The Two Classes by Dwight L. Moody

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“Two men went up into the temple to pray.”
(Luke 18:10)

I now want to speak of two classes: First, those who do not feel their need of a Savior, who have not been convicted of sin by the Spirit; and second, those who are convicted of sin and cry, “What must I do to be saved?”

All inquirers can be divided into two groups: those with the spirit of the Pharisee or the spirit of the tax collector. If someone with the Pharisee’s spirit attends an after-meeting, I know no better Scripture to address their case than Romans 3:10-12: “As it is written: None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” Paul speaks here of humanity in its natural state. In verses 17-19, we read: “And the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.”

Then note the end of verse 22: “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Not some, but all—“have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Another verse often used to convict people of their sin is 1 John 1:8: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

I recall a time when we held meetings in an eastern city of forty thousand people. A lady asked us to pray for her husband, whom she planned to bring to an after-meeting. I’ve met many self-righteous men, but this man was so wrapped in self-righteousness that no point of conviction could penetrate. I told his wife, “I’m glad for your faith, but we can’t reach him; he’s the most self-righteous man I’ve ever seen.” She replied, “You must! My heart will break if these meetings end without his conversion.” She kept bringing him, and I grew weary of seeing him.

But toward the close of our thirty-day meetings, he approached me, placing his trembling hand on my shoulder. The meeting place was cold, and there was a nearby room lit only by gas. He said, “Can you come in here for a few minutes?” I thought he was shivering from the cold and didn’t want to go somewhere colder. But he said, “I’m the worst man in Vermont. I want you to pray for me.” I thought he’d committed murder or some terrible crime and asked, “Is there one sin troubling you?” He replied, “My whole life has been a sin. I’ve been a conceited, self-righteous Pharisee. I want you to pray for me.” He was deeply convicted. No human could have produced this; it was the Spirit’s work. Around two in the morning, light broke into his soul. He went up and down the city’s business street, telling what God had done for him, and has been a fervent Christian since.

There are four other passages, used by Christ Himself, for dealing with inquirers. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

In Luke 13:3, we read: “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

In Matthew 18, when the disciples asked Jesus who would be greatest in the kingdom of heaven, He set a child in their midst and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:1-3).

Another key “unless” is in Matthew 5:20: “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

A person must be made fit before they will desire to enter God’s kingdom. I’d rather enter with the younger brother than stay outside with the elder. Heaven would be hell for such a person. The elder brother, unable to rejoice at his younger brother’s return, was not fit for God’s kingdom. It’s a solemn thought, but the curtain falls, leaving him outside and the younger brother within. To him, the Savior’s words elsewhere seem fitting: “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you” (Matthew 21:31).

A lady once asked me for a favor for her daughter, saying, “You must know I don’t agree with your doctrine.” I asked, “What’s your concern?” She said, “I think your criticism of the elder brother is horrible. He’s a noble character.” I replied that I was willing to hear her defend him, but it was serious to take such a stance; the elder brother needed conversion as much as the younger. When people boast of morality, it’s good to have them examine the elder brother pleading with his son who refused to enter.

Now let’s turn to the other class—those convicted of sin, crying like the Philippian jailer, “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). For these penitents, there’s no need to apply the law. Bring them straight to Scripture: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). Many respond with a scowl, saying, “I don’t know what it means to believe.” Though heaven’s law requires belief for salvation, they ask for something more. We must tell them what, where, and how to believe.

In John 3:35-36, we read: “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

This is reasonable. Humanity lost life through unbelief—by doubting God’s word; we regain life by believing, by taking God at His word. In other words, we rise where Adam fell. He stumbled over unbelief; we stand upright by believing. When people say they can’t believe, show them chapter and verse, and hold them to this: “Has God ever broken His promise in six thousand years?” The devil and humanity have tried and failed to show He has broken a single promise. If one word of His could be broken, there’d be a celebration in hell today. If someone says they can’t believe, press them on this point.

