S. SOWING WILD OATS NOT CONDUCIVE TO SALVATION

SOWING WILD OATS NOT CONDUCIVE TO SALVATION

TEXT: Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him. - Acts 10:34-35.

It is almost, if not quite impossible, in preaching, to emphasize one truth of a system without disparaging some other in the mind of the hearer. And oftentimes, either through an imperfection in the preacher’s method, or from an infirmity of the hearer, the accentuation of the peculiar truth under discussion results in monstrous error in the opposite extreme. It is a good thing, therefore, for the preacher to ascertain in some fashion what impressions are being made in the minds of his congregation by his pulpit ministrations.

I cite three instances which sufficiently account for the selection of my theme today. The first occurred many years ago, when, in my early ministry, I was preaching to Old Providence church in Burleson County. At the conclusion of the service in which I had emphasized salvation by grace through faith, and described the impossibility of salvation by works of righteousness which we may do, I was invited to dine with a lady member of the church who seemed greatly troubled in mind. When the opportunity for conversation arrived she amazed me by propounding, pointblank and solemnly, these questions:

"Brother Carroll, do you regard it as a positive disadvantage to a woman seeking salvation that she has lived a chaste, modest, pure life; that she has been a good daughter, a good sister, a good wife, a good mother? Are a harlot’s chances better than hers? And is it an advantage to a man seeking salvation that he has been a prodigal, a reprobate, an outrageous, outbreaking, shocking sinner, familiar with all unclean things? And ought we, who are burdened for the salvation of our children, to encourage them to hasten to the depths of unrighteousness because a rise from the bottom is more probable than from a position half-way down?"

I was horror-striken by these questions, evidently propounded with all seriousness and anxiety of mind, and I said, "My sister, is it possible that you derived these impressions from my preaching?" "Well," she replied, "I don’t know what to think. I am perplexed. But it seems to me, that the gospel, as you preach it, offers a premium to the worst cases, and that the comparative probabilities of salvation give all the advantages to exceedingly vile sinners." Of course, I made clear her misapprehension of the gospel, but the incident made me more cautious in my methods of presenting single truths. The second incident occurred some ten years ago. In a conversation with a skeptic, he charged that the trend of the average preaching was virtually an encouragement to gross immorality in order to conviction of sin sufficient to lead one to a Savior. The third incident was quite recent, a youth justifying himself in sowing a crop of wild oats by the plea that only prodigals stood any showing of salvation. The last incident revived the memory of the preceding ones and led to a serious reflection on the comparative effects of morality and immorality on the probabilities of salvation by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ. The conclusion reached by the reflection may be stated in the form of a proposition: Scripture, reason and experience, unite in teaching that the probabilities of one’s believing in Christ and thereby being saved by grace are enhanced more by previous morality than by previous immorality. But even here in the very statement of this proposition, great caution is necessary.

Let it be carefully noted that the only salvation contemplated by this proposition is salvation by grace and not of works; that this salvation finds its only meritorious ground in the vicarious sacrifice of Jesus Christ; that we come in touch with the merits of His atonement by faith in Him; that no antecedent good works in us, and no foreseen repentance and faith on our part is the ground. or reason of God’s election of our souls unto eternal life.

If the proposition can not be maintained without surrendering all, or even one of these clear teachings of Scripture, then its position is conceded to be untenable. At the outset, therefore, it is maintained inflexibly that on no part of the ground does man first give to God that it may be recompensed unto him again. It is also disclaimed with equal emphasis not only that the morality of any fallen being is perfect, but that it can be morality at all, except as superinduced by divine grace.

It may then be asked what remains of the proposition? Much, every way. This much at least we may affirm-that one who walks in the light perceived is more apt to reach fulness of light than one who turns his back on it and walks the other way; that one who yields to the Spirit’s motions however given, and one who uses the appointed means of salvation, will more likely attain the salvation, than one who turns a deaf ear to the former or wilfully declines to avail himself of the latter; that indulgence in known sin blunts the moral preceptions, sears the conscience, hardens the heart, increases the evil environment, decreases opportunity. For example: The fourth commandment of the moral law is, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." Among the beneficent objects of this law we may reckon these:

(1) To give time to think of our relations to God;

(2) To give time to learn of these relations and their consequent duties.

