SERMON III. AN INDUCEMENT TO COME TO CHRIST. BY JOHN WITHERSPOON, D. D. L L. D. COL. N. C. P. REV. iii. 17. Becaufe thou fayeft, I am rich, and increafed with goods, and have need of nothing; and knoweft not that thou art wretched, and miferable, and poor, and blind, and naked. AVING, in a former discourse, proved and illuftra ted this truth, that all mankind are by nature in a ftate of fin and mifery, under the bondage of corruption, and liable to the wrath of God:-I proceed now to the fecond thing propofed, which was to fhew you, that being brought to a lively fenfe and genuine conviction of this, is the first, and a necessary step to the faving knowledge of God in Chrift. On this I shall not need to spend much time, as it is fo exceedingly plain, both in itself, and from what hath been already faid. It is, however, neceffary to fet it clearly before you, in order to lay a foundation for the improvement of the subject. If If the doctrine of Christ, and of him crucified, proceeds upon the fuppofition of our finful and miferable condition by nature, then furely it can neither be valued, embraced, nor improved; and indeed, I think hardly underftood by those who know not this their natural state. What Chrift hath done, and promifes to do in our behalf, is defigned as a remedy for our diftreffed condition; and therefore, till the diftrefs is known, the remedy will be set at nought. If a phyfician fhould offer his care and skill for the recovery of a man, who esteemed himself in perfect health, would he not deride the propofal, fo long as he continued in that opinion? If any man should offer a charitable supply of clothes and food to one, who imagined himself immenfely rich, and gloried in his riches, would he not look upon it as the groffeft infult? Juft fo is the Gospel treated by all fuch as fee not their mifery. What is the fubftance of the Gofpel? To you, Be O men, I call, and my voice is to the fons of men. hold! I preach to you Chrift crucified, a Saviour, fuited to your neceffities, able to fave to the uttermoft, all that come to God through him. He is well fitted to be a Mediator between you and your offended Maker. He hath offered himself up, a facrifice to the juftice of God, for your fins, by the merit of which, you may be faved from deferved and impending ruin. He offers himself as a guide, to direct your feet in the way of peace-to stand by you in the difficulties and dangers to which you are expofed, and to give you, by his communicated strength, a complete victory over all your enemies." What reply doth the unconvinced finner make to all this? Why he faith, "I know nothing of this misery you fuppofe, wherefore then a Saviour? I fee no fin, what neceflity then for an atonement? I fear no wrath, therefore will feek for no interceffor. My eyes are open, therefore therefore I will have no guide. I know of no enemies, and therefore will not enter into contention with a fhadow, or flee when no man pursueth." Thefe, my brethren, are either directly or implicitly the thoughts of men, in a fecure and unconvinced state; and while they are fo, they can fee no form nor comeliness in the Saviour, nor any beauty that they fhould defire him. It is otherwife with the broken in fpirit. He fees his own vilenefs and unworthiness, and therefore cannot lift his eyes to God, but through the atoning blood of Chrift. He fears the avenger of blood, and therefore flies to the city of refuge-The meffage of the Gospel is to him indeed glad tidings of great joy, and he counts it a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation. The juftice of this reprefentation you may fee from what our Saviour himself says, of the end of his coming: They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are fick: But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy and not facrifice; for I am not come to call the righteous, but finners to repentance. See alfo the terms of his invitation. Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you reft. Ho! Appetite and knowledge of neceffity is first required, or fuppofed to the bestowing of gospel bleffings. every one that thirfteth, come ye to the waters. I fhall only add, that we find by the inftances recorded in fcripture, of fuch as were converted by the preaching of the Gofpel, that their converfion took its rife from conviction of fin.-Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their hearts, and faid unto Feter, and to the reft of the apoftles, Men and brethren, what fhall we do? See also the instance of the jailor-Then he called for a light, and and fprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas: And brought them out, and faid, Sirs, what muft I do to be faved? Repentance unto life, and the return of the finner to God, proceeds from the fame cause in every age. Who are the perfons who believingly apply to Chrift for the pardon of their fins, but those who see they are undone without him? Who are the perfons in whose eyes he is moft precious, and who maintain the most habitual dependence upon him? Are they not those who have been moit effectually humbled, and fee their own insufficiency for any thing that is good? From all this I conclude, that none can come to Christ by faith, but those who see themselves to be wretched, and miferable, and blind, and naked. Let us now make fome improvement of what hath been faid upon this fubject for your inftruction and direction. 1. I would improve what has been faid on this fubject, for discovering the danger of many among us who have never yet been brought to a juft fenfe of their character and state. Even the general belief that fuch often have in the fcriptures may fhew them what they have to fear. I might no doubt first of all obferve, how very guilty and miferable those are, who are most notorious for fins of the grossest and most shameful kind. But my fubject leads me more directly to confider who are in general unrenewed, than to mark the feveral degrees of guilt in particular finners. From the text, therefore, and the illuftration of it, I am authorised to declare to you, and I beseech you to hear it with application, that all fuch as were never brought to a real discovery and inward sense of their miferable condition by nature, are ftill in a state of wrath, and ftrangers to the power of religion, what 1 ever may be their profession, and whatever may be their present peace. Oh! how easy is it to lay asleep a natural conscience, and to keep a deceitful corrupt heart in a state of ease and security? Some formality in outward duty, fome moderation in fin, so to speak, the natural decay and weakness of human paffions or youthful lufts, in a character formed by human prudence, and regulated by health, credit or gain, is often made to fupply the place of a heart renewed by the Spirit and grace of God. But confider, I beseech you, that though fome may be tenfold more the children of the devil than others, yet all by nature are the fervants of fin; and except a man be born again, he cannot fee the kingdom of God.—It is not only fuch as are prophane or unclean; fuch as riot in brutish fenfibility; fuch as are the plagues of human fociety; who live in brawls and contention, but all in whom an effential change has never been wrought, that are thus concluded under condemnation. It is ufual for men to take encouragement, from seeing others worse than themselves; and to confider all the threatenings in fcripture, as levelled against the chief and capital offenders; but my text is chiefly directed to fuch as fay they are rich, and increafed with goods. Can you fay then, my brethren, that you have been brought under genuine convictions of fin? Have you been obliged. to fall down proftrate before God, when fitting upon the throne of his holiness? Have you found the sentence of death in yourselves, and discovered no remedy but in Chrift? If this has never been your cafe, you have reafon to fear, that you are yet in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. But I must tell you alfo, that this is matter of feeling, more than of profeffion. It is not enough to speak hoourably of Chrift or of his works. Many do fo, who never |