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OLD SCHOOL THEOLOGY,

BY AN

OLD SCHOOL MINISTER,

PRINCETON, ILLINOIS.

|»blish0 at tire mptM of tlje Spoo of Illinois.

CHICAGO:
WHITMABSH, FULTON & CO.'S BOOK & JOB PRINTING OFFICE,
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DISCOUESE.

Phillipians 2 : 12, 13. " Work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling, for it is God who worketh in you to will and to do of his good
pleasure." There is no truth more plainly revealed to us in the
Scriptures, than that regeneration, at its commencement,
progress and termination, is the work of the Holy Spirit.
We are commanded to work out our own salvation, for
this very reason, because " it is God who worketh in us
both to will and to do." In promoting the prosperity of
Zion, and the eternal welfare of mankind, there is a co
operation on the part of God and his creatures, — a union
of the divine and human agency. " I will be inquired
of by the house of Israel, to do it for them." If Chris
tians do not pray, if the means are not employed, the
impenitent will not be converted,; and usually, none are
converted unless they are active in working out their
own salvation. Hence the direction, and the promise :
"Ask, and ye shall receive ; seejl, and ye shall find."
God works in and through the efforts of his people, — in
and through the active exertionf and efforts of those
whose hearts are about to be | renovated. His power is
exerted in leading his creature*^ to exert their own power.
Still regeneration, from beginning to end, is emphatically
the work of the Holy Spirit. ¥ * "*
Its commencement, the preparation of the heart, is of
the Lord. Of old it is said, God prepared the hearts of

the people to listen to the words of his servants, the pro
phets ; and so also in the New Testament it is said of
Lydia, "whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended
unto the things which were spoken of Paul." It was
God by whom her attention was called in a special man
ner to the subject. So also in the house of worship on
the Sabbath, if an unwonted solemnity pervade the as
sembly, if they are disposed to listen, if there be a hear
ing ear, and, more especially, if they are inclined to con
verse on religious subjects, to read the Bible, and attend
to the duty of prayer, there is an evident display of di
vine power, not less so than if the dead had risen from
their graves. Again, when the impenitent are convinced
of truth and sin, when led to inquire, with deep solicitude,
"men and brethren, what shall we do?" — even under
these propitious circumstances, it is not in the power of
men or angels to produce a solitary instance of true con
version. A beloved child upon his dying bed becomes deeply
anxious in regard to the welfare of his soul. It is a
case well calculated to arouse the sympathy of christian
friends, but they cannot rescue him from the dangers to
which he is exposed ; they employ the means, preach to
him Jesus Christ, and him crucified, exhibit the promises
and invitations of the gospel, the mercy, goodness and
power of the Redeemer, but all to no effect : and having
conversed with him, time and again, on the subject in
which he and they are so deeply interested, they feel
that there is nothing more to be done : we can pray for
him, but whether he be converted, or die an impenitent
sinner, depends on the exercise of the divine power and
goodness. Under such trying and agitating circum
stances, Christians are well satisfied that repentance and

faith are the gifts of God ; and perhaps a distinct percep
tion of this truth is the only thing which will lead them
in a proper manner to supplicate the divine blessing.
The Spirit takes the things which belong to Christ, and
reveals them to us.
Some aver that we are just as well able to convert the
impenitent, as we are to employ the means, and that if
the means are employed with fidelity, they will be con
verted as a matter of course, without any special exercise
of divine power. It is true, there are means to be em
ployed, and it is equally true, that in all things we are
dependent upon God ; we cannot rise from our seats
without the divine assistance, "for in him we live, and
move, and have our being." Still there is a difference :
it is not as easy to convert a sinner, as it is to rise from
our seats, — not as easy as it is to employ the means. It
is by the ordinary blessing of God that we attend to the
ordinary concerns of life, but conversion is not an ordi
nary event, and it is not by the common, but by the
special and supernatural exercise of divine power that
sinners are brought to repentance. We are dependent
upon God in attending to our usual avocations, but when
the man stretched forth a withered and a palsied hand
in obedience to a Saviour's command, his dependence
was of a different nature. It was not by the common,
but by the special assistance of God that he was able to
do it. So when Naaman was healed of his leprosy,
when the eyes of the blind were opened, when the dead
are restored to life, or when the impenitent are converted.
It is not in the power of the irreligious to renovate
and change their own hearts. This is a controverted
point of which more will be said. In this connexion, I
would observe, it is often so regarded by the impenitent;

