Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation: A Book for the Times

by James B. Walker

The following is a true statement of the influence of the religion of Jesus upon several individual members of a village church in one of the United States. It is composed of members of common intelligence, and those in the common walks of life. Other churches might have been selected in which, perhaps, a greater number of interesting cases might have been found. And there are other individuals in this church that would furnish as good an illustration of the power of the gospel as some of those which are noticed below. This church has been selected, because the writer had a better opportunity of visiting it in order to obtain the facts than any other in which he knew the power of the religion of Christ was experienced.

With the individuals spoken of I am well acquainted, having frequently conversed with them all on the subjects of which I shall speak. Their words in all cases may not have been remembered, but the sense is truly given.

Case 1.—An old man who has been a professor of religion from early life. He was once a deacon, or elder, of the church. Twenty years ago he was struck with paralysis, by which he has been ever since confined almost entirely to his room. His situation is one that, to a mind which had no inward consolation, would be irksome in the extreme. His books are the Bible and one or two volumes of the old divines. He is patient and happy; and speaking of the love of Christ almost invariably suffuses his eyes with tears. He delights to dwell on religious subjects; and to talk with a pious friend of the topics which his heart loves gives him evident delight. Recently, his aged wife, who had trodden the path of life with him, from youth to old age, died in his presence. She died, what is called by Christians, a triumphant death; her last words were addressed to her children who stood around—‘I see the cross,’—a gleam of pleasure passed over her features, her eyes lighted up with peculiar brightness; she said, ‘Blessed Jesus, the last hour is come: I am ready;’ and thus she departed. At her death, the old man wept freely, and wept aloud; but his sorrow, he said, was mingled with a sweet joy. How desolate would have been the condition of this poor cripple for the last twenty years without the consolations of faith in Christ! And when his aged wife died, who had for years sat by his side, how appalling would have been the gloom that would have settled upon his soul, had not his mind been sustained by heavenly hope! His case shows that the religion of Christ will keep the affections warm and tender even to the latest periods of old age, and give happiness to the soul under circumstances of the most severe temporal bereavement.

Case 2.—A converted atheist. I knew that there were those in the world who professed to doubt the existence of a God; but I had met with no one in all my intercourse with mankind who seemed so sincerely and so entirely an atheist as the individual whose case is now introduced. The first time that I met him was at the house of his son-in-law, a gentleman of piety and intelligence. His appearance was that of a decrepid, disconsolate old man. In the course of conversation he unhesitatingly expressed his unbelief of the existence of a God, and his suspicion of the motives of most of those who professed religion. I learned from others that he had ceased in some measure to have intercourse with men—had become misanthropic in his feelings, regarding mankind in the light of a family of sharks, preying upon each other; and his own duty in such a state of things, he supposed to be to make all honest endeavours to wrest from the grasp of others as much as he could. He used profane language, opposed the temperance reformation, and looked with the deepest hatred upon the ministers of religion. His social affections seemed to be withered, and his body, sympathizing, was distorted and diseased by rheumatic pains.

1. This old man had for years been the subject of special prayer on the part of his pious daughter and his son-in-law; and he was finally persuaded by them to attend a season of religious worship in the church of which they were members. During these services, which lasted several days, he passed from a state of atheism to a state of faith. The change seemed to surprise every one, and himself as much as any other. From being an atheist, he became the most simple and implicit believer. He seemed like a being who had waked up in another world, the sensations of which were all new to him; and although a man of sound sense in business affairs, when he began to express his religious ideas, his language seemed strange and incongruous, from the fact that, while his soul was now filled with new thoughts and feelings, he had no knowledge of the language by which such thoughts are usually expressed. The effects produced by his conversion were as follows—stated at one time to myself, and upon another occasion to one of the most eminent medical practitioners in this country:—One of the first things which he did after his conversion, was to love, in a practical manner, his worst enemy. There was one man in the village who had, as he supposed, dealt treacherously with him in some money transactions which had occurred between them. On this account, personal enmity had long existed between the two individuals. When converted, he sought his old enemy—asked his forgiveness—and endeavoured to benefit him by bringing him under the influence of the gospel.

2. His benevolent feelings were awakened and expanded. His first benevolent offering was twenty-five cents, in a collection for charitable uses. He now gives very liberally, in proportion to his means, to all objects which he thinks will advance the interests of the gospel of Christ. Besides supporting his own church and her benevolent institutions, no enterprise of any denomination which he really believes will do good fails to receive something from him, if he has the means. During the last year, he has given more with the design of benefiting his fellow-men than he had done in his whole lifetime before.

3. His affections have received new life. He said to me, in conversation upon the subject: ‘One part of the Scriptures I feel to be true—that which says, “I will take away the hard and stony heart, and give you a heart of flesh.” Once I seemed to have no feeling; now, thank God, I can feel. I have buried two wives and six children, but I never shed a tear—I felt hard and unhappy; now my tears flow at the recollection of these things.’ The tears at that time wet the old man’s cheeks. It is not probable that, since his conversion, there has been a single week that he has not shed tears; before conversion he had not wept since the age of manhood. An exhibition of the love of Christ will, at any time, move his feelings with gratitude and love, until the tears moisten his eyes.

4. Effect upon his life. Since his conversion he has not ceased to do good as he has had opportunity. Several individuals have been led to repent and believe in Christ through his instrumentality. Some of these were individuals whose former habits rendered a change of character very improbable in the eyes of most individuals. One of them, who had fallen into the habit of intemperance, is now a respectable and happy father of a respectable Christian family. He has been known to go to several families on the same day, pray with them, and invite them to attend religious worship on the Sabbath. And when some difficulty was stated as a hindrance to their attendance, he has assisted them to buy shoes, and granted other little aids of the kind, in order that they might be induced to attend divine service. Since the first edition was issued, a most remarkable fact concerning this old man has come to the knowledge of the author. When converted, one of his first acts, although he had heard nothing of any such act in others, was to make out a list of all his old associates then living within reach of his influence. For the conversion of these he determined to labour as he had opportunity, and pray daily. On his list were one hundred and sixteen names, among whom were sceptics, drunkards, and other individuals as little likely to be reached by Christian influence as any other men in the region. Within two years from the period of the old man’s conversion, one hundred of these individuals had made a profession of religion. We can hardly suppose that the old man was instrumental in the conversion of all these persons, yet the fact is one of the most remarkable that has been developed in the progress of Christianity.

5. Effect upon his happiness. In a social meeting of the church where he worships, I heard him make such an expression as this: ‘I have rejoiced but once since I trusted in Christ—that has been all the time.’ His state of mind may be best described in his own characteristic language. One day he was repairing his fence. An individual passing addressed him: ‘Mr. ——, you are at work all alone.’ ‘Not alone,’ said the old man, ‘God is with me.’ He said that his work seemed easy to him, and his peace of mind continued with scarcely an interruption. I saw him at a time when he had just received intelligence that a son who had gone to the south had been shot in a personal altercation in one of the southern cities. The old man’s parental feelings were moved, but he seemed, even under this sudden and most distressing affliction, to derive strong consolation from trust in God.

6. Physical effects of the moral change. As soon as his moral nature had undergone a change, his body, by sympathy, felt the benign influence. His countenance assumed a milder and more intelligent aspect. He became more tidy in his apparel, and his ‘thousand pains,’ in a good measure, left him. In his case, there seemed to be a renovation both of soul and body.