Lectures to Young People
William B. Sprague, 1830
GROWTH IN GRACE
"Grow in grace." 2 Peter 3:18.
It is an error common with young Christians, that when
the first joys of a renovated state have passed away, the current of their
affections sets back strongly towards the world. Judging from their
appearance, in many instances, we would say that they gave little promise of
being faithful soldiers of the cross; that instead of guarding more closely
against their spiritual enemies, and girding themselves more thoroughly for
conflict, they were casting from them the armor with which they were
actually furnished, and dismissing the sentinels already stationed at the
door of their hearts. They would seem to be acting upon the conviction that
the course of exercises through which they had passed, constituted certain
evidence of regeneration; and that regeneration not only begins—but
completes, their preparation for heaven.
Our text is adapted, my young friends, to guard you
against this mistaken view of the pious life. It clearly implies that
regeneration is but the beginning of true religion in the heart, and of
course, leaves the subject of it but partially sanctified; that the
Christian life is a life of constant improvement; and that this improvement
is intimately connected with our own exertions. It is the design of this
discourse to illustrate the nature, the means, the
importance of GROWTH IN GRACE.
I. The NATURE of growth in grace.
What is it to grow in grace?
The word grace is used in the New Testament with
various shades of meaning; but in the text it evidently denotes practical
piety, or the true religion of the heart and life. To grow in grace,
therefore, is, in general, to make progress in true religion. More
particularly,
1. It is implied in this duty, that you grow, not merely
in the means of true religion—but in true religion itself.
The use of means always supposes that there is an end to
be attained; and this holds true in respect to true religion, as well as
anything else. But it would seem that this connection between the means and
the end, is, by many professed Christians, in a great measure, overlooked;
and that, for the actual attainment of grace, they substitute the means by
which it is to be attained. In the regularity of their attendance on
religious services, they seem practically to forget the purpose for which
these services were designed; so that, instead of ministering to the growth
of true religion, they serve only to cherish a spirit of self-righteousness.
Think not that I would discourage the most diligent use of means. I would
only put you on your guard against defeating the purpose for which they are
designed, by an improper use of them. Let them be used, and used
daily; but let it be with reference to the attainment of an end—the
promotion of true religion in the heart and life; and so long as this
purpose is not answered, remember that they have not exerted their proper
influence. When the effect of them is to increase your love to God and man,
to quicken your faith, to deepen your humility, and to cause you to abound
more and more in every Christian virtue—then and only then, is their
legitimate purpose accomplished.
Growth in grace, then, you perceive, involves not only a
diligent use of the means of grace—but also the attainment of the end for
which these means were designed. While the end is not, at least in the
ordinary course of providence, to be attained without the means, the means
are of no importance, except from their connection with the end. He who
grows in grace, in the use of the one, attains the other.
2. The duty which we are contemplating, implies that you
grow, not in some particular parts of true religion only—but in every
part.
The Christian character, though made up of a variety of
graces and virtues, is a well-proportioned and beautiful whole. But as there
is a strong disposition to separate the means and the end in the pious life,
there is a similar propensity often manifested to deform the Christian
character, by neglecting to cultivate some of the traits of which it is
composed. Hence we often see professed Christians, who, in some respects,
seem to be closely conformed to the gospel standard, who, yet, in others,
exhibit so little of the spirit of Christ, as to occasion distressing doubts
whether they are really his disciples. Now, if you would comply with the
duty enjoined in the text, you must guard against this evil. You need not
indeed fear that you shall superabound in any of the virtues of the gospel;
but take heed that there be none in which you are deficient. Let your
standard of piety be as elevated as it may—but let your Christian character
rise in just and beautiful proportions.
3. The duty enjoined in the text, moreover, implies that
you should grow in true religion, not at particular times only—but at
all times.
There is, I fear, an impression too common among young
Christians, that the pious character is to be formed chiefly from the
influence of great occasions. When, for instance, they are visited by severe
affliction, they feel that it is a time for diligently cultivating true
religion; but let the rod of God be withdrawn, and they too commonly relapse
into a state of comparative indolence. Or let there be a revival of true
religion in their immediate neighborhood—and you will see them coming forth
to the work in a spirit of humility and self-denial: but let carelessness
resume its dominion over the surrounding multitude, and they too, in many
instances, will be seen settled down to a point of freezing indifference.
