"But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;

"Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,

"To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

"Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision." — Acts 26:16-19.

You perceive that this is the commission Jesus gave to Saul at the time he was smitten on the way to Damascus. This is the most complete description of his conversion Paul ever gave, and in it is put something that he does not state elsewhere. In other places the conversation between Jesus and Paul is not recorded, but here he gives a full account. In reading the account it is evident that the bystanders did not understand what was said. Jesus evidently spoke to Paul either in an unknown language to the others, or else by the Holy Ghost into Paul's heart, so that He gave Paul a spiritual conversation that the others could not understand. Some think that Paul was not pardoned until he reached Ananias; but this statement shows that he was pardoned and accepted the very moment he said, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" The Bible proves that just as soon as a person is submissive to God's will, that instant he is justified. Paul was perfectly submissive and obedient, and that is the only condition for salvation. It is interesting to notice that there are seven things mentioned in this commission.

First, The attitude: rise and stand.

Second, The office he was to till: minister and witness.

Third, The subject matter he was to deliver: what he had seen and what he was going to see.

Fourth, The deliverance God should give him from the Jews and Gentiles.

Fifth, The instrument he was to preach with: light.

Sixth, The two persons he was to deal with: turn from Satan to God.

Seventh, The salvation he was to communicate: pardon of sins, and sanctification by faith.

In conclusion, The response of Paul's heart to this sevenfold commission: "I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision."

What a wonderful commission! How it opens up to us a great panorama! Another feature is, that each one of these seven points is twofold. It is wonderful how, all through the Bible, divine truth is double-barreled. There is a duplicate form of every truth in the Bible, a twofold statement, so that just as man has a twofold nature (body and soul), a twofold sinful nature (original and actual), so all truth comes in a twofold sense. Let us notice this twofold nature of each of these points.

What is the attitude God wants us to take toward Him? "Rise, and stand." That is the first point in the commission. A man might rise and fall down again, or he might rise and run or stagger. That truth has a twofold form. What is the meaning? Of course to Paul it meant to rise from the dust where he was fallen, and listen; but it has an application to us as much as Paul. We are to "rise, and stand." To " rise " has an application to us like this: we are to be aroused from our lethargy, and out of our inertia, coldness, formalism; if we have been in a state of indolence or ease, to rise out of it; so, in the deepest sense, we are to get out of the dust, lethargy, and ashes of unbelief that are in the world.

God says, "Let Zion arise," etc.; so we are to arise from the drowsiness that falls upon millions of Christians in the world. Then, "Stand." That means we are to take an attitude before our Jesus that is one of loyalty. We are to "stand" and receive God's commandment, God's word, in our hearts. It is the attitude of loyalty and perfect obedience; it means, "Here, Lord, I am. What do you want to tell me?" or, "Here I am, to run, walk, or fly; to be or do or suffer your divine will." It is the very attitude of entire consecration.

The first thing God does when He leads us into sanctification is, to arouse us; we have to get awake on this subject, — get up. And the next is, to "stand up," the attitude of obedience to His will; that is entire consecration; and then we are prepared to receive everything God has got for us. You get anybody thoroughly aroused and standing up, — they are where they can receive anything God has to say.

Second, He was to fill a twofold office: minister and witness. There is a difference, but God wanted Paul to fill both offices. There are persons called to be witnesses who are not called to be ministers in the sense Paul was; but no one is ever called to be a minister and not to be a witness. But all admit that has not been the idea of the Church in all ages.

The custom has been, that a person might be a minister without any personal testimony of experience. When Martin Luther began his career, many were "ministers," but very few could "testify" to accepted salvation in their own hearts. John Wesley, when he began his reformation, found the ministry the same. They opposed Mr. Wesley, and denied that any one could know their sins were forgiven.

When Methodism commenced in America, the idea was opposed that one could know his sins were pardoned, until opposers were finally compelled to admit it. But even to-day there are thousands of ministers who never testify to pardon, and how few testify to a clean heart and a full salvation!

There has gone an impression out over this land that it is not "dignified " for a minister to tell his experience; and so largely has this sentiment spread, that even Methodists think it derogatory to their ecclesiastical dignity to stand up and tell how they were converted. You will find, as a rule, that young ministers are more willing to mingle in testimony, because they are nearer the time of their conversion.

The old time ministers used to weave their experience into every sermon, and they would often break down; and when it was God's time to break the preacher down, the people broke down too.

