts ii. 4, we have three -expressions; “baptized with the Holy Spirit,” “endured with power from -on high” and “filled with the Holy Spirit.” By a careful comparison of -these and related passages we will find that these various expressions -refer to one and the same experience. This experience we shall see as we -proceed in the study of this subject is an absolutely necessary -condition of acceptable and effective service for Christ. - - -1. WHAT IS THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT? - -1. _It is a definite and distinct operation of the Holy Spirit of which -one may know whether it has been wrought in him or not._ This is evident -from the fact that Jesus bade His disciples tarry in Jerusalem until -they had received this enduement, (Luke xxiv. 49, comp. Acts i. 8), and -if it was not a definite and distinct operation of which they might know -whether they had received it or not, of course, they would not know when -this command of Christ had been complied with and when they were ready -to begin their witnessing. - - -2. _It is an operation of The Holy Spirit separate from His regenerating -work._ This appears from Acts i. 5, where the disciples are told “ye -shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence.” But from -Jno. xv. 3; xiii. 10 we learn that the disciples were already -regenerated. It appears also from Acts viii. 15, 16 where we are told of -certain who had already believed and were baptized with water, but upon -whom the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen. The same thing is shown by Acts -xix. 1‒6, where we are told of certain who were disciples, but who had -not received the Holy Spirit since they believed. _One may then be -regenerated by the Holy Spirit without being baptized with the Holy -Spirit. Such an one is saved but he is not yet fitted for service._ -Every believer has the Holy Spirit, Rom. viii. 9, but not every believer -has the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, (Acts viii. 12‒16; xix. 1‒2). We -shall see very soon that every believer may have the baptism of the Holy -Spirit. - - -3. _The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is always connected with testimony or -service_, (see 1 Cor. xii. 4‒13; Acts i. 5‒8; Luke xxiv. 49; Acts ii. 4; -iv. 8, 31; vii. 55; ix. 17, 20; x. 45‒46; xix. 6.) The Baptism of the -Holy Spirit has no direct reference to cleansing from sin. This is an -important point to bear in mind for many reasons. There is a line of -teaching on this subject that leads men to expect that if they receive -the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, the old carnal nature will be -eradicated. There is not a line of scripture to support this position. -As said above, and as any one can learn for himself if he will examine -all the passages in which the baptism of the Holy Spirit is mentioned, -it is always connected with testimony and service. It is indeed -accompanied with a great moral and spiritual uplifting and pre–supposes, -as we shall see, an entire surrender of the will to Christ, but its -primary and immediate purpose is fitting for service. We will get a more -definite idea of what the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is, if we consider -its manifestations and results as stated in the Bible. (a.) Let us look -first at the passage that goes most into detail on this subject, 1 Cor. -xii. 4‒13. We see at once that _the manifestations or results of the -Baptism of the Holy Spirit are not precisely the same in all persons_. -For example, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit will not make every one who -receives it a successful evangelist or teacher. Some quite different -gift may be imparted. This fact is often overlooked and much -disappointment and doubt are the result. The manifestations or results -vary with the lines of service to which God has called different -individuals. One receives the gift of an evangelist, another of a -teacher, another of government, another of a helper, another of a -mother, (1 Cor. xii. 28‒31; Eph. iv. 8, 11.) (b.) 1 Cor. xii. 7, 11. -_There will be some gift in every case._ Not the same gift but some -gift, of an evangelist, or a pastor, or of a teacher or some other. (c.) -1 Cor. xii. 11. _The Holy Spirit is Himself the one who decides what the -gift or gifts shall be which he will impart to each individual._ It is -not for us to select some place of service and then ask the Holy Spirit -to qualify us for that service, nor for us to select some gift, and then -ask the Spirit to impart to us that gift. It is for us to put ourselves -entirely at the disposal of the Holy Spirit to send us where “He will,” -into what line of service “He will” (Acts xiii. 2,) and to impart what -gift “He will.” He is absolutely sovereign and our rightful position is -that of absolute and unconditional surrender to Him. This is where