They doubt not that it is the duty of Christians to make progress in true
religion; but they seem to imagine that, by extraordinary diligence at one
time, they may atone for some degree of negligence at another.
Now we do not deny that there are occasions in the
Christian's life, and among them those to which we have referred, which are
peculiarly favorable to his improvement, and for which he ought diligently
to watch; but the notion against which we protest is, that there is any
period, in which he may fold his hands in indolence. While you are to
improve, with special care, those seasons which furnish peculiar advantages
for the cultivation of piety, remember that true religion is to be the work
of every day; that in seasons of prosperity as well as of adversity, in
seasons of coldness as well as of revival, in every condition in which you
may be placed, you are bound to grow in grace. If such be the nature, we
will now inquire, secondly,
II. What are the MEANS of growth in grace.
These are very numerous: we will specify some of the more prominent.
1. We notice, first, the
PRIVATE duties of true piety,
comprehending meditation, prayer, and reading the scriptures.
I would say, in general, in respect to all these
duties, that, before you approach them, you should throw down the burden
of worldly care and vexation. The bird which possesses the fleetest wing
will never fly, if she is oppressed with an insupportable load; neither will
the soul ever mount up to heaven in its contemplations, until it has broken
away from earthly incumbrances. You should address yourself to these duties
with great seriousness; for they bring you into the immediate presence of
God, on an errand which deeply involves your immortal interests; and the
absence of a serious spirit converts the external act into the most impious
mockery.
Moreover, they should all be performed, as I have
elsewhere had occasion to remark in respect to one, at stated seasons;
and especially in the morning and evening of each day. But the performance
of these duties, at stated seasons, should not supersede the occasional
performance of them. As the circumstances in which you are placed, may
furnish opportunity, or suggest occasion, for private pious exercises, you
should consider it at once your duty and your privilege to engage in them.
We will dwell, for a moment, a little more particularly,
on these several duties.
Of
pious MEDITATION, considered as a means
of growth in grace, it may be remarked that it is not merely a
speculative—but practical exercise: the object of it is, not merely
to discover truth—but when discovered, to turn it to some practical
advantage. If, for instance, the mind dwells on the infinite greatness and
majesty of God—the heart kindles with a sentiment of holy admiration. If the
mind contemplates the unparalleled love and mercy of God—the heart glows
with a spirit of devout gratitude. If the mind contemplates the depravity
and ruin of man, and particularly if it turns its eye inward on personal
guilt—the bosom heaves with emotions of godly sorrow. And so in respect to
every other subject to which the thoughts may be directed—the mind
contemplates them not as subjects of abstract speculation—but of personal
interest.
The subjects proper to exercise the mind in
meditation, are almost infinitely various. Whatever God has revealed to
us—whether through the medium of his works, his ways, or his word—may form a
profitable theme of contemplation for the Christian. "The heavens declare
the glory of God, and the firmament shows his handy-work." The system of
providence also, exhibits a constant divine agency, and in the minutest, as
well as in the greatest, events, presents an impressive view of the
character of God. And while the dispensations of providence in general
furnish suitable subjects of reflection, this is especially true of those
events which more immediately respect ourselves; whether they assume the
form of mercies or afflictions.
But the Bible is an inexhaustible treasury of truth: it
contains things into which even angels desire to look; and which will no
doubt awaken the interest, and employ the curiosity, of angels, forever. Our
own character and condition also, constitute, though not one of the most
pleasant, yet to us one of the most important, subjects of meditation. From
these various sources, then, you may derive materials for pious
contemplation; and who will not say that here is enough to employ the mind
in all the circumstances and periods of its existence?