If the Church, if all the Methodist preachers, could only first get an experience worth telling, and then tell it on all proper occasions, the same fire would accompany it as in times past. Can you find an epistle Paul wrote that he didn't weave in his experience? It was his burning experience that burned its way into the Roman Empire, glory to God! I know what pardon is, and I know what the cleansing blood is, and I can testify to both the tremendous work of conversion and the glorious work of cleansing from inward depravity. "We are to confirm our preached truth with our testimony.

The next item was the subject matter he was to present, the scope of his testimony. He might have said, "What shall I testify?" And the Lord said, "Thou must both [that means two] to those things which thou hast seen, and to those things in which I will appear unto thee."

Now St. Paul was not entirely sanctified at that time. He was wonderfully converted then, for Jesus Christ never would give such a commission to a child of the devil. How would God put such a wonderful apostolic commission on a man at that time a child of the devil?

Here was Jesus, talking to a man He then made an apostle, and whom He "commissioned" there; but St. Paul didn't get all at that time. Paul was there "justified," for he was "obedient unto the heavenly vision." The moment a man is obedient to the heavenly vision he is justified. Paul saw Jesus, talked with Jesus, he was "pardoned "; that was a great deal. He was to preach that much. " Now these are the things ye have seen, but this isn't all. I am going to appear further unto you, and ye shall minister and testify of those things in the which I will appear unto thee "; and he did, in Arabia. During that time he was led out into the infinite ocean of God's love; the particular day isn't mentioned, but he says that the same God who called him to be a minister and witness was revealed to him, and then in him. They were two events. Jesus was revealed to Paul, and a short time after He was revealed in Paul. (Gal. 1: 15-17.)

Now Christ speaks to Paul here, in perfect harmony with what Paul says after: " You are to be a witness of both," etc. So Jesus wants us in our ministry and testimony to embrace all the revelations God has made to our hearts. He has revealed Himself to us as our "forgiving" Lord, and, if we follow on, He will reveal Himself in us as our sanctifying Lord.

Oh! if Jesus can afford to make such wonderful manifestations in and to us, shan't we be willing to advertise the manifestations? Thousands of Christian people and ministers are talking against Jesus. One minister said that when it said, "a man that abideth in God sinneth not," it was ideal. Why is not all the rest of the chapter ideal too? That man may be a sincere man, but he didn't know he was talking against Jesus; but when a man minifies the grace of Jesus he is helping on the cause of the devil. People somehow talk against God when they think in their hearts they are talking right. Oh, let us advertise Jesus, because He has got so few people to tell the whole truth!

The fourth point is a twofold deliverance: "I will deliver thee from the people [Jews] and from the Gentiles." The word "people" means the Jews, his own people. The word " Gentiles " means his enemies, outside of his own kin. Now the commission was twofold: "Paul, you minister and testify, and I will take care of you, — give you a twofold deliverance both from the Jews and Gentiles." How does that apply to us?

The Jewish people were Paul's relatives and friends, and the Gentiles his foes; so, applied to us, it means, "I will deliver you from your friends and foes." Don't you know we need to be delivered from our friends as really as from our foes? Sometimes people's friendships are just enough for them to betray us, as Judas's friendship with Jesus. So Christ had friends, blood kin, sisters. I have an idea Christ's relatives would beg Him to pursue a different policy, so Jesus had to be delivered from His own friends; and one day His mother came to the church door and wanted Him to stop preaching, to see her. He said, "Who is my mother? " etc. So Jesus had to have in Him a divine presence that would keep Him from being swerved. Even good people some times don't know what God wants us to do; so Mrs. Job thought her husband was going too far.

Our salvation from hell may depend on the fact that John Wesley went beyond the advice of his own blood and kin. So God calls holy men and women to dare and do, and labor beyond what their friends think. It does not mean to be delivered from our friends in a fanatical sense, that we must rashly wound their feelings, for those things are tricks of the devil; but even the loved ones of our bosom must not keep us from helping on the work of God. We need a deliverance, marvelous deliverance, that we may follow the Son of God whithersoever He goeth; and when God does give us the deliverance, our friends will see in the end that we did the right. God will justify those who obey Him. And our foes, "Gentiles," are those out in the world who disregard God; yet God will deliver the perfectly obedient child " both " from friends and foes.

Fifth, He was to be saved to turn the people from "darkness to light." Here is his work for the people. The word "darkness" refers to error; so that if God has His way with us, He will use us to turn people from error to truth. Here is a work that needs to be done along the line of full salvation. There is a great deal of error in high circles. "Error likes a high throne." There is one error, unless God does a wonderful work, one tremendous error, that I am afraid is going to ruin Methodism in America, — the Plymouth doctrine of imputed salvation.

