grace to live a life of consecration and activity. You have begun with faith, have you not? If any man here has been truly converted, he knows what faith is. He came to Christ as a hell-deserving sinner, and believed in Christ's mercy for forgiveness and salvation. So faith is the first step; faith is the foundation. And let me stop to say to any one here who is not yet saved, that, if he wants to be, he must throw himself as a sinner on the mercy of God in Christ; and God will save him at once, if he will do so. But, having exercised faith and received forgiveness and strength, you must add virtue, which means courage or boldness. It is sometimes very hard for a man who has lived a sinner and taken pride in it, to come out before the world, and especially before his old companions, and let them know that henceforth and forever he is a humble follower of Jesus Christ. But it is necessary. No middle ground is safe at all. If you try to meet the world as a reformed man, concealing the fact that you are a Christian, you will weaken, and give the devil a great advantage, and probably fall. I told gamblers in Denver I was a Christian, and they let me alone. But, not only that, you must be bold enough to try to persuade others to become Christians. There are some poor cowards who are not ashamed to let their friends and the world know that they have _reformed_; but they are too chicken-hearted to say that they have humbled themselves, surrendered their pride and become _Christians_. I know more than one of that sort. And, again, there are some men who are content to be saved themselves, but are afraid of being called fanatics if they are bold enough to go to talking and trying to persuade others to be so. Boldness in going out after others strengthened me and kept me from many a temptation.