One of the most important forms of the duty of which I am
speaking, is self-examination; or meditating upon ourselves with a
view to ascertain our own character and condition. You are to examine
yourself in respect to your sins—the sins of your whole life; the
sins of particular periods, especially of each passing day; the sins which
most easily beset you; and all the circumstances of aggravation by which
your sins have been attended. You are to examine yourself in respect to your
spiritual needs; to inquire in which of the Christian graces you are
especially deficient; through what avenue the world assails you most
successfully, and, of course, at what point you need to be most strongly
fortified. You are to examine yourself in respect to your evidences of
Christian character—to inquire whether you have really the spirit of
Christian obedience, and whether that spirit is daily gaining strength.
This inquiry is to be conducted with great vigilance;
otherwise, the heart is so deceitful, that you will deceive yourself in the
very attempt to avoid being deceived. It must be prosecuted with unyielding
determination; for the work is in itself so difficult, and withal,
the discoveries which must result from it so painful, that, without this
spirit, it will inevitably be abandoned. You must refer your character to
the scriptural standard—to the law, if you would ascertain the extent
of your departure from duty; to the gospel, if you would test your
claim to the Christian character. And finally, in the spirit of humble
dependence, let all your efforts be accompanied and crowned by the
prayer—"Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts;
and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the everlasting
way."
The importance of self-examination, and of the
more general duty of meditation, of which this is a part, as a means of
growth in grace, it is not easy adequately to estimate. Meditation is
necessary not only as a preparation for prayer—but as entering essentially
into the nature of prayer; nay, it is essential to every act of faith.
Meditation is the exercise by which the soul digests all the spiritual food
which it receives. Moreover, it is of great importance, as tending to
promote spiritual health. How many hours, and days, and years, of the
Christian's life, are lost, and worse than lost--from the fact that his mind
has not been disciplined to a habit of meditation. A considerable part of
your whole time is passed in solitude; many of these hours, at least, might
be redeemed by meditation, for purposes of pious improvement. You may
meditate not in the closet only--but in the field or the work-shop, in the
lonely walk or the midnight hour. You may meditate in circumstances in which
you can do nothing else; and thus, by this sweet and silent exercise of the
soul, you may keep yourself constantly under a sanctifying influence. "Do
not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and
night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you
will be prosperous and successful." Joshua 1:8. "My eyes stay open through
the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises." Psalm
119:148
In respect to the duty of
private PRAYER,
much of what might here naturally be said, has been anticipated in another
discourse. Let me only add, that your private addresses at a throne of grace
should be, in a high degree, particular; and should contemplate even
the most minute circumstances of your condition. In social and public
prayer, our petitions are necessarily, in some degree, of a general
character; as they embrace needs which each individual has, in common with
many others. But every Christian's experience has something in it peculiar;
and not only so—but it is subject to constant variation; and it is in the
devotions of the closet alone, that this variety of experience can be
distinctly recognized. Endeavor, then, by previous meditation, to gain an
accurate knowledge of your necessities and sins, on the one hand; and a deep
impression of the mercies which you have received, on the other; and by thus
communing with your own heart, you will be prepared for close and particular
communion with God.
In reviewing a given period, do you find that you have
been betrayed into levity of conversation or deportment; or that you have
remained silent, where you ought to have dropped a word in behalf of the
cause of Christ? Do you find that your thoughts have been wandering on
forbidden objects; or that you have yielded to the influence of some evil
passion—have indulged in discontent, envy, pride, or revenge; or that, from
the lack of vigilance, you have been overcome by some sudden temptation? Let
all this be a matter of distinct and solemn confession in your closet.
Or have you received some signal manifestation of God's
kindness in preserving you from temptation, or strengthening you for arduous
duties, or imparting new vigor to your pious affections, and thus
brightening your hope of heaven? Let these, and all other private blessings,
be a subject of devout thanksgiving in your closet.
Or do you find that you have easily besetting sins; or
that duties await you, which must involve great self-denial; or that
temptations are about to throng upon you, which mere human resolution can
never successfully oppose? In the closet you are to seek for grace
accommodated to these and all other exigencies of your spiritual condition.