many -fail of a blessing and meet with disappointment. I know a most sincere -and self–sacrificing man who gave up a lucrative business and took up -the work of an evangelist. He had heard of the Baptism of the Holy -Spirit; and had been led to suppose that, if he received it, it would -qualify him for the work of an evangelist. The man came more than four -thousand miles to this country, but the work did not open to him. He was -in much perplexity and doubt until he was led to see that it was not for -him to select the work of an evangelist, as good as that work was, and -then expect the Holy Spirit to qualify him for this self–chosen work. He -gave himself up to be sent into whatever work the Spirit might will. -Into the work in which he was sent the power of the Spirit came upon him -and he received this very gift of an evangelist which he had coveted. -(d.) Acts i. 5, 8. _The Baptism of the Holy Spirit always imparts power -for service, the services to which God calls us._ In a certain city was -an uneducated boy who was led to Christ. In his very lowly occupation he -began witnessing for Jesus. He went on from step to step in Christ’s -work. My attention was called to him by a gentleman who was interested -in him, and who said he would like to have me meet him. The gentleman -brought him to Chicago, and I invited him one night to speak in one of -our tents. It was in an exceedingly hard neighborhood. Into the same -tent an organized mob once came to break up the meeting. It was a -difficult audience to hold. The young man began in what appeared to me -to be a very commonplace way, and I was afraid I had made a mistake in -asking him to speak, but I prayed and watched the audience. There was -nothing remarkable in his address as he went on—excepting the bad -grammar. But I noticed that all the people were listening. They -continued to listen to the end. When I asked if there was any one who -wished to accept Christ, people rose in different parts of the tent to -signify that they did. Thinking it all over, I told the facts to a man -who had known the speaker before. “It is just so wherever he goes” was -the reply. What was the explanation? This uneducated boy had received -the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and had received power. One night at the -close of an address on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, a minister came -to me on the platform and said: “I need this power, won’t you pray for -me?” “Let us kneel right down here now,” I replied, and we did. A few -weeks after I met a gentleman who had been standing by. “Do you -remember,” he said “the minister with whom you prayed at New Britain. He -went back to his church; his church is packed Sunday evenings, a large -part of the audience are young men and he is having conversions right -along.” He had received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and “power.” (e.) -Acts iv. 29‒31. _The Baptism of the Holy Spirit always imparts boldness -in testimony and service._ Peter is a notable example of this. Contrast -Peter in Acts iv. 8‒12 with Peter in Mark xiv. 66‒72. Perhaps some one -who reads this book has a great desire to speak to others and win them -to Christ, but an insuperable timidity stands in the way. If you will -only get the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, all that will be overcome. - -We are now in a position to define the baptism of the Holy Spirit. _The -Baptism of the Holy Spirit, is the Spirit of God falling upon the -believer, taking possession of his faculties, imparting to him gifts not -naturally his own, but which qualify him for the service to which God -has called him._ - - -2. THE NECESSITY OF THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AS A PREPARATION FOR -CHRISTIAN WORK. - -(1.) _In Luke xxiv. 49. Jesus bade the apostles to tarry in Jerusalem -until they were “endued with power from on high.”_ These men had been -appointed to be witnesses of the life, death and resurrection of Christ. -(Luke xxiv. 45‒48. Acts; i. 22; x. 39‒41.) They had received what would -seem to be a splendid and sufficient training for this work. For more -than three years they had been to school to the best of teachers, Jesus -Himself. They had been eye witnesses of his miracles, death, burial, -resurrection and ascension. But there was still one thing needed. And -this need was of such vital importance that Jesus would not permit them -to enter upon their appointed work until that need had been met. That -need was the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. If the apostles with their -unparalleled fitting for service, were not permitted to enter that -service until all their other training had been supplemented by the -Baptism of the Holy Spirit, what daring presumption it is for any of us -with our inferior training to dare to do it. But this is not all, _even -Jesus