“I confess to my shame,” wrote the godly Richard Baxter, “that I remember no sin which my conscience so much accuses and judges me for, as for doing so little for the salvation of men’s souls, and dealing no more earnestly and fervently with them for their conversion.
“I confess, that when I am alone, and think of the case of poor, ignorant, worldly, unconverted sinners, that live not to God, nor set their hearts on the life to come, my conscience tells me that I should go to as many of them as I can, and tell them plainly what will become of them, if they do not turn to the Lord. And though I have many excuses, yet none of them satisfy my own conscience when I consider what heaven and hell are, one of which will be the end of every man’s life. My conscience tells me that I should follow them night and day, with all earnestness, and take no denial till they turn to God.”