Now on this day Christ is preached and the word of life is taught. And since faith, the faith of our proposition, comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word’ of God, how can they believe except they hear, and how can they hear, if through the immorality of Sabbath desecration, they forsake the assembling of themselves together? How can the immorality of secularizing the Lord’s day be conducive to believing?

These reflections lead me to select a subject today as set forth in Acts 10:1-48, Acts 11:1-30, and Acts 15:1-41. Let us get the whole case before us:

"There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, a devout man, and one that feared God with all his. house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway. He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, ’Cornelius.’ And when he looked on Him, he was afraid, and said, ’What is it, Lord?’ And He said unto him, ’Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: he lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the seaside: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.’"

Omitting a part, I read again:

"Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him. And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends. And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshiped him. But Peter took him up, saying, ’Stand up; I myself also am a man.’ And as he talked with him, he went in, and found many that were come together. And he said unto them, ’Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore I came unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me?’"

Cornelius then goes on to recite the visitation of the angel directing him to send for Peter, and concludes by saying,

"Immediately therefore I sent to thee: and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded of God." To which Peter replies,

"Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him." Then he goes on and presents the gospel to them, and they are all instantly converted and the Holy Ghost is poured out on them. This transaction excited attention in Jerusalem, and they called Peter to account for it. In his defense of his conduct, he said this, "And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house: and he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, ’Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.’ And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that He said, ’John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.’

Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as He did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, what was I, that I could withstand God? When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, ’Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.’"

Now in the fifteenth chapter, in the council at Jerusalem, we have these words by Peter, referring to the same thing:

"And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, ’Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God which knoweth the hearts, bear them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as He did unto us; and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith:"

Now, having read these scriptures, I select as a text Acts 10:34-35 :

"Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him." The salient facts in this case are obvious. Here is a man who feared God and wrought righteousness, and yet he was not a saved man, because the object in sending for Peter was that Peter might "tell him words whereby he should be saved;" and because after he heard Peter, "God granted him repentance unto life;" and because after he heard Peter, he believed in Jesus Christ, and "God purified his heart" by that faith; because the Holy Spirit bore witness to his faith just as He did to the faith of Peter himself. Peter, being a believer on the day of Pentecost received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, that gift of the Holy Ghost, which was to be given unto them which believe in Jesus Christ. It was like the gift that Cornelius received, and it was given to the apostles who believed; so it was given to Cornelius who believed. It is evident then from this scripture that Cornelius was not a converted, a saved man, before he met Peter. No man with the record before him can fairly take that position. And that being true, we have another view of the case, which is that he was under the Spirit’s injunction, and so he feared God and continually prayed to Him and continually offered up alms.

Whatever you may think about it, that is the scriptural statement of the case. He feared God. He was endeavoring with all the light before him to honor God; to do what under this light seemed to him to be the will of God. Then we have this statement, that these alms and prayers of this man came up as a memorial before

God; they memorialized heaven and they were received in heaven as an indication of the attitude and character of the man who offered them.

It is also stated that God accepted what this man had done; that it made an impression on the divine mind; that it made a favorable impression on the divine mind, and that it did not count anything against him that he was not a Jew. And that is the tremendous truth impressed upon the mind of Peter. Under God’s dealings with him concerning this case, he said, "I perceive (I did not see it before; I did not understand before, but now I perceive; from the evidence which has been brought to my mind, I now perceive) two things: first, that God is no respecter of persons as to nationality; second, what God does have respect to is character, shaped under His guidance, whether in a Jew or a Gentile."