In short, here you are to unburden your whole soul with the confidence of a
child. You have sins, and sorrows, and needs, which it might be neither
desirable nor proper that you should bring before the world. But there is
not a sin of which you are guilty, which you are not encouraged here
to confess: not a sorrow can agitate your bosom—but you may venture
here to tell it to a compassionate God: not a need can you feel—but
you may here ask with confidence to have it supplied.
Let the exercise of private prayer be conducted in the
manner which has now been described, and it cannot fail to exert a powerful
influence in making you holy. But in proportion as it becomes
general—overlooking the more minute circumstances of your condition, it will
degenerate into formality, and thus defeat the great end which it is
designed to accomplish.
Closely connected with private prayer, as a means of
growth in grace, is
reading the SCRIPTURES. "Sanctify them
through your truth," is part of the memorable prayer which our Lord offered
in behalf of his disciples, a little before he left the world; and the
sentiment which it contains, has been verified in the experience of every
Christian from that hour down to the present. Not only is the word of God
the incorruptible seed of the renewed nature—but it is that from which the
spiritual principle derives its nourishment; and accordingly we find that
those who have attained the most commanding stature in piety, are those who
have drawn most largely from this storehouse of spiritual bounty. But in
order that you may realize the benefit which this exercise is adapted to
secure, you must read the word of God with devout and earnest
attention; for like the food which nourishes the body, it
must be digested in order to its being a means of nourishment to the soul.
You must read it as the word of God; with the most reverent regard for its
author; with a firm persuasion that it contains the words of eternal life;
and with a conscience lying open to the authority of Him who speaks in it.
You must read it as being addressed particularly to
yourself. You must apply what you read for your personal instruction or
admonition, as truly as if it had been spoken immediately to you by a voice
from Heaven. You must read it with a spirit of dependence on God, as the
author of all holy illumination; often sending up the prayer—"Open my
eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law." Read the Bible in
this way, my young friends, and while new glories will constantly be
unfolding to your delighted vision, as the stars thicken upon the eye at
evening; the principle of spiritual life will be continually growing more
vigorous, and the evidence of your title to heaven more unquestionable.
In connection with reading the scriptures, I may mention
reading OTHER BOOKS
also, of a serious and practical nature. There
are books which are designed immediately to illustrate the meaning, and to
exhibit the harmony, of the scriptures. There are other books whose more
immediate object is to present a detailed view of the doctrines of the
Bible; to show their connection with each other, and their practical
bearings both upon God and man. And there are other books still, which are
especially fitted to awaken and cherish a spirit of devotion; to withdraw
the soul from the influence of external objects, and bring it to commune
with spiritual and invisible realities. Books of either of the kinds to
which I have now referred, you may read with much advantage; though you are
always to recollect that, as the productions of uninspired men, they are to
be tried by the law and the testimony. They are the lesser lights in true
religion, which borrow all their luster from the sun.
It deserves here to be remarked, that the different
private exercises of which I have spoken, are intimately connected, and are
fitted to exert a mutually favorable influence on each other. Meditation,
while it composes the mind to a devotional frame, and brings before it
subjects for prayer, applies the truths of God's word as means of
sanctification. Prayer not only leaves the soul in a state most
favorable to meditation—but spreads over the sacred page an illuminating and
heavenly influence. Reading the scriptures at once furnishes
materials for meditation, and kindles the spirit, while it supplies the
language, of prayer. Let these several duties, then, be joined together, so
far as possible, in your daily practice; and while each will contribute to
render the others more interesting and profitable, they will together exert
a powerful influence in your Christian improvement.
2. Another important means of growth in grace, is
Christian FELLOWSHIP.
The utility of social fellowship has been felt in every department of
knowledge and action. He who desires to make distinguished attainments in
anything, can scarcely fail highly to estimate the society of kindred minds
engaged in a similar pursuit; and accordingly we find that some of the most
brilliant discoveries in science, have resulted from the fellowship which
great minds have had with each other. And as it is with other things, so it
is with true religion—hardly anything can serve more effectually to
invigorate our pious affections, or to heighten the interest with which we
regard the objects of faith, than a close and fraternal fellowship with
Christian friends; whereas, the neglect of such fellowship is at once a
cause, and a symptom, of spiritual declension.
