Examples of Unwise Counsel to Awakened Sinners - Asahel Nettelton

Asahel Nettleton's feelings were often

severely tried by the unwise counsel

which some professing Christians

were in the habit of giving

to awakened sinners.

He has been heard to say

that he recognized more
evil from this source,

than from all the opposition

of public enemies of religion.

He usually occupied one meeting

in considering these misguided directions.

A sketch of the address delivered

on these occasions is found

among his papers,

of which the following is an extract.

Number one:

Wait at the pool.

You must not be discouraged,

for we read of one who waited 38 years.

This text is used by way of accommodation.

The impotent man was waiting at the pool,

not for the pardon of his sins,

but to be healed of a bodily disease.

We may accommodate
passages of Scripture

for the purpose of illustrating
acknowledged truth,

but we must not trace analogies too far.

In many respects, there
is a striking analogy

between a depraved heart

and a diseased body;

but there is one important point

in which the analogy does not hold -

the one is criminal,

the other is merely calamitous.

This use of the passage contradicts

many plain declarations of the Bible -

particularly all those which enjoin

the duty of immediate repentance.

Suppose a person should address sinners

in this manner:

Behold, now is the accepted time!

Behold, now is the day of salvation!

But wait at the pool.

Choose ye this day whom ye will serve;

but wait at the pool.

God now commands all men everywhere

to repent, but wait at the pool.

The effect of this direction is

to make the impression
on the sinner's mind,

that he is not under obligation

to obey God immediately;

and, of course, it
counteracts the influence

of every command of God

on the sinner's conscience.

The sinner is told that he
must not be discouraged,

for the impotent man waited 38 years.

This, however, is not said.

It is said that he had
an infirmity 38 years;

but it is not said that
he had waited a day.

Be this, however, as it may,

he was not healed by the pool after all,

nor is there any evidence

that he would have been

if he had waited all his life.

Number two:

Be patient and wait God's time.

What is the meaning of this direction

when given to an awakened sinner?

Be patient!

Is the sinner to understand

that he is too anxious for the salvation

of his soul,

and that he ought to wait patiently

in his sins till God shall see fit

to change his heart?

To tell the anxious sinner to be patient

without a new heart,

is the same as to tell him

to dismiss all his anxiety,

and to go back to a state of stupidity.

Patient in his sins!

Rather let him be more and more impatient

with himself and with
his deplorable condition.

Let him tremble in view
of a judgment to come,

and weep and howl for the miseries

that are coming upon him.

What is meant when the sinner

is directed to wait God's time?

Is it meant that God is not now ready

to receive the sinner?

Is it meant that the sinner

is willing to do his part,

and that he must wait for God

to do His?

If so, why not speak plainly

and tell the sinner:

I know you are ready and willing

to be a Christian,

but God is not ready and willing

to receive you.

But if God is not ready now

to receive the returning sinner,

what evidence is there

that He ever will be ready?

But when is God's time?

Do those who direct sinners

to wait God's time,

mean that it is not their duty

to repent and believe till

God grants them repentance and faith?

Then it was never was the duty

of those sinners to repent

who have gone to destruction,

and it never will be.

They waited all their lives,

and are waiting still,

and will wait to all eternity.

And it has never yet been the duty

of any sinner who is now impenitent

to repent;

and if God should not
grant him repentance,

it never will be.

But this directly
contradicts the Scriptures.

The sinner under conviction is distressed

with a sense of his obligation to comply

with the terms of salvation without delay.

And there is no way to relieve him

from his distress while impenitent,

but to release him from his sense

of obligation to repent.

To direct him to wait God's time

is directly calculated
to produce this effect,

and to counteract the operations

of the divine Spirit.

It is to plead the sinner's
cause against God.

But is it not hard to distress the sinner

by pressing him with his obligations?

It is painful, but it is necessary.

It is painful to the surgeon

to probe to the bottom

of a dangerous wound;

but it must be done,

or the patient will die.

If, through false pity,

we console the sinner
under these circumstances,

there is reason to fear that his blood

will be required at our hands.

if we direct the sinner to wait,

we direct him to run the awful hazard

of losing his soul.

Number three:

It is sometimes said to the sinner

under deep distress,

"Don't despair."

This expression frequently produces

a bad effect upon the sinner's mind.

It is sometimes the case,

that sinners speak of the greatness

of their sins

and the hopelessness of their condition,

on purpose to be flattered and consoled.

And when they do not,

it is always best to admit that

their case is quite as bad

as they represent it.

It is proper to hold up the fullness

of the atonement,

and the readiness of God

to forgive all who repent.

But this the sinner
generally does not doubt.

The thing that distresses
the convicted sinner

is the fear that he never shall repent.

From his own experience

he has full conviction
that it will never be

easier to repent than now.

His sins are increasing,

and his heart is becoming

more and more perverse.

God has said,

"Except ye repent,

ye shall all likewise perish."

He believes it.

He despairs of obtaining salvation

without repentance;

and of this he ought to despair.

Number four:

In every case of clear conviction

there is in the mind of the sinner

a painful sense of obligation to repent,

and a fearful apprehension

that he never shall repent.

In this state he sometimes inquires:

Do you think there is any hope in my case?

Do you think I ever shall

become a Christian?

This is a most interesting crisis,

and a little flattery here
may ruin the soul.

The proper answer to these inquiries is:

"I do not know.

It is altogether uncertain.

One thing is certain,

however great your sins may be,

if you will repent,

they shall be pardoned;

but whether you ever will repent

is altogether uncertain.

Sinners as anxious as you,

and perhaps more so,

have returned to stupidity,

and their last state has become worse

than the first."

When sinners are in this state of mind,

their friends are exceedingly prone

to flatter them.

"Oh! Don't despair - be patient.

Wait God's time.

You will doubtless find relief."

Such language is exceedingly dangerous.

Every word takes it for granted

that the sinner's concern for his soul

is without foundation.

One of two things is true -

either such directions are wrong,

or the sinner is not under conviction;

for if he is under real conviction,

the Spirit of God is shewing him

his true condition.

His apprehensions are well founded,

and if we attempt to
remove these apprehensions,

we directly counteract the operations

of the Holy Spirit.

The above extract will give the reader

some idea of the manner in which

Dr. Nettleton was in the habit

of dealing with awakened sinners.

He did not heal the
heart of sinners slightly,

nor cry, "Peace, peace,"

when God had not spoken peace.

Original Title: Injudicious Directions

From: Asahel Nettleton: Life & Labors

by Bennet Tyler & Andrew Bonar

Created by: ILLBEHONEST.COM