6 .
perverting and abusing the doctrines of the Bible, they
make it an excuse for neglecting all efforts in endeavor
ing to promote their own salvation. v They refer us to the
declarations of the Lord Jesus Christ, " No man can
come unto me except the Father, which hath sent me,
draw him," or, "except it were given unto him of my
Father." These representations are founded in truth,
still it is almost to be lamented that in some respects the
impenitent have so 'much power, for they are able to
harden, themselves in the ways of transgression, to re
sist the influence of the Spirit, and of the motives pre
sented in the gospel. " No man can come unto me except
the Father, which hath sent me, draw him," but they
refuse to be drawn. They speak of waiting God's time,
even when he is striving with them by the influence of
his Spirit ; they will not be persuaded, but resist the
grace of God. They do it in such a manner, and to such
an extent, as to aggravate their guilt and condemnation.
Nevertheless they do not resist in such a manner as to
render it impossible for God to convert and save them.
This is one of the errors of the day. There are those
who affirm that God forsaw whom he could make willing
in the day of his power, and that all such are elected to
eternal life, and that the remaining portion of mankind
must perish, as it is impossible for God to convert and to
save them ; this is the manner, as they contend, in which
the doctrine of election is to be understood. If this be a
correct view of the subject, then the reason why one man
is converted, and not another, is because he is less obsti
nate, more disposed to listen to the overtures of mercy.
He has whereof to glory. His salvation is owing to the
comparative, relative goodness of his own heart. It is
because, even while an impenitent sinner, he is less im
penitent, less hardened, than others about him.

But are we not taught in the Bible that publicans and
harlots, and those who are far from righteousness, are
brought in, while others who were near the kingdom of '
heaven are left to perish ? And is it not plainly reveal
ed to us in the Scriptures, that God has all power, un
limited and omnipotent power, and can " say to the North
give up, and to the South keep not back," — that he has
in his hands the hearts of men. and can change them as
the waters are changed, being able to subdue his enemies
to himself, and to convert nations in a day, if he choose
to do it? If God has done, and is now doing, all in his
power for the conversion of the impenitent, there are
many who may well be alarmed at their condition, for
even God himself is not able to benefit them. And why
should we ask him to revive his work, to do that which
we know that it is impossible for him to perform.
It has been remarked that the irreligious are not able
to renovate and change their own hearts, they are not
able to awaken in themselves the exercise of love to God
and penitence for sin.* There is a sense in which it is
just as easy to love as to hate, still it is not always easy
for us to love our enemies. Though free agents, we are
not omnipotent agents ; there are things we cannot do.
We have no' such control of the inner as of the outer
man, — no such control of our affections as of our exter-

* I employ the term inability exclusively in reference to futile exer
tions and unavailing endeavors, and so I think it ought to be employed.
When we exert ourselves for any purpose, and it is accomplished, it is
proof of our ability; and when we exert ourselves to the utmost for any
purpose, and it is not accomplished, it is proof of our inability. There is
a certainty that stones will not move, and that dead bodies will not restore
themselves to life; but as they have no wishes or desires on the subject,
as there are no unavailing efforts, the term inability, as I have employed
it, can have no application to cases of this description.