I can trust God more than my own heart. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). I trust God more than myself. To find the way of life, believe Jesus Christ is a personal Savior; set aside doctrines and creeds and come to the heart of the Son of God. If you’ve been feeding on dry doctrine, there’s little growth in that. Doctrines are like streets leading to a friend’s house for dinner. They guide me if I choose the right one, but staying in the streets won’t satisfy my hunger. Feeding on doctrines is like eating dry husks; the soul remains lean without the Bread from heaven.

Some ask, “How do I warm my heart?” It’s by believing. You gain power to love and serve God only through belief.

The apostle John says: “If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:9-12).

Society would stall if we didn’t accept human testimony. How would we manage daily life or commerce if we disregarded it? Everything would halt within forty-eight hours! This is the apostle’s point: “If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater.” God has testified about Jesus Christ. If we trust people who often lie and prove unfaithful, why not trust God’s testimony?

Faith is belief in testimony. It’s not a leap in the dark, as some claim. That wouldn’t be faith. God doesn’t ask anyone to believe without giving them something to believe. It’s as absurd as asking someone to see without eyes, hear without ears, or walk without feet. When I traveled to California, I used a guidebook. It said I’d cross the Mississippi, then the Missouri, enter Nebraska, pass over the Rockies to the Mormon settlement at Salt Lake City, and through the Sierra Nevada to San Francisco. I found the guidebook accurate along the way; I’d have been a fool to doubt it for the rest after proving it three-fourths correct.

If someone gives me ten landmarks to the post office and I find nine as described, I have reason to believe I’m nearing it. If believing brings new life, hope, peace, joy, rest, self-control, and power to resist evil and do good, I have proof I’m on the right path to the “city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10). If events recorded in God’s Word have happened and are happening, I have reason to trust what remains will be fulfilled. Yet people talk of doubting. True faith has no fear. Faith is taking God at His word, unconditionally. There’s no true peace with fear. “Perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). A wife doubting her husband would be miserable; a mother would feel wretched if her son’s neglect gave her reason to question his devotion. True love never doubts.

Faith requires three things: knowledge, assent, and appropriation. We must know God. “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3). We must not only assent to what we know but also seize the truth. Assenting to the plan of salvation won’t save; one must accept Christ as Savior and appropriate Him.

Some wonder how belief affects a person’s life. If someone shouted that our building was on fire, we’d act on that belief and flee. We’re always shaped by what we believe. Let someone believe God’s record about Christ, and it will transform their life.

Take John 5:24: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” This verse holds enough truth for any soul to rest on for salvation. It leaves no room for doubt. If someone hears Jesus’ word, believes with their heart in God who sent the Son to save the world, and appropriates this salvation, there’s no fear of judgment. They won’t dread the Great White Throne, for we read in 1 John 4:17: “By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.”

If we believe, there’s no condemnation, no judgment. That’s behind us; we’ll have confidence on judgment day. I read of a man on trial for his life. His influential friends secured a pardon from the king, conditional on him facing trial and condemnation. He entered court with the pardon in his pocket. The court was shocked at his calm demeanor, but when sentenced, he presented the pardon and walked free. He was pardoned, and so are we. Let death come—we have nothing to fear. No grave can hold eternal life; no coffin can contain it. Death touched Christ once, but never again.

Jesus said: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25-26). In Revelation, the risen Savior told John, “I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore” (Revelation 1:17-18). Death cannot touch Him again.

We gain life by believing. We receive more than Adam lost; the redeemed child of God inherits a richer, more glorious heritage than Adam in Paradise could have imagined, and it lasts forever—unalienable. I’d rather have my life hidden with Christ in God than live in Paradise; Adam might have sinned after ten thousand years, but the believer is secure if these truths become real. Let’s make them fact, not fiction. God has spoken; that’s enough. Trust Him even when we can’t trace Him. Let the confidence of little Maggie, in this touching story from the Bible Treasury, inspire us:

“I’d been away from home for days and wondered, nearing the homestead, if my little Maggie, just able to sit alone, would remember me. To test her, I stood where I could see her but she couldn’t see me and called, ‘Maggie!’ She dropped her toys, looked around, then back at her playthings. I called again, ‘Maggie!’ She scanned the room, but not seeing me, looked sad and resumed her play. Once more I called, ‘Maggie!’ She dropped her toys, burst into tears, and stretched her arms toward my voice, knowing her father was there, for she knew his voice.”