Himself did not enter upon his ministry until specially anointed -with the Holy Spirit and with power_. (Acts x. 38, comp. Luke iii. 22 -and iv. 1, 14). _This baptism is an absolutely essential preparation for -Christian work._ It is either ignorance of the plain requirements of -God’s word or the most daring presumption on our part when we try to do -work for Christ until we know we have been Baptized with the Holy -Spirit. - - -(2.) _It is the privilege of every believer to be baptized with the Holy -Spirit._ This appears from Acts ii. 39, R. V. “To you is the promise and -to your children and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord -our God shall call unto him.” The context, the use of the word “promise” -in this and the preceding chapter (ch. i. 4; ii. 16, 33.) and the use of -the expression “gift of the Holy Spirit” throughout the book, all prove -conclusively that “the promise” of this verse means the promise of the -Baptism of the Holy Spirit; and the verse tells us that this promise is -for all in all ages of the church’s history whom God shall call unto -him, _i. e._ for every believer. If we have not this baptism it is our -own fault. It is for us and we are responsible before God for all the -work we might have done, and all the souls we might have won if we were -so baptized, and we are guilty to the extent that the work is not done -and the souls not won. - - -3. HOW CAN WE OBTAIN THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT? - -We now come to the practical question: how can we obtain this Baptism of -the Holy Spirit which is such an absolute necessity in our work for -Christ? Fortunately the answer to this question is very plainly stated -in the Bible. - - -(1) “Repent ye and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus -Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of -the Holy Spirit” (Acts ii. 38 R. V.) _The first step toward obtaining -this Baptism is repentance._ Repentance means “a change of mind,” a -change of mind about sin, about God, and in this case especially (as the -context shows) a change of mind about Christ. A real change of mind such -as leads to action—to our turning away from all sin, our turning to God, -our turning away from rejecting Jesus Christ to accepting Him. _The -second step is the confession of our renunciation of sin and acceptance -of Jesus Christ in God’s appointed way by baptism in the name of Jesus -Christ._ The Baptism with the Holy Spirit in at least one instance (Acts -x. 44‒48) preceded the baptism with water but this was manifestly an -exceptional case and God says “repent ye and be baptized every one of -you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye -shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit,” (Acts ii. 38, R. V.) - - -(2) “The Holy Spirit whom God hath given to them that obey him.” (Acts -v. 32). _The condition of the gift of the Holy Ghost here stated is that -we “obey Him.”_ Obedience means more than the mere performance of some -of the things that God bids us do. It means the entire surrender of our -wills, ourselves and all we have, to Him. It means that we come to Him -and say from the heart, “here I am, I am thine, thou hast bought me with -a price, I acknowledge thine ownership. Take me, do with me what thou -wilt, send me where thou wilt, use me as Thou wilt.” This entire -yielding of ourselves to God is the condition of our receiving the -Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and it is at this point that many fail of -this blessing. At the close of a convention a gentleman hurried to the -platform and said there was a lady in great distress who wished to speak -with me. It was an hour before I could get to her, but I found her still -in great mental suffering in the intensity of her desire for the Baptism -of the Holy Spirit. Others had talked to her but it had seemed to do no -good. I sat down behind her and said, “Is your will wholly surrendered?” -She did not know. “You wish to be a Christian worker do you not?” “Yes.” -“Are you willing to go back to Baltimore and be a servant girl if it is -God’s will?” “No!” “You will never receive this blessing until your own -will is wholly laid down.” “I can’t lay it down.” “Would you like to -have God lay it down for you?” “Yes.” “Well, let us ask Him to do it.” -We did, he heard the prayer, the will was laid down, the Baptism of the -Holy Spirit was received and she went from the church rejoicing. - -Obedience means also the doing in all matters great and small, the will -of God as revealed in His Word or by His Spirit. Any refusal to do what -God bids us do, any conscious doing of what he bids us not do, even in -very little matters, is sufficient to shut us out of this blessing. If -there is anything no matter how little, that comes up before us to -trouble us as we pray over this matter, we should set it right with God -at once. Mr. Finney tells of one who, in great agony prayed for days for -the Baptism of the Holy Spirit but received no answer. At last as she -was praying one night she put her hand to her head and took off some -little adornment that always came up before her when she prayed and cast -it from her. Immediately she received the long desired blessing. It -seemed a very little thing but it was a matter of controversy with God -and hindered the blessing. - - -(3.) “How much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to -them that ask Him.” (Luke xi. 13.) - -(a.) There must be definite prayer for this Baptism. It is often said -that the Holy Spirit is already here and that every believer has the -Spirit and so we ought not to pray for the Holy Spirit. This argument -overlooks the distinction between having the Holy Spirit and having this -specific operation of the Holy Spirit. (see 1. 2.) It also contradicts -the plain teaching of God’s word that He gives “the Holy Spirit to them -that ask Him.” It is furthermore shown to be fallacious by the fact that -the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts was constantly given -in connection with and in answer to prayer. (Acts i. 14; ii. 1‒4; iv. -31; viii. 15,17.) - -(b.) Prayer implies desire. There is no real prayer for the Baptism of -the Spirit unless there is _a deep desire for it_. As long as a man -thinks he can get along somehow without this blessing, he is not likely -to get it; but when a man reaches the place where he feels he must have -this no matter what it costs, he is far on the way toward receiving it. -Many a minister of the gospel and other worker has been brought to a -place where he has felt he could not go on with his ministry without -this gift and then the gift has soon followed and the character of his -work has been entirely transformed. - -(c.) _The prayer to be effectual must be in faith (Mark xi. 24)._ James -says in regard to the prayer for wisdom, “Let him ask in faith, nothing -wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of sea driven with the -wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive -anything of the Lord.” (Jas. i. 6, 7.) The same principle, of course, -holds in regard to the prayer for the Holy Spirit. It is at this very -point that many miss the blessing. How to approach God in faith is -clearly taught by 1 Jno. v. 14, 15. “This is the confidence that we have -in Him, that, if we ask anything according to his will He heareth us, -and if we know that he hear us whatsoever we ask, we know that we have -the petitions that we desired of him.” When we ask Him for the Baptism -of the Holy Spirit we know that we have asked something according to His -will for it is definitely promised in His word. Therefore we know that -“He heareth us; and if we know that He hear us we know that we have the -petition” which we have asked of him. As soon then as I am sure I have -met the conditions stated above of the gift of the Holy Spirit, and -asked it of God I have a right to count this blessing mine—the prayer is -heard and I have the petition I asked of him—and get up and enter into -my work assured that in my work will be seen the Spirit’s power. “But,” -some one will say, “shall we expect no manifestations?” Yes, but where? -In service. When I know on the authority of God’s word that my prayer is -heard, I have the right to enter upon any service to which He calls me -and confidently expect the manifestation of the Spirit’s power in that -service. It is a mistake to wait or look for, as so many do, the -manifestation in electric shocks or peculiar emotional experiences. They -may and often do accompany the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. But the Bible -clearly teaches us (i Cor. xii. 4‒11) that the place to look for -manifestations, is in service and the most important, reliable and -scriptural manifestations are found in our work. “Must we not wait,” it -may be asked, “until we know that we have received the baptism of the -Holy Spirit?” Most assuredly, but how are we to know? The same way in -which we know we are saved, _by the testimony of God’s word_. When I -know I have met the conditions and have asked this gift which is -“according to his will” I know by God’s word (1 Jno. v. 14, 15.) that my -prayer is heard, and that I have the petition I desired of him. I have a -right to arise with no other evidence than the all–sufficient evidence -of God’s word, and enter into the service to which God calls me. “Did -not the early disciples wait ten days?” it may again be asked. Yes, and -the reason why is clearly given in Acts ii. 1.—“When the day of -Pentecost was fully come.” In the O. T. types the day of Pentecost had -been appointed as the day in God’s economy for the first giving of the -Holy Spirit and the offering of the first–fruits (the church) and so the -Holy Spirit could not be given until that day. (Lev. xxiii. 