nal conduct. The unthankful child cannot awaken in his
bosom at once the full tide of gratitude towards an indul
gent parent by trying to do it. Sinners by nature and
by practice, we cannot change ourselves into angels of
light by a mere effort of the will. The intemperate
man can refrain from gratifying his desire for ardent
spirits, but the desire itself he can neither remove nor
prevent. It is customary to speak as if, in certain cases,
we had not power over our external conduct. It is often
said that a kind hearted mother could not refuse to give
a morsel of food to a beloved child famishing for bread;*
but she could and would refrain from doing it if she knew
that refraining would be the means of preserving its
life. But by no effort could she avoid exercising feelings
of compassion towards a beloved child while undergoing a
painful surgical operation. ; In like manner it is often said
of the intemperate and licentious, that they cannot re
frain from gratifying their perverse inclinations, whereas
.they might even be hired to be chaste and temperate for
a time ; but no one could be hired to love fiod, even for
an hour. It is a preposterous supposition. The two
are far from being parallel cases ; for, as all must admit,
we have no such control of the inner as of the outer man,
— no such control over the state of our affections, as we
have over the movements of the body. We cannot love
a fellow creature merely because there are reasons why we
should be glad to do it; and the impenitent cannot
awaken in their hearts, the exercise of loye to God, and
penitence for sin, merely because they wish to do it for
the purpose of benefiting themselves ; or because, as the
* Mere unwillingness or disinclination to perform an external act,
(though often so considered,) does not amount to an inability of any de
scription, — certainly not as the terms are employed in this discourse.

least of two evils, they had much rather go to heaven
than to be damned.
If religion consisted wholly in the external discharge
of outward duties, the impenitent would be able to do all
which is required of them. But this is by no means
sufficient. The first and the great command is, " Thou
Bhalt love the Lord thy God "—" Give me thy hSart."
We must love our duties; our obedience must be a
cheerful obedience, or it will not be accepted.
There are those who aver, that if willing, mankind
are abundantly able to repent of their sins, love God and
keep all of his commands, which I am not disposed to
deny ; and yet, whether it is to be so considered or not,
depends on the import attached to the expression. There
is a great ambiguity in the use of the term willing.
We are willing to have a limb amputated as the means
of preserving life, and are anxious for the arrival of the
surgeon, yet we do it unwillingly, or with great reluc
tance. We are willing to endure a pain by which we are
benefited : but we use the term willing in a very different
sense when we speak of being willing to do that which to
us is a pleasure and a satisfaction. The one is a cordial
willingness, flowing from the heart ; the other an indirect,
constrained, reluctant willingness.* At times, for the
purpose of benefiting themselves, the impenitent are will
ing and wish to love God. It is not, however, a cordial,
but a reluctant willingness ; and in trying to do it, they
are actuated by selfish, mercenary considerations. Here
it should be well observed, that though a reluctant will
ingness is all-sufficient in regulating our external
conduct, it has little or no effect in regulating the
feelings of the heart.
* See Edwards on the Will, Chapter 3, Seotion 5.

10
At times, there are considerations in view of which
the impenitent are not only willing but extremely anxious
to produce in themselves the exercise of love to God, and
penitence for sin. They exert themselves for the pur
pose of doing it, but their exertions prove abortive and
inefficacious ; they are futile exertions and unavailing en
deavors ; and hence we say, they are unable to do it.
This is what is meant by inability. They are not, how
ever, cases of physical, but of moral inability, so called
because the difficulty does not originate in the want either
of intellectual faculties, 'or of muscular power, but in
the absence of all proper motives, in the perverse and
sinful state of the moral affections, in thfe utter depravity
of the heart. For if the heart was right, — if there
was, on the part of the impenitent, a cordial wish and
willingness to love God and repent of their sins, they
would be able to do it, — nothing more easy. And
whenever they become, or are made willing, in this
sense of the word, to obey the divine commands, no fur
ther change will be necessary. But a constrained, reluc
tant willingness, wish and desire to repent of their sins,
and to love God, for the sake of benefiting themselves, is
by no means sufficient. Efforts and exertions, springing
from such motives, are of no avail. So to speak, there
are two kinds of willingness, a cOrdial and a reluctant
willingness. If any are willing to love God and to
repent of their sins, in the same sense of the word in
which they are willing to do th; t which is to them a
pleasure and a satisfaction, no further change would be
necessary, they would then be Christians, having the
feelingf whicfe they ought to possess. But in this sense
of the word they are not willing to do it, which accords
with the language of the Bible; as where it is said,

