6. The practice of the Spirit after Christ's ascension to lay hold of
This commission is illustrated by the parable of a king who commanded his servants to bring in the poor, the maimed, the halt, and the blind, with their wounds, sores, and infirmities about them:
Luke 14:21, 23, "Bring in here the poor and the maimed, the halt and the blind." And also go out into the highways and hedges, and those loathsome persons, those dregs of mankind, which you shall find swarming with vermin, and cleaning themselves under every hedge, bring them in. If they object because of their rags and filth, force them to come, that my house may be filled. God wants heaven to be filled with such people when self-righteous persons refuse him.
When you come to heaven, to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, you will find many people who were once morally filthy, like these hedge-birds who were naturally so. This kind of compulsion was experienced in the primitive times by the power of the Spirit of grace. Two stage-players, who had mocked the Christian religion in their performances, were converted and became martyrs; one under Diocletian and the other under Julian.
6. The practice of the Spirit after Christ's ascension to lay hold of such persons.
(1.) Some out of the worst families in the world; one out of Herod's:
Acts 13:1, 'Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers, such as Barnabas, Simeon (called Niger),
Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.' Whether it was Herod Antipas, who mocked
Christ before Pilate, or Herod Agrippa, who killed James, it is unclear, but it is unlikely that anyone brought up in such a family would have learned principles that were favourable to the Christian religion. Yet, the Holy Spirit called out one person from the family of this wicked prince, not only to make him an object of mercy but also an instrument of it to others. This goes against the usual effect of education, which tends to instil bad principles deeply in one's heart.
It is significant that the Holy Spirit takes special notice of the place of Manaen's education, while the families where the others were brought up are not mentioned. Some rough stones were taken out of
Nero's palace, including some who served the most abominable tyrant and greatest monster of mankind, who set Rome on fire, played his harp while the flames engulfed the city, and even ripped open his mother's belly to see where he lay. Would any civilised person be a servant to such a devil? Yet, some of this monster's servants became saints: Philip. 4:22, 'All the saints greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar's household.' To hear of saints in Nero's family is as much a wonder as to hear of saints in hell. God had promised his grace to Egypt, the most idolatrous country, and there God wanted an altar built: 'In that day, five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of hosts. In that day, there will be an altar to the Lord in the heart of Egypt,' Isa. 19:18–20. The gospel was indeed renowned in Egypt, both at the Christian school in Alexandria and through many famous luminaries.
(2.) Some of the worst vices. The Ephesians were as bad as any, such that Paul calls them darkness itself; 'For you were once darkness,'
Eph. 5:8. They were not only covered in darkness, but they had changed into the very essence of night. They were great idolaters.
The temple of Diana, which was worshipped and visited by people from all over Asia and the world, was located in that city: Acts 19:27,
'So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.' They elevated this statue, which they claimed fell from Jupiter, above Christ, who was preached by Paul. They were involved in magic and other diabolical arts, yet many of them were weaned from their idols and their magic, and were transformed from darkness to light in the Lord. This is more amazing than seeing a black piece of pitch transformed into a clear piece of crystal, or a stone ascending to the nature of a glittering star.
Take a look at another group, in Corinth, who were as immoral as anyone you have ever heard of, 'such were some of you,' 1 Cor. 6:11.
After he listed their sins against natural law and made the list so
complete that very little could be added, he adds, 'such were some of you.' Not all, but some. 'But you are washed,' etc. Not people like that, but such sins. These people were not only committing a few acts of sin, but they were so habituated to them that they appeared to have been transformed into the very essence of these sins themselves, so that they were the dirt, mud, and rubbish of hell. Yet, you can see how he truly turned devils into angels of light. Well, then, how many flinty rocks has God dissolved into a stream of tears!
How many hard hearts has he made to bleed and melt! That which is now pure gold was once earthy and polluted.
I will only add this to everything I have said. Great sins can be used by God to prepare some people for their conversion, not in their own nature (that is impossible), but by the wise arrangement of God. Mr
Burges illustrates this by saying that, like a child whose coat is only slightly dirty, it is not washed immediately. However, when he falls head over heels in the mud, it is taken off and washed right away.
The child might have gone many days with a little dirt, had such an accident not occurred. Peter might have still had his proud and vain nature if he had not fallen so terribly in the denial of his Master; but when he fell into the gutter, it helped his conversion, for that is how
Christ calls it: "And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers," Luke 22:32; it was a new edition of conversion, and you never find him in the same boasting vanity again.
David's fall into the sin of murder and adultery is the cause of the plundering of his soul, which you don't find him so worked up about at other times. He digs all around to the very root: "Behold, I was shaped in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me," Ps. 51:5.
This sin had stirred up all the mud in his heart and made him see himself as an abominable creature; therefore, he asks God to hide his face from his sins, ver. 9. He was so repulsive that he would not let anyone look at him (get all this mud out of my soul); and he prays more earnestly for a new heart and a right spirit. So when a wicked person falls into some serious sin that their conscience scowls at and