We have power to see, hear, and believe. It’s folly for inquirers to say they can’t believe. They can, if they will. The problem is many tie feeling to believing. The Bible doesn’t say, “He who feels, or feels and believes, has eternal life.” I can’t control my feelings. If I could, I’d never feel ill, have headaches, or toothaches. But I can believe God. If we stand on that rock, let doubts and waves surge around us, the anchor will hold.

Some focus on their faith. Faith is the hand that takes the blessing. Consider a beggar you’ve known for years. You offer him money, and he says, “I don’t want it; I’m not a beggar.” “Why not?” “Last night, a man gave me a thousand dollars.” “Really? How did you know it was real?” “I took it to the bank, deposited it, and got a bank book.” “How did you get it?” “I asked for alms; he talked with me, then gave me the money.” “How do you know it went into the right hand?” “What does it matter which hand, as long as I have it?” Many worry if their faith is the right kind, but what matters more is having the right Christ.

Faith is the soul’s eye; who would remove an eye to check if it’s the right kind when the sight is clear? It’s not my taste but what I taste that satisfies hunger. So, friends, taking God at His Word is our salvation. The truth can’t be simpler.

In New York, a man has a home on the Hudson River. His daughter and her family stayed with him for the winter, and scarlet fever broke out. One little girl was quarantined. Each morning, the grandfather said goodbye to her before work. One day, she led him to a corner and pointed to the floor, where she’d arranged crackers to spell, “Grandpa, I want a box of paints.” He said nothing. That evening, he returned, hung up his coat, and went to her room. Without checking, she led him to the same corner, where crackers now spelled, “Grandpa, I thank you for the box of paints.” He wouldn’t have missed granting her wish for anything. That was faith.

Faith is taking God at His Word; those seeking a token often stumble. We must come to this: God says it—let us believe it. Some say faith is God’s gift. So is air, but you must breathe it. So is bread, but you must eat it. So is water, but you must drink it. Some seek a miraculous feeling—that’s not faith. “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). That’s where faith comes from. I don’t sit waiting for faith to steal over me with a strange sensation; I take God at His Word. You can’t believe without something to believe. So take the Word as written, appropriate it, and hold fast.

In John 6:47-48, we read: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life.” The bread is at hand. Partake of it. I might have thousands of loaves at home with hungry people waiting. They might agree the bread is there, but unless each takes a loaf and eats, their hunger remains. So Christ is the Bread of heaven; as the body feeds on food, the soul must feed on Christ.

If a drowning person sees a rope thrown out, they must grab it, letting go of everything else. If someone is sick, they must take the medicine—looking at it won’t heal. Knowing Christ won’t help an inquirer unless they believe in Him and take hold of Him as their only hope. The bitten Israelites might have believed the serpent was raised, but without looking, they wouldn’t have lived (Numbers 21:6-9).

I believe a certain steamship line will carry me across the ocean because I’ve experienced it. But my knowledge won’t help another unless they act on it. So knowing Christ doesn’t help unless we act on it. That’s what it means to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ—to act on what we believe. As one boards a steamer to cross the Atlantic, we must take Christ and commit our souls to Him. He has promised to keep all who trust in Him. To believe in the Lord Jesus Christ is to take Him at His word.

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About the Author

Born in Northfield, Massachusetts, Dwight L. Moody overcame a poor upbringing and limited education to become a leading 19th-century evangelist. Converted in 1855, he left a successful Chicago business career for ministry, founding the Moody Church and leading the Chicago YMCA. His powerful revivals with singer Ira D. Sankey drew millions in America and Britain. Moody’s simple, heartfelt preaching on salvation transformed lives. He established the Moody Bible Institute and Northfield Schools, leaving a lasting legacy in modern evangelism.