That your fellowship with Christian friends may be
profitable, let it be frequent. Every consideration which
should induce you to cultivate this fellowship at all, should induce you to
engage in it frequently: and besides, if true religion is made the topic of
conversation only at distant intervals, the almost certain consequence will
be that such conversation will never awaken much interest, or be prosecuted
with much advantage; whereas, by being frequently introduced, it can hardly
fail, through the influence of habit, on the one hand, and an increased
degree of pious feeling, on the other—to become a most pleasant and edifying
exercise.
Let a few Christian friends appropriate an hour of each
week to the interchange of pious sentiments and feelings, to compare with
each other their spiritual progress, and to strengthen each other for their
spiritual conflicts, and let this exercise be continued regularly and
perseveringly, and you may expect that its influence will be felt in a rapid
and vigorous growth of piety. The place of such a meeting will soon come to
be regarded as a bethel; and the hour consecrated to it, will be hailed with
devout joy and gratitude.
But these are by no means the only seasons in which you
should avail yourselves of this privilege. In the common and daily walks of
life, there are occasions constantly occurring, on which you may take sweet
counsel with your fellow-Christians. Why may not the friendly call, and the
social interview, instead of being perverted to purposes of idle or vain
talk, be made subservient to spiritual improvement? Is it not far more
grateful to review an hour passed with a friend in conversing on topics
connected with Christian experience, or with the kingdom of Christ, than one
which you have frittered away in mere trifling talk, without having uttered
a word worthy of your Christian character or Christian hopes?
Moreover, this fellowship should be more or less
unreserved, according to circumstances. I would not, by any means, recommend
an indiscriminate disclosure of your pious exercises: this would not only
appear to be—but there is reason to fear that it would actually be, the
operation of spiritual pride; than which, nothing can be more offensive
either to God or man.
As a general direction, I would say that, while you may
profitably hold pious fellowship with all Christians, that of a more
close and confidential kind should ordinarily be confined to intimate
friends—those who will at once value and reciprocate your Christian
confidence. You are, by no means, of course, to decline pious conversation
with a Christian friend, because there may be those present, who are not
interested in it; but you are so far to regard their presence, as to
endeavor to give the conversation that direction which shall be most likely
to minister to their profit, as well as your own.
And finally, I would say that all your pious fellowship
ought, so far as possible, to be accompanied or followed by prayer.
This will serve at once to strengthen the tie that binds your hearts
together, to give additional interest to your fellowship, and to draw down
upon it the blessing of God. Is it not the melancholy fact that this most
delightful duty is often neglected, in the circumstances of which I speak,
because it is considered a matter of delicacy? God forbid, my young friends,
that you should ever, for a moment, yield to such a sentiment! Surely that
is not only false—but criminal delicacy, which, by forbidding you to kneel
down with a companion in the Christian life at the throne of mercy, would
intercept some of the richest blessings of God's grace!
3. I notice as another of the means of growth in grace,
public worship.
On this subject, it must be acknowledged that there prevails, extensively, a
lamentable deficiency in Christian practice. It is no part of your errand
here to engage in worldly civilities; or hear worldly news; or count the
number of strangers, and prepare to comment upon their appearance. Your
business here lies between God and your own souls; and it will never
advance, while your attention is absorbed by external objects. Guard then
against the idle gaze, and the wandering imagination; make the prayers and
the praises which are here offered, your own; let every truth which is here
delivered, be applied for your instruction, admonition, or consolation; and
feel best satisfied when, on retiring from the sanctuary, your thoughts have
been least upon your fellow-mortals, and most upon God. And let not the good
impressions which you may have received, be effaced by worldly conversation
at the close of the service, or on the way to your dwelling. Decline all
conversation which will be likely to exert such an influence, even though it
should be solicited; for it is far safer to offend man than God. And avail
yourself of the first opportunity to enter your closet, to supplicate the
blessing of God to follow the service in which you have been engaged, and to
bring home the truths which you have heard more impressively to your own
soul. "They who wait upon the Lord" in this manner, "shall renew their
strength;" and shall have just occasion to say, "A day in your courts is
better than a thousand."