9‒17.) But -after the Spirit was once given we find no protracted period of waiting -on the part of those who sought this blessing. (Acts iv. 31; viii. 15, -17; ix. 17, 20; xix. 6.) Men are obliged to wait to–day, but it is only -because they have not met the conditions, or do not believe and claim -the blessing simply on the Word of God. The moment we meet the -conditions and claim the blessing it is ours. (Mark xi. 24 R.V.) Any -child of God may lay down this book, meet the conditions, ask the -blessing, claim it and have it. In a Students’ Summer School at Lake -Geneva after a talk by F. B. Meyer on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, a -student remained to talk with me. He said he had heard of this before -and had been seeking it for months but could not get it. I found his -will was not surrendered, but that was soon settled. Then I said, “Let -us kneel down and ask God for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.” He did -so. Was that petition “according to his will?” I asked. “Yes.” “Was the -prayer heard?” After some hesitation, “It must have been.” “Have you -what you asked of Him?” “I don’t feel it.” I read 1 Jno. v. 15 from the -Bible that lay open before us: “If we know that he hears us, whatsoever -we ask, we know that _we have_ the petition we desired of him.” “Was the -prayer heard?” “Yes.” “Have you what you asked?” “I must have; for God -says so.” We arose and soon separated. Going back to the school in a few -days I met the young man again. His face was now all aglow and he knew -he had received what at first he took upon the bare word of God. - - -4. THE REPETITION OF THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. - -One thing more needs to be said before we leave this subject. _The -Baptism of the Holy Spirit is an experience that needs frequent -repeating._ This appears from a comparison of Acts ii. 4—where Peter -with others was filled with the Holy Spirit—with Acts iv. 8.—where Peter -was filled again,—and with Acts iv. 31 where Peter with others was -filled yet again. A new filling is needed and should be sought for each -new emergency of Christian service. There are many who once knew -experimentally what the Baptism of the Holy Spirit meant who are trying -to work to–day in the power of that old experience and are working -without God. They need and must have a new Baptism before God can use -them. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - =_Rev. Frederick B. Meyer, B. A._= - - -“_Few books of recent years are better adapted to instruct and help -Christians than those of this author. 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Gordon, D.D._= - - -_“‘In Christ,’ ‘The Two Fold Life,’ and ‘The Ministry of the Spirit,’ -are worthy to lie on the table by any dying couch, side by side with -Thomas A. Kempis’ ‘Imitation of Christ,’ and Jeremy Taylor’s ‘Holy -Living and Dying.’ These are fit to be placed among the religious -classics approved after long experience, by Christians of every name. I -believe they will live as such and in this belief I am not -singular.”_―REV. JOSEPH COOK. - - - =_The Ministry of the Spirit._= Introduction by Rev. F. - B. Meyer, B.A. 12mo, cloth, gilt top. $1.00 - - “Dr. Gordon’s last book, ‘The Ministry of the Spirit,’ was - published on the day of his death. It fitly completes the noble - series of books which came from his pen. It gives his mature - convictions upon a matter which had engrossed his thought for - many years. In depth of spiritual insight we doubt if it is - surpassed by any work on this topic.”―_The Watchman._ - - =_Risen with Christ;_= or, the Resurrection of Christ - and of the Believer. 16mo, decorated antique paper - covers. .25 - - =_The Holy Spirit in Missions._= 12mo, cloth, gilt - top. 1.25 - - “Fervid and intense in its style, emphasizing the duty of - preaching the gospel as a witness among all nations.”―_The - Missionary Herald._ - - =_Grace and Glory._= Sermons for the Life that Now is - and That which is to Come. 12mo, paper, net, 50c.; - cloth, gilt top. 1.50 - - =_Ecce Venit;_= or, Behold He Cometh. 12mo, paper, - net, 50c.; cloth, gilt top. 1.25 - - =_In Christ;_= or, the Believer’s Union with his Lord. - 12mo, paper, net, 35c.; cloth, gilt top. 1.00 - - POCKET EDITION, uniform with “A Gift of Love.” - 18mo, cloth. 1.00 - - “To realize what is meant by being _in Christ_ is the - believer’s highest happiness in this life: a book which helps - to this way will find a wide sale.”―_The N. Y. Evangelist._ - - =_The Ministry of Healing;_= or, Miracles of Cures in - all ages. With History of the Doctrine from the - Earliest Times. 12mo, paper, net, 50c.; cloth, gilt - top. 1.25 - - =_The Two Fold Life;_= or, Christ’s Work for Us, and - Christ’s Work in Us. 12mo, paper, net, 50c.; cloth, - gilt top. - - =_The First Thing In the World;_= or, The Primacy of - Faith. 