does not mean that everyone should become a minister and preach in
public. There is no reason for you to go beyond the bounds of your
particular work. This does not involve promoting a party spirit. It
certainly does not urge you to speak of the faults of others behind
their backs while being silent before their faces.
This duty is of another nature. It consists of honestly feeling a
burden because of the misery of our acquaintances' souls. We are
compassionate toward them and yearn that they might have
something better. God will yearn that they might have something
better. God will bless our efforts when we are motivated in this manner.
This duty also requires us to take every opportunity that we
possibly can to lead them to Christ. Teach them. Show them the glory
they are neglecting. Help them. Convince them. Aim only at the glory
of God. Do not do these things to improve your self-esteem, or to get
a name for yourself, or to get a following, or to make anyone depend
on you.
To jeer and scoff, to rant and denounce, is not a likely way to
reform anyone. Let them see it is the desire of your heart to do them
good. Do it simply and plainly. Choose the right moment. When the
earth is soft, the plow will enter. Watch for an opportunity. Love,
simplicity, and seriousness are effective with everyone.
Fire is not always brought out of the flint at one stroke. People
do not respond immediately. If they do, they are not likely to persist
very long.
Who is Richard Baxter? Baxter (November 12, 1615 to December 8 1691,
was an English Puritan church leader, theologian and controversialist,
called by Dean Stanley "the chief of English Protestant Schoolmen".
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