In connection with this article, let me direct your
attention for a moment, a little more particularly, to your duty in relation
to social pious exercises
during the week. So chilling is the
atmosphere of the world to pious feeling, that the Christian greatly needs
the aid which these weekly services are fitted to impart, to keep alive the
spirit of devotion. They who fear the Lord will desire not only to speak
often one to another—but to unite their hearts in prayer, and to open them
to the reception of the truth. While, therefore, you regard such exercises
as matter only of Christian prudence, you should consider them important
helps in the pious life; and if, at any time, you grow weary of attending
them, it will be well to inquire whether there is not a proportional decline
in respect to other Christian duties.
No doubt services of this kind may be multiplied to an
improper extent, so as to interfere with duties of paramount claims; and no
doubt they may be rendered unprofitable, and even injurious, by being
improperly conducted. At the same time, I am constrained to believe that
objections to these services have arisen more frequently from lack of true
religion, than anything else; and that the spirit which treats them with
contempt, would, if it were armed with power, bring every institution of God
into the dust.
4. The last means of growth in grace which I shall here
notice, is attendance on
the Lord's supper. That you may receive
the benefit which this ordinance is fitted to impart, endeavor to gain a
deep impression of its nature and design. It is a commemorating
ordinance; in which we are to remember "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
who, though he was rich—for our sakes became poor." It is a confessing
ordinance; by which we profess ourselves to be the disciples of Christ,
and openly renounce the world as our portion. It is a communicating
ordinance, in which the blessings of God's grace are communicated for the
renovation of our spiritual strength. It is a covenanting ordinance;
in which God declares himself our God, and we devote ourselves anew to his
service. The more you reflect on the nature and design of this institution,
the more you will discover in it of wisdom and grace; the more you will
derive from it of light, and strength, and comfort.
Endeavor, moreover, to be faithful in your immediate
preparation for this ordinance. This preparation consists generally in
all the private pious exercises of which I have spoken; but more especially
in self-examination. "Let a man examine himself," says the apostle; "and so
let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup." The public service which
has been instituted in our churches as preparatory to this ordinance, you
are also devoutly and punctually to attend; and let me say that, if you are
voluntarily and habitually absent from that service, you not only wrong your
own soul—but carry upon you the mark of a backslider. Cases may indeed occur
in which the Lord's table may be spread before you unexpectedly, and in
which you have no opportunity for immediate preparation; and then it is no
doubt your duty to partake, and you may hope for the blessing of God. But
where preparation is voluntarily neglected, you may expect that the
ordinance will be to you a mere dead letter; and it will be well, if you do
not eat and drink judgment to yourself.
In your attendance on the ordinance, be careful that you
cherish the feelings, which the occasion is adapted and designed to
awaken. You should yield yourself to devout admiration of that grace,
and wisdom, and glory, which shine forth in the plan of redemption, and
which seem concentrated around the Redeemer's cross. You are to behold with
fervent gratitude the amazing sacrifice which constituted the price
of all your joys and hopes—the price of your immortal crown. You are to look
inward with deep humility upon your own sins, as part of the guilty
cause of your Redeemer's sufferings. You are to look upward with holy joy
to a reigning Savior, and to a bright inheritance. You are to renew your
resolutions of devotedness to Christ, and to determine in the
strength of his grace, on a course of more unyielding self-denial. You are
to cherish the spirit of brotherly love towards your
fellow-Christians, and a spirit of good will towards the whole family
of man; and you are to let your benevolent affections go out in fervent
prayer for the revival of God's work.
Thus you are to wait upon the Lord at his table; but that
you may not, after all, defeat the design of your attendance, carry the
spirit of the ordinance back with you to your closet, and there let it be
fanned into a still brighter flame. Carry it with you into the world, into
scenes of care and temptation, and let it certify to all with whom you
associate, that you have been with Jesus.