"Whosoever feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted with Him." Not accepted in the sense that he is saved; not accepted in the sense that he has become a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, but it yet teaches a tremendous truth, and it is a truth which I feel constrained to press upon your hearts and consciences today. And what is that truth? It is not to the credit of any man; it never will be to the credit of any man; it never will be regarded as anything but loathsome and shameful to any man that he commits sin. It will never be an advantage to a man that he was an outrageous sinner. It will always be to the disadvantage of a man that he had been vile. It does not increase the probabilities that he will be a saved man that he has gone out sowing wild oats. It decreases the probabilities that he will be a saved man, that he has gone out and sowed wild oats.

It never will be to the credit of a girl or a woman that she was sinful. There never will be a time when it will be an advantage to a woman that she was a harlot. There never will be a time when it will be a discredit to a woman that she was a good daughter, that she was a good wife. It was God who said, "Thou shalt not steal," and who also said, "Believe on Jesus Christ." Disobedience to one does induce disobedience to the other.

Now unless these positions are true God goes against His own nature which led Him to inscribe with His own finger the Ten Commandments on the tables of stone. "Thou shalt not have any other god before me." Now, how can it be creditable, with that commandment there, that a man would become an idolator? "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." Under that law, how could it ever be to the advantage of a man that he was noted for profanity? How could heaven ever have pleasure in that as an inducement to accept Jesus Christ, or increase the probabilities that he ever would accept Him? The New Testament gives us an account of very many thousands of people being converted, and mentions the conversion of but a few harlots. Thousands and thousands of women who were not harlots were converted. A few harlots were converted, and so vivid an impression did this make upon the public mind that the attention was fixed more upon those than upon the many. There were hundreds and thousands of harlots in the time of Christ, but the life they led was not conducive to an acquaintance with Him, and but few of that great number ever found Him. And those who did find Him did not find Him because they were harlots and’ were not recommended to Him on that account, and their shame was not put to their credit. Not only this, but whenever a bad man, an outrageous sinner, was saved, really saved, it never was a matter of glory to him afterwards that he had been so vile. It was a matter of shame to him. Paul never gloried in his crimes. Whenever he referred to them it was with deep, profound shame that yet oppressed his heart, that he had been so vile. It is a bad sign, it is a sign arguing a doubt as to the conversion of one who has been an outrageous sinner that he rolls that fact under his tongue as a sweet morsel; that he counts it a feather in his cap; that he parades it before men as something to rejoice in, that puts upon him special honor. No, young man; sin is sin, and in all eternity it can never be to your advantage that you were extraordinarily vile; sever, never.

If God in that first commandment requires men to seek Him and to believe that He is, it was not to the discredit of Cornelius that, under the dim light, he had groped after God and prayed to Him. When God’s law commends mercy to man and pity and sympathy, it memorialized heaven of the character of Cornelius that he gave much alms to the destitute. It was always then, is now, and will be at the last, an advantage to Corneliusthat he had never been as vile as some.

Now, there is a tendency in sin to debase, and there is a law in sin that the wicked wax worse and worse; and that is true always. God says, "Thou shalt not steal." Is it a commendation to be a thief? God says, "Thou shalt not kill." Does it increase a man’s probabilities of becoming a Christian that he has been a murderer? God says, "Thou shalt not lust." If one has become so corrupt that his eyes can not cease from sin, and loathsome and slimy thoughts, like unclean worms, writhe and twist in his brain, and his heart has become like a cage of unclean birds-does all that, think you, increase his probabilities of salvation?

