Show Your Colors!

The name of Capt. Hedley Vicars, the Christian hero of the Crimean war, is familiar to most of our readers. On the morning after his conversion he bought a large Bible and placed it open on the table of his room. He was determined that an open Bible for the future should

be his ‘‘colors.’’ ‘‘/¢ was to speak for me,’’ he said, ‘‘ before I was strong enough to speak for myself.’’ His military comrades came in and

laughed at him, nicknamed him the Methodist, hinted to him that he had better not turn ‘‘ hypocrite;’’ but in spite of a perpetual guerilla warfare of sneers and scoffs, he nobly stood by his colors. Having ‘‘clean hands, he waxed stronger and stronger.’’ In time he became a spiritual power in his regiment, simply by a steadfast, bold, decided witnessing for Christ.

To his early disciples Jesus Christ said, ‘‘Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.’’ Confession is a broad, far-reaching word as the Saviour employed it. It refers first to the heart, then to the lips, then to the life. Whosoever would be saved must embrace Christ in the heart: this was conversion. Next, he must acknowledge him with the tongue: this was confession, or what we style a ‘‘ profession of faith.’’ Chiefest of all, he was to honor Christ by his daily living: and this was vital Christianity.

Jesus did not refer to the first point when he gave the command to confess him ‘‘ before men.”’ He pre-supposed the secret interior work of conversion; he pre-supposed the root. What ‘he demanded was the leafing out and the fruit-bearing of the tree. He demanded a bold, resolute, outspoken, love-inspired acknowledgment of him as their Saviour and their King from every man who expected to be acknowledged in turn before the Father and the holy angels. This confession was to be open, spontaneous, and sincere. Has the reader of this paragraph never made such an acknowledgment of Christ? Then, my friend, you must not be astonished if Christ refuses to recognize you in the last decisive hour of judgment. It will then be too late to take the oath of loyalty. He who does not confess Christ in this world will be lost in the world to come.

In nearly every community there are a few halting, timid, irresolute persons who have a trembling faith in Christ, but who do not come out decidedly and confess him. ‘They may be Christians, but the world is not allowed to know it. ‘They carry dark lanterns. ‘‘ Shining lights’? they certainly are not. No one is the better for their secret, clandestine attempts to steal along quietly towards heaven without letting any one overhear their footsteps. Now this is a miserable — we were almost ready to say con- -‘temptible — mode of living, this concealment of the colors when danger threatens, this following along after the church with a vague hope of being counted in among God’s people when heaven’s prizes are distributed to the faithful.

We do not say that no one can be saved who does not openly join some Christian church; but we do say that the person who expects Christ to — acknowledge him in heaven and yet refuses to acknowledge Christ ‘‘before men’’ is a self-convicted coward, and while disobeying his Master’s orders has no right to expect his Master’s blessing. After over forty years of pastoral ob- — servation we have come to the conclusion that — every day spent by the genuine convert outside of the church of Christ is almost a day lost. He — loses the sense of vesponsibility that he needs to feel; he loses the opportunity of doing good; he loses in self-respect, in the respect of others; he — loses the approbation of Him who has so impressively said, ‘‘ Whosoever is ashamed of me before men, of him will I be ashamed when I shall — come in my own glory.’’ When God gives con- — version he demands confession. To be effective and useful this must be prompt, open, hearty, — and decided.: - But confession does not end with the public acknowledgment of Christ before the church. It only begins there. ‘This is one decisive step, to - be followed by a thousand other steps in the ‘same direction. We do know, however, of many church members whose single solitary act of loyalty to Christ was their standing up to respond to a church covenant before the pulpit; from that moment onward all that the church had of them was their idle names on the roll. Like too many of the boasted recruits in new regiments, they enlisted, drew their “‘bounty,”’ and then ‘‘straightway are heard of no more.”’ In the campaign for Christ and the truth they never answer to the roll-call of duty. It is very certain that their names will not be ca‘led when the victorious Immanuel announces the rewards to his faithful followers on “‘ the sea of glase like unto pure gold.”’ We are all guilty of too much time-serving, too much concealment of truth, too much com- promise with Christ’s enemies. ‘The boldest are not bold enough, and the cowards are as much despised by themselves as loathed by their Master in heaven. When will we learn that the only course for a Christian is to ‘‘stand up for — Jesus’?? Men expect it of us; they despise us for our shamefacedness, and doubt the sincerity — of our professions.

‘‘ Last Bien”’ said a Christian soldier to his ‘ chaplain, ‘‘in my barrack before going to bed I knelt down and prayed, when suddenly my com- — rades raised a loud laugh and began to throw boots and clothes at me.’’ ‘‘ Well,’ replied the — chaplain, ‘‘suppose you defer your prayers till — after you retire, and then sé/ently lift up your heart to God.”’

Meeting him soon after, the chaplain said, ‘“You took my advice, I suppose. How did it answer?’ ‘‘Sir,’’ replied the soldier, “I did take your advice for two or three evenings; but I began to think it looked like denying my Saviour;so I once more knelt down and prayed as at first.’’ ‘*’ What followed?’ ‘‘ Why, sir, not one of them laughs now. ‘The whole fifteen nou kneel down too, and I pray with them,’?

TRAINING CONVERTS.