I am no alarmist, but a dumb creature can see a thunderstorm coming; and the doctrine of our depravity as covered over with the righteousness of Jesus, is spreading like wild-fire in this country. A sermon on sanctification is not relished; why is it? There are evangelists going around teaching that you are sanctified in Christ; that God never does make you holy in your heart; and there are great camp grounds where men are allowed to hold a week's Bible reading before thousands, where the doctrines as preached by Wesley are boldly denounced. One says, " You never can be free from depravity till you die"; that is taught all over the land.

The doctrine that you are "covered over" by Christ's "holiness" is the devil's bait to ruin the Methodist Church. Thank God we have some who are straight on this subject; but there are others who will accept anything else. One teaches, "Sanctification is received at conversion"; the other, "When we die"; another, "It comes by growth"; and another, "We are sanctified in Christ, with our depravity covered over." I have known men to accept three or four views of sanctification at the same time; but when God says that He will turn us from "darkness to light" it means a great deal, and this is no day to trifle. God could not bless error if an angel should preach it.

Sixth, There are two persons mentioned here: "from. . . Satan unto God." When we come down to bed rock on Bible truth, there are only two persons after our souls; one is Satan and the other is God. The devil has a great many agencies. He doesn't stand out and say, "I am the devil," but he uses broad-gauge theologians and cold professors and inbred sin; and as long as we have inbred sin in us, the devil has an ally in our hearts. If you only have a little depravity in your heart, it is on the devil's side; now when God proposes to turn us "from Satan," He means to deliver us from all his works, and bring us into fellowship with the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And now, seventh, the great salvation; it is twofold: "forgiveness of sins, and. . . sanctified by faith that is in me." The forgiveness of sins is a perfect work; God always does a perfect work; but a perfect forgiveness is a very different thing from entire sanctification. Forgiveness refers to one hemisphere of your moral nature, and entire sanctification to another. There is a hemisphere of voluntary wrong doing and a hemisphere, of unintentional evil dispositions; there are things people do that they know are wrong, and there are yearnings that do not come to the surface; they lie beneath and do not come to the will power; it lies behind the will. The hemisphere of what a man is responsible for is covered by pardon. When God forgives j r our sins He forgives every sin you were ever responsible for; but complete sanctification goes into bed rock in the moral nature. There are things away down that we grieve over; sanctification proposes to give us relief in the "basement story" of our moral nature. And this is "by faith," not by growth; grace can grow, but cleansing can't grow. Cleansing prepares the way for grace, and puts grace where it can grow.

The Bible says, "Grow in grace." This is called the "inheritance." What is an inheritance? It is a property that has been willed us or inherited from relatives. Do you ever hear of a child inheriting property before it is alive or born? So that in order to inherit sanctification we must first be born of God, and we must be alive. When a man is born of God he is an heir; and just as soon as you are an heir, you are a candidate for your property. Does a child "grow " or "manufacture" what it inherits? No; it inherits a piece of property already made.

Now Jesus says that you are going to inherit sanctification; and you can't buy, grow, or manufacture it. Jesus, in His will, left you the legacy of the full baptism of the Holy Ghost. Just go to Christ, your Lawyer, put in the will and probate it, and claim your property.

When a child goes to get his property, he gets it by faith. He wouldn't go unless he had faith in the will. If you are going to make money yourself, you must work; but what you inherit is made for you. He suffered and He worked hard and He opened the fountain of cleansing, and we can go and receive it by faith.

Now, when Jesus had made this wonderful commission, oh, how the words of Jesus swept the entire circle! and when Jesus put this enormous commission upon the heart of Paul, he simply put it back on the heart of God, "I will." Paul opened his heart to the Lord as a flower opens to the sun; and when Jesus unfolded this wonderful commission, Paul said, "I will." "Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision."

Brethren, haven't we had heavenly visions? Hasn't God opened up to you the privilege in God for you? Oh, let us never refuse the heavenly vision! It may cost us some tears. It cost Paul thousands of tears; and he obeyed on the ocean, in shipwreck, making of tents, etc.; but all the while he had a river flowing through his soul, more than a match for all the outside circumstances. There are some streams that are too warm and too swift to freeze. There was such a stream in Paul's heart. He was "obedient unto the heavenly vision "; and being obedient, he is now in heaven, where greater visions of God are perpetually unfolding to him.