Now, we ought not to make a mistake in either direction. Here is the truth; that is, what the preacher aims at-what he means to say is, that no man can have a morality perfect enough to save him, and that if he relies upon his works of righteousness for salvation, he will miss the mark as this scripture teaches. It said to this moralist, Cornelius, it said to this man, comparatively a good man, it said to this worshipper, "You send for Peter and he will tell you words whereby you can be saved; there is sin with you and God will grant you repentance unto life; there is skepticism in you and God will grant you faith unto life; though you are a good man, as men call goodness, if you had to stand before God in His immaculate purity and be saved or lost upon your record, you would be lost. But yet it is well-pleasing to God that you honor Him as far as you do; it is more acceptable to God that you are an honest man than if you were a thief; it is more to be approved by the divine mind that you should tell the truth than to tell a lie; it is better for you that you should remember God in your younger days than that you should put off seeking God until you are old, and though God’s grace is so great, His mercy so abounding, that even an aged sinner may be saved, and a vile aged sinner may be saved."

It always will be true that it would have been better if he had found God in his youth. Now there never will come a time, it is impossible even in eternity that there should come a time when a man can say, "It is better that I was a spendthrift, and that I was disobedient to my parents; that I was a bad sinner, that I was a thief and a drunkard, that I brought sorrow to my mother’s heart and anxiety, and that I debauched my person and became loathsome." It never can be that it was best that he should have lived that way.

I wish we could get that into our minds. I am sure I did not intend to make that impression on the mind of that good sister at Old Providence church; she misunderstood me; she misconstrued what I said. How could she think that I would teach that it was an advantage for a girl to be sinful; that it was a feather in a young man’s cap that he was a prodigal and a spendthrift? Unrighteousnesss is sin; it is never good; it is always abominable and vile. It never can be made a matter of glory; it is always a matter of shame. And yet it is true that the grace of God is sufficient for the salvation of the vilest on repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a restful thing, it is bound to be considered a restful thing, to see salvation coming to a man like Cornelius. We must not count it against him that he was reputable. We must not count it against him that he was honorable. We must not count it against him that he loved the truth. We must not count it against him that he was merciful. We must consider that any approximation in his life and conduct to the moral law under the monitions of God’s Holy Spirit was such as God would approve and not condemn. I have given some attention to the statistics of this subject, and they show that the probabilities are that the less vile you become as a sinner, the more, humanly speaking, is the prospect of becoming saved through the blood of Christ. Is that true? Let us look at it carefully. Is that true?, Is it a scriptural idea? I stated it once, and a man said, "That cannot be true." "Why?" "Because it is against the Scripture." "What does the Scripture say?" "The Scriptures say the publicans and harlots go into the kingdom of heaven before you." "Before whom?"

I admit that publicans and harlots went into the kingdom of heaven before some people, and that it was more probable that they would go in ahead of that other crowd. But what was that other crowd? Compare the two classes-was that a better class than this one? Our Lord said that for a pretense they made long prayers; that they were whited sepulchres, inwardly full of rottenness and dead men’s bones; that they lived by extortion and devoured widows and orphans. They were as loathsome sinners in the sight of God as these harlots. They were worse sinners than these publicans. They had only an external sanctity, which was itself an abomination to God.

Hypocrisy is no more conducive to acceptance of Jesus Christ than idolatry and extortion is no more to the credit of a man than to be a spendthrift, and on the whole I am inclined to the opinion that the probabilities are, humanly speaking, that the spendthrift will go into the kingdom of heaven before the miser does. But I do not say that he will likely go into the kingdom of heaven before what is called the average man - honest, reputable man. The miser is viler than the spendthrift. He is a meaner character than the spendthrift. His soul is shriveled more. He is guilty of more heinous offenses than the other.

It remains true-is bound to remain true if God is God, if His law stands good, if the

Ten Commandments constitute the rule of human life, it must always be true ¾ that it is better to have been honest and truthful and fair and merciful than to have been the opposite. If I see a young man disrespectful to his parents; if I see him weak as water, yielding to dissipation by night and by day and undermining his health and weakening his mind, I know that it does not increase his chances of salvation. I know that if he is ever saved, it will be nothing to his credit that he had gone as far down in degradation as he did; that it always would have been better if he had bees more upright, temperate, respectful and obedient to his parents; it always would have been better. Do you know that very few gamblers are saved, very few drunkards are saved, very few harlots are saved? The grace of God is rich enough and deep enough for their salvation, but it is a very small number of them that are saved. But if it were true that living a life of that kind increases the chances of one’s being saved, we would not have such statistics.

