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Asahel Nettleton's feelings were often

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severely tried by the unwise counsel

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which some professing Christians

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were in the habit of giving

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to awakened sinners.

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He has been heard to say

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that he recognized more 
evil from this source,

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than from all the opposition

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of public enemies of religion.

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He usually occupied one meeting

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in considering these misguided directions.

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A sketch of the address delivered

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on these occasions is found

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among his papers,

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of which the following is an extract.

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Number one:

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Wait at the pool.

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You must not be discouraged,

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for we read of one who waited 38 years.

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This text is used by way of accommodation.

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The impotent man was waiting at the pool,

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not for the pardon of his sins,

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but to be healed of a bodily disease.

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We may accommodate 
passages of Scripture

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for the purpose of illustrating 
acknowledged truth,

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but we must not trace analogies too far.

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In many respects, there 
is a striking analogy

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between a depraved heart

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and a diseased body;

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but there is one important point

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in which the analogy does not hold -

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the one is criminal,

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the other is merely calamitous.

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This use of the passage contradicts

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many plain declarations of the Bible -

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particularly all those which enjoin

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the duty of immediate repentance.

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Suppose a person should address sinners

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in this manner:

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Behold, now is the accepted time!

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Behold, now is the day of salvation!

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But wait at the pool.

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Choose ye this day whom ye will serve;

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but wait at the pool.

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God now commands all men everywhere

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to repent, but wait at the pool.

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The effect of this direction is

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to make the impression 
on the sinner's mind,

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that he is not under obligation

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to obey God immediately;

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and, of course, it 
counteracts the influence

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of every command of God

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on the sinner's conscience.

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The sinner is told that he 
must not be discouraged,

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for the impotent man waited 38 years.

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This, however, is not said.

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It is said that he had 
an infirmity 38 years;

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

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Be this, however, as it may,

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he was not healed by the pool after all,

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nor is there any evidence

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that he would have been

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if he had waited all his life.

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Number two:

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Be patient and wait God's time.

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What is the meaning of this direction

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when given to an awakened sinner?

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Be patient!

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Is the sinner to understand

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that he is too anxious for the salvation

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of his soul,

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and that he ought to wait patiently

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in his sins till God shall see fit

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to change his heart?

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To tell the anxious sinner to be patient

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without a new heart,

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is the same as to tell him

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to dismiss all his anxiety,

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and to go back to a state of stupidity.

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Patient in his sins!

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Rather let him be more and more impatient

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with himself and with 
his deplorable condition.

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Let him tremble in view 
of a judgment to come,

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and weep and howl for the miseries

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that are coming upon him.

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What is meant when the sinner

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is directed to wait God's time?

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Is it meant that God is not now ready

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to receive the sinner?

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Is it meant that the sinner

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is willing to do his part,

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and that he must wait for God

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to do His?

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If so, why not speak plainly

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and tell the sinner:

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I know you are ready and willing

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to be a Christian,

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but God is not ready and willing

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to receive you.

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But if God is not ready now

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to receive the returning sinner,

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what evidence is there

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that He ever will be ready?

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But when is God's time?

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Do those who direct sinners

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to wait God's time,

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mean that it is not their duty

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to repent and believe till

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God grants them repentance and faith?

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Then it was never was the duty

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of those sinners to repent

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who have gone to destruction,

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and it never will be.

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They waited all their lives,

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and are waiting still,

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and will wait to all eternity.

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And it has never yet been the duty

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of any sinner who is now impenitent

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to repent;

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and if God should not 
grant him repentance,

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it never will be.

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But this directly 
contradicts the Scriptures.

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The sinner under conviction is distressed

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with a sense of his obligation to comply

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with the terms of salvation without delay.

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And there is no way to relieve him

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from his distress while impenitent,

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but to release him from his sense

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of obligation to repent.

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To direct him to wait God's time

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is directly calculated 
to produce this effect,

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and to counteract the operations

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of the divine Spirit.

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

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But is it not hard to distress the sinner

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by pressing him with his obligations?

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It is painful, but it is necessary.

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It is painful to the surgeon

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to probe to the bottom

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of a dangerous wound;

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but it must be done,

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or the patient will die.

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If, through false pity,

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we console the sinner 
under these circumstances,

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there is reason to fear that his blood

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will be required at our hands.

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if we direct the sinner to wait,

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we direct him to run the awful hazard

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of losing his soul.

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Number three:

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It is sometimes said to the sinner

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under deep distress,

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"Don't despair."

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This expression frequently produces

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a bad effect upon the sinner's mind.

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It is sometimes the case,

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that sinners speak of the greatness

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of their sins

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and the hopelessness of their condition,

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on purpose to be flattered and consoled.

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And when they do not,

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it is always best to admit that

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their case is quite as bad

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as they represent it.

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It is proper to hold up the fullness

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of the atonement,

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and the readiness of God

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to forgive all who repent.

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But this the sinner 
generally does not doubt.

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The thing that distresses 
the convicted sinner

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is the fear that he never shall repent.

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From his own experience

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he has full conviction 
that it will never be

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easier to repent than now.

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His sins are increasing,

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and his heart is becoming

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more and more perverse.

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God has said,

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"Except ye repent,

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ye shall all likewise perish."

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He believes it.

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He despairs of obtaining salvation

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without repentance;

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and of this he ought to despair.

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Number four:

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In every case of clear conviction

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there is in the mind of the sinner

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a painful sense of obligation to repent,

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and a fearful apprehension

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that he never shall repent.

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In this state he sometimes inquires:

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Do you think there is any hope in my case?

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Do you think I ever shall

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become a Christian?

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This is a most interesting crisis,

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and a little flattery here 
may ruin the soul.

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The proper answer to these inquiries is:

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"I do not know.

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It is altogether uncertain.

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One thing is certain,

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however great your sins may be,

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if you will repent,

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they shall be pardoned;

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but whether you ever will repent

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is altogether uncertain.

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Sinners as anxious as you,

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and perhaps more so,

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have returned to stupidity,

209
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and their last state has become worse

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than the first."

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When sinners are in this state of mind,

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their friends are exceedingly prone

213
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to flatter them.

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"Oh! Don't despair - be patient.

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Wait God's time.

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You will doubtless find relief."

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Such language is exceedingly dangerous.

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Every word takes it for granted

219
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that the sinner's concern for his soul

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is without foundation.

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One of two things is true -

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either such directions are wrong,

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or the sinner is not under conviction;

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for if he is under real conviction,

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the Spirit of God is shewing him

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his true condition.

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His apprehensions are well founded,

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and if we attempt to 
remove these apprehensions,

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we directly counteract the operations

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of the Holy Spirit.

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The above extract will give the reader

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some idea of the manner in which

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Dr. Nettleton was in the habit

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of dealing with awakened sinners.

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He did not heal the 
heart of sinners slightly,

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nor cry, "Peace, peace,"

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when God had not spoken peace.

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Original Title: Injudicious Directions

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From: Asahel Nettleton: Life & Labors

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by Bennet Tyler & Andrew Bonar

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Created by: ILLBEHONEST.COM