11
" If willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the
land," — " whosoever will, let him take the waters of life
freely,"— "ye will not come unto me," — "We will not
have this man to reign over us." Using the term will
ing in this guarded manner for a cordial willingness,
there is no impropriety in saying of the unconverted, that
if willing, they would be able to do all which is required
of them, and it maj' be added that the impenitent might
be rendered more sensible of their obligations by having
the subject presented to them in this manner ; but if it
be the ^habitual and uniform mode of speaking, it can
hardly faii ©f producing erroneous views on the subject.
Ye cannot come unto me, and ye are not willing to do
it, are fasr from being in all respects synonymous expres
sions. In all cases they do not mean one and the same
thing, and we are in danger if we suppose ourselves to
be wiser than the Holy Spirit, or if we feel any degree
of hesitation in using the language of the Bible in speak
ing upon this subject. Though the impenitent may be
rendered more sensible of their guilt, and of their obliga
tions, by making the difficulty consist in their unwilling
ness, yet this want of a cordial willingness to love God
is a part of their depravity, it is the very thing of which
they are destitute. And to say to them that th«y could
repent and love God, if cordially disposed to. do it. is
saying that if their feelings were right, they would be,
right — that if they were Christians, they^ould be Chris
tians — that if they were not sick, they could heal them
selves ; whereas they are not only sick, .but in a stat£ of
moral death so entire and absolute, that tnej hav* not,
and, while unconverted, never will have, the most feeble
desire to love God or to be holy, except what is included
in the selfish desire to avoid misery. It is true, that so

12
far as our external conduct is concerned, we do many
things unwillingly, or with some degree of reluctance,-^-
do many things which we are not cordially disposed to
do. We toil and labor to procure a livelihood. Most of
the ordinary transactions of life are prompted by a re
luctant willingness. But we can neither love nor hate,
either God or any other being, till we are cordially dis
posed and inclined to do it. But so long as the impeni
tent are actuated by the selfish considerations which
now govern them, and by which they will continue
to be governed while unconverted, they cannot render
themselves cordially disposed or inclined to love God by
any efforts of their own,' and there is something which
must be done for them by divine power, or it will remain
forever undone. Hence they are represented in the
Bible as " deac! in trespasses and sins," and if not re
vived, regenerated and created anew by the power of
God, they must remain as they are, " dead in trespasses
and sins." If the impenitent are every way competent
to renovate and change their own hearts, what need is
there of prayer and supplication? Why should they
ask God to do for them that which they are so well able
•to do for themselves ? Most persons have correct views
upon this subject, when upon their knees engaged in the
duty of prayer. And why is it that all are Calvinistic
in their views upon this point, when they come to the
throne of grace?
Saying to the irreligious that they can become truly
pious as easily as they can rise from their seats, is ex
tremely gratifying to the pride of the carnal heart, and
soothing to the feelings of the impenitent, — it lulls them
into a state of fatal security. They say to themselves,
"yes, we design to attend to the subject of religion, but

13
in doing it, we will take our own time and consult our
own convenience ; and, what is more, there are no such
representations to be found in the Bible, — ' Can the Ethio
pian change his skin or the leopard his spots?'" My
impenitent readers, though your inability consists merely
in the want of a cordial willingness to obey God and keep
his commands, still it is a real inability, which of your
selves you can never overcome. By your own power
you cannot extricate yourselves from the lost, guilty and
ruined condition in which you are. Efforts and exertions
springing from the motives by which you are actuated,
and by which you will continue to be actuated while you
remain unconverted, are of no avail. On becoming truly
pious, there is not only a change in the conduct of men,
but the fountain of feeling is renovated and changed, and
we begin to love the God of the Bible, in whose moral
perfections, up to that period, we found no satisfaction or
delight. Some may be disposed to say, "yes ! I am well satis
fied of the truths which have now been presented. I am
a depraved and sinful creature. I have long been con
vinced of my want of love to God and to his law, and
obedience without love is not what he requires of me, or
will accept. And how can I love the God of holiness,
whom I do not love, though I confess it to be my duty ?
Or how can I love the humility of the gospel and the
duties of piety which I regard with aversion ? I cannot
awaken in my bosom the feelings which I know I ought
to possess. I have long exerted myself for the purpose
of doing it, and make no progress. I am well satisfied of
my inability, and what shall I do, what can _E do, to pro
mote the welfare of my soul ?" If it is true that you
have discovered the plague of your own heart, and are
disposed to inquire, with solicitude, the way of salvation.

