greatest sacrifices, and braved even
death itself, in the cause of Christ, there were numbers who doubted his
sincerity. "When he went to Jerusalem, and attempted to join himself to
the disciples, they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he
_was_ a disciple." Barnabas however, good man, took him by the hand, and
succeeded at length in obtaining for him, to some extent, the advantages
of Church fellowship.

Here then we have a couple of lessons; the first is, to seek the
conversion of unbelievers; the second is, to guard against an excess of
skepticism in ourselves with regard to the sincerity of those who appear
to be converted. It would be well in forming our judgments of persons
professing religion, to follow the rule laid down by Christ, "By their
fruits ye shall know them. A good tree cannot bring forth bad fruit, nor
a bad tree good fruit." If men live soberly, righteously, and godly--if
they make great sacrifices, and incur reproach and persecution for
Christ, and labor zealously in His cause, it is no great stretch of
charity to go on the supposition, that their profession of faith in God
and Christ is sincere.

8. But suppose the churches should treat a convert from infidelity as
the church at Jerusalem treated Paul, what should he do? We would say,
Take all quietly, and go zealously on with your work. You are the
servant of God, and not of man; and you must not desert your Master,
because a number of His servants err in their judgment of you, or show,
in their conduct towards you, a lack of charity. Serve your Redeemer all
the more faithfully. This was the course which Paul took. He "increased
the more in strength;" and he abounded the more in labors. It would be a
poor excuse for the neglect of your duty to God and Christ, to
yourselves and your fellow creatures, to say, "The churches did not
treat us as kindly as they ought; they doubted our sincerity." Such
conduct would not only be exceedingly wicked, but extremely foolish. It
would be the surest way to confirm the doubts of the churches, and make
them feel, that in treating you coldly, they had acted wisely. The
surest way to gain the confidence of the Church, is not to care too much
about it. If you show that you are satisfied with the favor of God, and
with your own sweet consciousness of the happy change you have
experienced, everything else will come in its season. Goodness will draw
after it the reputation of goodness. The shadow will f