Let us take the history of this church. I venture to say that ninety-nine per cent of those who have been converted since God established this church were not extreme cases of lawlessness; and yet you know that since this pulpit was erected, every preacher that occupied it has declared the fulness of the grace of God as sufficient to save any man, even though on the very brink of hell, if he would only turn to God for mercy through Jesus Christ.

Having made that point plain, I suppose, I want now to make another point plain. I want it to be just as plain as the first, that if a man shall say within himself, "I am reasonably truthful; I am reasonably temperate in my life,; I pay my debts (which some members of the church do not, to their shame); I stand in the eyes of the community in which I live as a man whose word is as good as his bond, and therefore I am good enough; I do not need any Savior" ¾ when he takes that position ¾ I am bound, in view of the truth, in view of the teaching of God’s Word, to say that he is very nigh to hell, whoever he may be.

I know Cornelius did not act that way. I know that- he walked in the light that he had and was not satisfied with it. He wanted more. He prayed to God for clearer views of truth. He stood ready to welcome the truth. Listen to this one sentence describing him and see how it is: "And Cornelius said, ’Immediately therefore I sent to thee (just as soon as it was made plain to me that there was clearer truth than I had ever received, immediately I acted on it) I sent for thee and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now, therefore, we are all present here before God to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.’" That readiness of mind, that docility of spirit, that teachableness, that the man who relies upon his morality has not, but he has made a god of his imperfect righteousness and has put that up as a savior. Hence, Paul teaches that if you are raising this question about putting a bridge across the chasm that separates God and man there is no difference between a truth and a lie, or your short bridge and your longer bridge, since neither can reach the other shore. Now, it was in that sense that Paul said there was no difference. He did not mean to say that there is no difference between a truth and a lie; he did not mean to teach that it makes no difference whether a girl is pure and modest or sinful in speech and life; he never meant that. But he said as touching the question of salvation by one’s personal righteousness, in that respect it made no difference.

Let us discriminate. Let us not apply a sense to words that the apostle never applied to them. He did say, in effect, that a moralist who thought to enter heaven in his own righteousness, and a vile man, an immoralist, would both alike fail of heaven. Didn’t he declare all under sin and as for pure and perfect righteousness, there is none righteous ¾ no, not one? They are all under condemnation and guilt, and Christ is offered as a means of perfect salvation to all men, whether Jew or Gentile. There is something here to think about. Let us suppose that the judgment day with its decisions has come and gone a thousand years, and up there in heaven is Lydia, and Dorcas, and that nameless woman who kissed the feet of Jesus. What I mean to say is that even that long after the judgment day it will never be a matter of congratulation to that woman that she had been so vile a sinner, and that it will never be a matter of regret to Lydia and Dorcas that they had lived purer and more useful lives. Let us not mistake on these points.

We have an illustration in point: A few days ago I was invited to conduct a meeting in Baylor University. That meeting has been going on about ten days. I never in my life saw a meeting commence at the start with such power and continue with such power. On a number of occasions I saw a greater per cent of the unconverted people in that audience express an interest in salvation-their own salvation-than I ever saw before in my life but once. Now, I maintain that even if I had an equal audience of hardened sinners, town-bums, political ward-healers, men steeped in iniquity, that the same proportion of -the unconverted would not have been moved to Christ. But antecedent to that, when will any preacher have so great an audience of the hardened classes? And how can they believe except they hear? Their life is not conducive to a hearing. Think about that.

