And, did ever a sinner perish with such feelings? No, thanks to Christ, not one! Try it, dear sinner, try it.
We clip the above from the Presbyterian Advocate, as a specimen of “the blind leading the blind.” Why is it that when men attempt to answer Scripture questions, they can not give Scripture answers? When the Philippian Jailer propounded substantially the above question, the holy apostle answered him, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spoke unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.” Acts xvi. 30–32. When this pagan officer asked what he should do, he was not blindly told that he could do nothing—that the first lesson to learn in salvation was that he could not do anything, but he was told what to do, and forthwith did it and was saved.
When Saul asked the important question, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” he was by no means told that he could not do anything. But he was told to “Arise, and go to Damascus, and there it shall be told thee, all things that are appointed for thee to do.” Acts xxii. 9–10; see verse 16. Would God appoint things for men to do, and say, “Why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord,” if he knew they could not do anything?
When three thousand cried out, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” there was no blind guide to say, “You can do nothing,” but there were present apostles, under the influence of the infallible Spirit of all wisdom, who said, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins.” Acts ii. 38.
[EVANGELISTS—PASTORS.]
THE evangelist is not an officer in a church, or for a church, but his work is at large, to build up the churches, strengthen them and turn sinners to the Lord. He should introduce the gospel into new places, establish churches, and in due time set them in order. He is not an ecclesiastic, an official dignitary, who has much to say about his office and authority, but a gospel man, a man of influence, and can command respect and do a good work.
A shepherd, or, which is the same, pastor, is not an officer at all, but a figurative term applied to him who takes care of the flock. The flock means the church, and the shepherd is the correlative of flock, and is applied to an overseer, or one who oversees or looks over the flock as a shepherd. “Pastoral work” is, then, the work of a shepherd, or overseer, who can not be a novice or a young convert.