Personal Effort Explained And Enforced: A Sermon, Preached At Eastham Camp-Meeting, August 14, 1840 (1840) - edizione con copertina flessibile

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: PERSONAL EFFORT. He which converteth the sinner from the error of his way, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. ? James v. 20. A Few words of explication are necessary to remove the seeming obscurities of the text The phrase " He which converteth live tinner" obviously means, he who is the agent in this work; for no man, save the Son of man, has power on earth to convert a soul, or to pardon its transgressions. "Hide a mtdtitude of sin," is an Old Testament expression, anil implies all that is contained in gospel justification, or the forgiveness of sin. But whose soul is saved, and whose sins are covered ? Those of the agent in thework of conversion, or those of the sinner who is converted ? On this question, there exist two opinions. One affirms that these blessings are secured to the agent; the other, that they are simply the consequents of conversion, and refer to the glorious effects secured to the sinner, converted through the agency of the Christian laborer. The latter opinion is the only scriptural and tenable ground: here, all is clear, consistent, and intelligible; while the opposite position is burdened with difficulties, nud leads to the most anti-scriptural conclusions; for, 1. If the agent in another's conversion save his own soul, and hide his own transgressions, by that agency, then is human nature capable of performing works of merit and supererogation; for such must those acts be, that can be set against former offences as an equivalent or price of liquidation. 2. This opinion destroys the fundamental truth of evangelical Christianity. It annihilates the blessed doctrine of the atonement, by providing another way, save faith in Jesus, whereby we may be saved; for we have only to convert a sinner, and our salvation ...