The mind is its own place, and in itself Which way I fly is hell!--myself am hell! “ Marvel not that I said unto thee, YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN.” CHAPTER VI. DIRECTIONS TO THE INQUIRER. The doctrines and duties of the Scriptures, as has been already remarked, are not arranged in systematic order. They are stated in different forms, and in a variety of phraseology. It is important, therefore, that these apparently dissimilar instructions, addressed to sinners, should be collected together and harmonized. The following are the principal: When the convicted jailor inquired what he must do to be saved, Paul and Silas answered: “ Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” When the many, who “were pricked in their heart,” on the day of Pentecost, said : “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Peter replied : “Repent, and be baptized every you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins." To Simon the sorcerer in the gall of bitterness, the same apostle said: “ Repent of this thy wickedness, and pray God; if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.” To the Jews, whom he had charged with the denial of the Holy One, and the killing of the Prince of Life, Peter said : Repent, and be converted, that your sins may one of be blotted out.” In the commission given to the apostles by the Head of the Church, the promise is : “He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved." Not unfrequently, sinners are directed to perform the practical duties of religion. A young man of great possessions came to Christ, saying : Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life ?" Christ replied: “Sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come take up thy cross and follow me.' To the lawyer who made the same inquiry : “ What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Christ replied: What is written in the law? He answered, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbour as thyself. Jesus said to him, This do and thou shalt live.” To the soldiers who demanded of Christ, saying: And what shall He answered : Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. (Luke 3. 14.) In the prophets, general directions to obedience are frequently given: Wash you, make you clean: put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil ; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. (Isa. 1. 16.) Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions ; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. we do? : (Isa. 1. (Ezek. 18. 30.) Let the wicked forsake his way, ) , and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword : for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. 19, 20: 55. 7.) So various are the answers given in the Scriptures to the great inquiry : What must I do to be saved ?-Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ-believe and be baptized-repent and be baptizedrepent and be converted—repent and pray-make you a new heart and a new spirit-cleanse your hands and purify your hearts-give to the poor, take ир the cross and follow Christ-cast. away all your transgressions-love the Lord thy God with all thy heart. These directions, expressed in so many forms, may seem to be contradictory, but they are substantially the same. Considered as spiritual requirements, they are connected like the links of a chain. In the answer to the jailor, faith alone is mentioned; but this includes and produces the other Christian graces. It works by love; purifies the heart; leads directly to the observance of the institutions of the gospel, and the obedience of its precepts. Godly sorrow for sin also implies and produces newness of life. It implies the exercise of faith, charity, and the performance of the practical duties enjoined in the Scriptures, because repentance unto salvation cannot exist distinct from the other Christian graces. The same is true of prayer united with repentance. It is the offering up of sincere desires to God, and implies the existence of faith, with its kindred virtues. The exhortations, also, to practical duties, or to a general obedience of the divine commandments, contain an implied reference to repentance and faith; for we cannot truly obey any moral precept of the gospel without holiness of heart; and holiness is the fruit of “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” As it regards practical purposes, then, it amounts to the same thing, whether the sinner is directed to believe, or repent, or repent and pray, or make to himself a new heart, or purify his heart, or perform the spiritual duties of religion. These different instructions imply the same things, and every one of them includes the substance of all the rest. Says an excellent writer, to whom the reader is indebted for some of the ideas here advanced, “If I were called upon to express, in a summary manner, the spirit and substance of these several directions, I should say to the sinner, •In the exercise of Faith and REPENTANCE, enter IMMEDIATELY upon a life of HOLY OBEDIENCE. Do this and you will be saved. Immediate belief, immediate repentance, |