14
it is a matter of joy ; you are near the kingdom of heav
en ; and there is no reason why you should despond.
" Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be
saved." In other words, under a sense of your sinful
ness, your danger and your dependence, apply to the great
Physician, rejoicing in a Saviour's power to restore and
to heal. There is a remedy provided, there is relief to
be obtained ; and there is no help for you but in the
Lord Jesus Christ,- " the Author and Finisher of our
faith," and who is exalted "to give repentance to Israel
and the remission of sins." You are dependent upon
his righteousness as the ground of your justification,
and you are not less dependent upon his power to work .
in you that which is well pleasing in his sight. And if
under these favorable and highly interesting circumstan- ,
ces. you come short of salvation, it must be either because
you do not understand, or because you do not believe,
the gospel. " Thou hast destroyed thyself, but in me is
thy help." He is your help and your remedy. Thanks
be unto him that giveth us the victory. " Believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ," rejoicing in his goodness and
his power. You have no other help ; there is no other
remedy. Though regeneration is emphatically the work of the
Holy Spirit, nevertheless God works in and through the
agency of his creatures. He exerts his power in leading
them to exert their own power . It is He who has brought
you to the state in which you are. Whenever and wher-
" ever the impenitent are actively engaged in working out
their own salvation, it is because God is there, by his
Spirit, " working in them to will and to do of his good
pleasure;" and there is no possibility of your obtaining
eternal life except ,by striving to enter in, giving all
diligence to make your calling sure, for this is the way

15
and the manner in which the divine power is exerted.
Waiting God's time, as it is called, is often to resist the
influence of his Spirit, and to persevere in doing it, is
forcing your way to destruction.
There are no difficulties in the way of your salvation
which do not originate in your want of love to God, and
in the absence of a cordial willingness to obey his com
mands ; yet thee are difficulties, great and serious diffi
culties, in the way of your salvation. In a dying hour
you may be very anxious to secure the welfare of your
soul, and exert yourselves for the purpose of doing it,
and come short of eternal life. ' Your help must come
from God. You are commanded to make to yourselves
a new heart, and to repent of your sins, and you have
¦no valid excuse for remaining impenitent even for an
hour. Your depravity, the want of a cordial willingness
to obey God, is no reason why the duty of repentance
should not be urged, or it would not have been urged
in the Bible. Peter, on the day of Pentecost, urged the
duty of immediate repentance, and it should be done by
every minister of the Gospel ; and you must repent, or
perish forever. Yet there are difficulties ; and this is
the very reason why you should say with holy importu
nity, "create within me a clean heart, 0 God, and re
new a right spirit within me." It is the very reason
why you should look for help to the goodness and power
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Want of power, originating
in, or resulting from the state of the moral affections, is
no excuse, no apology for sin.
Many quarrel with the doctrine of dependence, but it
is the very truth of which it is necessary that you should
be convinced, — a, truth which you must either leam or
die. A Saviour needed is a Saviour valued. Mankind

16
do not look for help to the Rock of their salvation, till
well satisfied of their own weakness ; then, and not till
then, he becomes to them exceeding precious.
" I know that my Redeemer lives :
What comfort this sweet sentence gives !
He lives, triumphant from the grave,
He lives, OMNIPOTENT to save.
He lives to bless me with his love,
He lives to plead for me above ;
He lives my hungry soul to feed,
He lives to help in time of need.
He lives, my kind, wise, heavenly Friend,
He lives, and loves me to the end ;
He lives, and while he lives, I '11 sing,
He lives, my Prophet, Priest and King.
He lives, and grants me daily breath,
He lives, and I shall conquer death ;
He lives, my mansion to prepare,
He lives, to bring me safely there.
He lives ! all glory to his name !
He lives, my Jesus, still the same ;
0 ! the sweet joy this sentence gives,
I know that my Redeemer lives."

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