bled,(Acts 24: 25,) so thoroughly was his moral nat Few men who have been truly converted, ever felt th and fear that Felix did; yet he did not receive Chris are often so convicted of sin that they can neither cat and yet they do not become Christians. And why because Christ is unwilling to save. It is a reproach der upon Christ to intimate that he does not desire to man. The obstacle is in the sinner not in Christ. not come to me that ye might have life." Why was saved? For the time being he refused to submit to Chr way thousands keep the Lord and salvation out of th though they believe without a doubt that Jesus is Saviour, and that they are sinners, condemned and without hope if not saved by him. Are they regener to such faith? Was Felix regenerated? Will any sinners are capable of this degree of faith? deny that such faith must precede regeneration? (Heb. 11: 6,) "He that cometh to God must belie is, and that he is the rewarder of all those that seek him. “How then shall they call on him in w have not believed?"-Rom. 10: 14. The word of actly adapted to produce this conviction of conscience to sin. For the word of God is quick, and pow sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to ing asunder of soul and spirit, and joints and marrow discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 12. By the law is the knowledge of sin. The pr Peter pricked the hearts of those who heard. The of the gospel is the chief means of arousing the con 12 And sinners. The Holy Spirit wrote the word, and dwelt in the apostles, and dwells in the church and ministry now, to effect this very result. It works mainly through these channels, to convince the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. The preaching of the word convicts of sin in proportion as the ministry and the church are filled with the Holy Spirit. And though the Spirit is not limited to this mode of operation, the experience of the church proves that when the Spirit is grieved, and departs from the saints, sinners are careless and have little or no conscience of sin; and when the church is filled with the Spirit, sinners feel the truth prick their hearts, their wicked thoughts and motives are revealed, their consciences aroused, and they confess the word to be sharper than any two-edged sword. man. So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God, (Rom. 10: 17,) and not by regeneration. Nor is it the gift of God, any more than thinking, reasoning, or even breathing, is the gift of God. The facts believed, and the evidence of their truth, is the gift of God, but the act of believing is the act of Hence it is always urged upon man as a duty to believe, and he is charged with sin for not believing, and it is no where taught in the divine word that the act of faith is the gift of God. To a certain extent, faith is a necessity when proper evidence is presented, but in a large degree it is voluntary. It is prevented by prejudice, lack of candor, hatred of the doctrine proposed, refusal to hear the evidence and to consider the testimony and admit its real force. An honest, candid and attentive mind is demanded in order to believe, and this implies voluntary choice. While men cannot believe without testimony, they often do not believe when there is ample testimony. But when they are candid, willing to be convinced, and convicted of sin as well, the mind is in a receptive attitude, and the gospel is exactly adapted to convince the judgment, arouse the conscience and develop the feeling that they are sinners, and that Jesus is the only Saviour. 3. The next degree of faith is seen when the will acts in obedience to the truth believed. Many have not the shadow of a doubt as to the fact that Jesus life;" and then, (Rev. 22: 17,) "And whosoever will take of the water of life freely;" and (Rev. 3: 20,) stand at the door and knock, if any man hear my voic the door, I will come in and sup with him, and he If the Scriptures teach anything plainly, they teach will of man may and does effectually exclude Christ newing the heart and saving from sin. But when does submit to Christ, believing that he is able and save, the work of salvation quickly follows, for Jesus to be gracious. But this submission of the will is by God, nor does it necessarily follow belief that we sinners and that Christ is the only Saviour. There pulsion about it at all. There are influences and mot above, and from our own souls, to induce us to choos mit the will, but submission may be and often is refu acts in harmony with the laws of the human mind in with our turning to Jesus, and leaves us freely to cho refuse it. Some imagine that when sinners have the right kin they must choose Christ of necessity. But all the is possible before the choice of the will, cannot for choice. Every one at all familiar with the laws of admit that. If they mean that the right kind of faith the choice of the will and cannot exist without it, the surd to say that such faith produces this choice. Tha alent to saying that the choice of the will necessarily the choice of the will, and that such a choice cannot e out being followed by itself. If any possible degr before the submission of the will necessitates such a s the act of the will ceases to be voluntary and responsible, and becomes involuntary and irresponsible. But it is a well knowu fact that men often do have all the faith that it is possible for a man to have before he wills to obey the truth believed, and yet he refuses to obey, and persists in that refusal unto death. When they knew God, they glorified him not as God, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts were darkened, and God gave them over to believe a lie and be damned. But when the sinner chooses to obey the gospel, resolves to accept the life which he believes that he needs, and submit to the Saviour whom he believes to be the only one able to save him, he puts himself into a new relation to the truth, he turns his face towards it, makes it more immediately and personally his own, seeks to apply it to his own case, and draw the full advantage of it to his own soul. This of course adds vitality and force to his former convictions of judgment and conscience, so that he believes more heartily than before; this re-enforcement of will stirs the whole soul, and he thinks, feels and sees as he never did or could until now. This effect is enhanced by the spiritual approach of Christ given to such a soul. He comes in, his face shines directly into the heart that is turned towards him, he sheds upon and into that heart gracious influences which make sin and salvation more real than they could before be conceived. The obstacle of a resisting will is now removed. That obstacle excluded light, excluded Christ, kept the mind paralyzed and blinded, so that truth was seen as in twilight. Now the obstacle is removed, the door is thrown open, the light shines directly into the soul, no hindrance keeps back the grace which creates anew unto good works, and the mind thinks, feels, repents and wills better than before. This act of will may be called one element in saving faith, or repentance, or whatever one pleases to call it. It matters little. We need not quarrel about words, the idea is distinct and individual, and is so recognized in Scripture. Any degree of faith without it will not save, but faith in Christ as Saviour and a conscience of sin, followed by this choice of the will, does bring every the sinner and Christ together, and results in a change of heart and a new life. And we prefer to so analyze the operations of the mind as to mark the specific acts in their order, so as to detect any defects which may prevent, acceptance with Christ, and fix the mind of the sinner upon the specific mental act which is required in order to bring him wholly to Christ. Sometimes the difficulty lies at one point and sometimes at another; and to defect a lack of faith often confuses the mind and affords the inquirer no relief. Sometimes the fault is in the will, sometimes in the conscience, and sometimes in not believing that Jesus is able and willing to save on the conditions of the gospel. One point where inquirers usually stumble is, after they have a sense of sin, and believe that Jesus is the only Saviour, and sincerely seek to serve and obey Him, they fail to believe that He does accept them and the consecration which they have made, and accepts them then, at the very time that the consecration is made. Light and peace will not fill the soul until that appropriating act of faith is exercised. Nor is that appropriating act possible until the will has yielded to Christ, for Christ never does accept the soul until that submission occurs, and to believe that he does would be delusion. Right here the Christian teacher should be able to assist the soul which seeks salvation. Now the teachings of Scripture, and the conscious experience of every believer who has analyzed his mental processes in conversion, agree with this statement,—that, up to the point where the will submits, the sinner is not regenerated, and when the will of one who believes is yielded to Christ, he is always renewed and saved. And that up to this point the mind, or heart, has not possessed, or exercised the element of love, and that love does not enter the soul until after the faith and the choice described, exist; and that it always does enter the soul as soon as such faith and submission of the will are exercised. Previous to this crisis in experience, the sinner may have a conscience of sin,-a belief that he is lost while out of Christ, and that Christ is able to save, a fear and sense of obligation,a conviction that it is right to obey Christ, and wrong to disobey, -a desire to be made holy and to love God and holiness,—to —a |