You are on a .question of probabilities. I say the same proportion of them would not have been as easily reached. And why? Because of the trend of sin to blind the eyes and harden the heart, and make the soul impervious to the reception of the truth, and to increase skepticism more and more. And speaking of probabilities, there would not have been so many, and I take pleasure in telling these young people that it never can be to their disadvantage that they have not become vile; it never can be a discredit to them that they have refrained from drunkenness and debauchery and a shameful life in the sloughs and sinks of iniquity. But yet if I saw one of them very near the pit of hell, on the edge of it and he would listen to me, I would try to lead him to Christ, whose grace is sufficient for the salvation of the vilest sinner.

Suppose one is not in the habit of going where the gospel is preached-does it increase the probabilities that he will be converted? Suppose he does not go to church more than once in six months or a year, what are the probabilities in his case? Use common sense to decide the question. If it is to the advantage of the man not to come; if his chances are increased by staying away; if he is more likely to be saved by forsaking the assembling of the people of God, then we are making a mistake in urging the people to come up every week to the services of God. I say that but few people whose habit is to stay away from the place of worship and the means of grace, may hope for accidental opportunities of eternal life. Law is law either in the kingdom of grace or in the kingdom of nature. When I look in the face of my own child, I would, God knows that I speak the truth, I would rather she would, give her heart to the Lord Jesus Christ when she is young and the younger the better, if it be a genuine surrender to Christ I would rather that her childhood, like Timothy’s, should be devoted to the service of God than that she should wait and bring only the remnants of life to be laid on the altar of God, and it will always be better if she is saved at ten years of age than if she waits to be saved at fifty years of age. If that is true, then it is not true that one is under obligations to honor God at ten years of age; that there was no law obligating us to accept Christ at twelve, at fifteen, at twenty, at thirty, at forty, and the obligation came only at fifty. You know that is not true.

Then it is better to "seek ye the Lord while He may be found; call- upon Him while

He is near." I say it is better to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness before you seek the things of this world. I say it is better to bring the child-heart to Jesus than it is to bring the aged heart to Him. And yet, as men in a life-boat go out to a wreck whose minute guns and despair mingle with the roar of the breakers, so I would strive to save the aged sinner and preach to him that even in the eleventh hour, on his repentance, God will save him.

I have felt constrained to present these things to you today in the interest of righteousness. There are boys in Waco who glory in the fact that they are vile; who count it a feather in their cap that they have despised their mothers; that count it a special mark, a peculiar distinction, that they are becoming drunkards; that they are sowing a big crop of wild oats. Not so. Not so. Not so. "I perceive that God is no respecter of persons."

I mean to say that because you are an American or an Englishman or a Spaniard or a Hottentot, that signifies nothing so far as commending you to God is concerned. He is no respecter of persons as to nationality. God being just, does hold it as a memorial of a man whatever he does in the direction of truth and righteousness. It is bound to be so. True, He will not count that imperfect righteousness sufficient to justify him at the judgment bar. Tell me why it is that when Jesus looked upon that young man who had such a respect for law and order, such a regard for God and His commandments, why is it that Jesus, looking on him, loved him? It is true that

God loves all sinners. But that is not the thought expressed here. It means that there was approbation of whatever of right there was in him.

I have endeavored to present these two truths side by side, that it was better for Cornelius that he had followed what light he had, and yet, even Cornelius had to repent toward God and have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ in order to be saved. I want us to unite in prayer that the whole truth of the gospel may be seen in its symmetry, so that in looking at one view of it we do not lose sight of other views of it; that we may ask God to give us full and clear conceptions of divine truth as a system. Especially should we pray God to remove the impression that it will be any advantage to you that you should be an infidel for a while.

O, how many thousand times I myself have regretted that I ever did distrust God; that I ever was skeptical about revelation; that I ever did turn from the Bible! There never will come a time when it will be of advantage to me, when it will cease to be anything but a shame to me, that I did not from the first with a full heart, receive all the truth of God. Let us hate with unspeakable hatred a sham, a hypocrite, a whited sepulchre, but also hate that flaunting of sin in its tawdry rags, of shame, as if there was glory in it. Both are abominable in the sight of God.