16mo, Popular Vellum Series, 20c.; Cheaper - Edition, net, 10c.; per doz. net, 1.00 - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes - - - Printed Corrected Page - comprhensive comprehensive 2 gives in clear and comprehensive - iuformatiou information 2 information for Christian workers - Backsliders Back–sliders 5 ASSURANCE, AND BACK–SLIDERS - very every 9 every other grace of - sorely, need sorely need, 9 sorely need, and expect Him - 1. I 9 (1 Jno. v. 14, 15; - Christ, Christ 10 bringing men to Christ - need need, 10 need, (3) to show them - Saviour Saviour, 10 Saviour, (4) to meet the - “All”. “All.” 20 sinned?” “All.” “Who - gone “gone 21 “gone astray” and hold - sin. sin? 22 the greatest sin? - Galations Galatians 24 Galatians iii. 10 is a verse - wages. wages? 25 to take your wages? - then than 26 for this purpose than - God. God? 32 the sons of God? - Chirst Christ 32 at Christ lifted up - 1. i. 32 Romans i. 16 is another excellent - Gospel. Gospel? 33 what is the Gospel? - will. will? 33 he says he will? - Galations Galatians 35 Galatians iii. 10‒13 also - of, of 35 makes the way of salvation - God” God 36 confessed to God his sins - lost,” lost.’” 37 that which was lost.’” - moments moments’ 39 a few moments’ deep - Now Now, 39 “Now,” I said - sin. sin.” 40 your sin.” I laid - longer er longer 40 on you any longer - Chr. Chron. 41 falling. 2 Chron. xxxii. 7, 8 - “yes”. “yes.” 42 He said, “yes.” - not. not? 42 did you not? - came came, 42 so glad I came, - kingdom, kingdom 43 put God and His kingdom - righr right 46 let us kneel right down - umerciful merciful 49 he will be merciful - WITN WITH 50 DEALING WITH THOSE WHO - “No”, “No,” 52 replies, “No,” then - repentence repentance 53 repentance, not to encourage - “Yes”, “Yes,” 55 “Yes,” I replied - How “How 55 “How do you know - assurance, is assurance is, 56 ground of assurance is, - Backsliders Back–sliders 57 ASSURANCE AND WITH BACK–SLIDERS - Him? Him?” 58 “Have you received Him?” - “Justified”. “Justified.” 59 “Justified.” Then ask him - mouth”. mouth,” 60 “with the mouth,” - backslider back–slider 64 back–slider who wishes to - 16 15 64 in Chapter xii. sec. 15. - him. him, 69 Next say to him, - world.” world.’” 69 Him before the world.’” - thoughfully thoughtfully 69 slowly and thoughtfully - your, your 70 but with your sin - “hell”. “hell.” 74 punishment in “hell.” - 6 7. 75 7. _Those who doubt_ - skeptics Skeptics 76 Skeptics who are triflers - god God 77 COMPLAIN OF GOD. - well. well? 82 not use you well? - to–night. to–night, 83 or “Not to–night,” - in.” in. 84 went in. Then ask - Christian. Christian, 85 _become a Christian_, - _or_ or 85 _am too young_,” or - all sufficient all–sufficient 85 all–sufficient answer to - repetiton repetition 86 home by constant repetition - sayng saying 86 but who kept saying - 1. 87 There are several - repentence repentance 90 the necessity of repentance - as as as 96 through the eye as - Spirit”, Spirit,” 104 with the Holy Spirit,” - Spirit, Spirit. 104 Holy Spirit.” By - i. e. _i. e._ 112 _i. e._ for every believer - (3) 3. 113 3. HOW CAN WE - Spirit. Spirit? 113 THE HOLY SPIRIT? - Spirit Spirit” 113 of the Holy Spirit” - him”. him.” 114 that obey him.” - said said, 115 behind her and said, - down, down. 115 can’t lay it down. - you. you? 115 down for you? - 24. 24.) 117 _faith (Mark xi. 24)._ - wisdom. wisdom, 117 prayer for wisdom, - Spirit. Spirit? 119 of the Holy Spirit? - asked, asked. 119 again be asked. - thiug thing 121 One thing more needs - Tho The 123 =_The Life and Light_= - jesse Jesse 125 By Jesse Page. - 2mo 12mo 125 Illustrated. 12mo, cloth. - A’ Kempis. A. Kempis’ 126 with Thomas A. Kempis’ - believer s believer’s 126 is the believer’s highest happiness - ― 126 sale.”―_The N. Y. Evangelist._ - - -On Page 85, “I must do something else first.” has been italicized for -consistency. - -On Page 116, started a new paragraph at “(a.) There must be”. - -Punctuation for chapter headings has been regularized. Missing periods -have been added to the chapter number. Periods have been removed from -chapter titles and centered section headings. - -The font style for headings of a given level have been made consistent. - -Biblical references have been regularized to the form: [num] name -chapter. verse, where [num] is an optional arabic numeral, chapter is a -lower–case roman numeral, and verse is an arabic numeral. For example, -2 Cor. ix. 8 and 1 Jno. iii. 23‒24. - -Missing periods after Biblical book abbreviations have been silently -added. Additionally, some superfluous periods and commas following -Biblical references have been removed. - -Some missing punctuation has been silently added. - -Some hyphenation inconsistencies have been retained. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's How to bring men to Christ, by R. A. 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