Seeing it is a duty that God has laid
upon every man according to his ability to exhort and reprove in the Great
Commission work (Matt. 28:19-20), and with all possible diligence to labor
after the salvation of all about him, judge then whether this work be reasonably
performed. Where shall we find the man among us, that sets himself to it
with all his might, and that has set his heart upon the souls of his fellow men,
that they may be saved? Let us here, therefore, question what may be the causes
of the gross neglect of this duty, that the hindrances being
discovered may more easily be overcome.
1. One hindrance is, men's own gracelessness and guilt. They have not been overcome with the knowledge of the heavenly delights of their own salvation. How, then, should they draw others so earnestly to seek after them? They have not felt the wickedness of their own natures, nor their lost condition, nor their need of Christ, nor felt the transforming, renewing work of the Spirit. How, then, can they make these real to others? Men are guilty themselves of the sins they should reprove, and this stops their mouth, and makes them ashamed to reprove.
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