I proceed to the third and last division of the
discourse, in which I am briefly to illustrate,
III. The IMPORTANCE of growth in grace.
1. Growth in grace is important—as constituting the only
satisfactory EVIDENCE of piety.
I well know that there is a tendency in the backslider
and self-deceiver to be perpetually looking to past experience. When they
are rebuked, as they cannot fail sometimes to be, by the consciousness of
being far from God and from duty, they call to mind the days in which they
were cheered, as they suppose, by the manifestations of the Savior's love;
and by connecting experience, which is at best equivocal in its character,
and long since gone by—with a sad perversion of the doctrine of the saints'
perseverance—they arrive at the welcome conclusion that, though fallen from
their first love, they have yet the love of God in their hearts. Beware, my
young friends, of this delusion!
The Christian character is, in its very nature,
progressive. If then you make no sensible progress in piety—much more if
you are on the decline, and have allowed your affections to become wedded to
the world, you have no right, from your past experience, to take the comfort
of believing that this is only the occasional lapse of a child of God, from
which his grace is pledged to bring you back. You have reason rather to
conclude that you have been resting upon the hypocrite's hope, and that you
are yet in your sins. But if, on the other hand, the principle of true
religion in your heart is constantly gaining strength, then you have
evidence on which you may confidently rely, that you have been born of God.
The grain of mustard seed, when cast into the earth, is
so small as almost to elude observation; but when it shoots up into a tree,
and gradually lifts its boughs towards heaven, no one doubts the reality of
its existence. In like manner, the principle of true religion, when first
implanted in the heart, is so feeble, that even its existence may be a
matter of question; but as it gathers strength, and advances towards
maturity, the evidence of its reality becomes decisive.
2. Growth in grace is important, as constituting the only
solid ground of COMFORT. We have
already seen that it constitutes the only satisfactory evidence of piety.
But without evidence of piety, you have no right to indulge the hope of
heaven: and without that hope, where in the universe will you look for
comfort? If you do not grow in grace, you must either be sunk in spiritual
lethargy, or else you must be occasionally at least harrowed with fearful
apprehensions in respect to the future; and who will say that either
situation has anything in it that deserves the name of enjoyment. If, on the
other hand, you grow in grace, you have, with the evidence of piety which is
thus gained, a right to hope that you are an heir to the glories of the
upper world. Is there anything in this hope that is transporting? As you
value its consolations, grow in grace.
Moreover, the growing Christian finds comfort not only in
the hope of heaven—but in the daily exercise of the Christian graces;
but if you do not grow in grace, you have not more to expect from this
latter source of comfort than from the former. In the exercise of love to
God, and faith in the Savior, and many other Christian graces—yes, even in
the successful struggles of the soul with sin, there is sometimes a joy
which mounts up to ecstacy. But to all this, the sluggish and backslidden
Christian (for such, at best, must he be who is not growing in grace,) is,
of course, a stranger. He cannot have the comfort of the Christian graces,
because he has not the exercise of them. Grow in grace, then, as you would
avoid the languor and apathy of spiritual declension, on the one hand, and
as you would rejoice in the inward experience of God's love, on the other.
3. Growth in grace is important, as constituting the only
pledge of pious ACTION. I am well
aware that many actions externally good, and fitted to exert a benign
influence on the world, are performed by men whose hearts have never been
touched by a sanctifying influence: there are broad and deep streams of
public charity, flowing from fountains into which the salt of divine grace
has never been cast. Thanks to that Providence which has ordained that it
should be so; which causes bad men sometimes to do good—giving the
contribution their hands, even while they withhold their hearts. But who
does not perceive that in all cases of this kind, there is not—cannot be, a
pledge for continued exertion in the cause of Christ? As there is no love to
that cause, whence shall come that constraining influence, which shall nerve
the hands for unrelaxed and persevering effort? Who can feel any assurance
that the person who serves God today, by his property or his influence, from
merely selfish motives, will not tomorrow, upon a change of circumstances,
become a persecutor of the faith which he now labors to promote?
Far otherwise is it with the person, who lives in the
growing exercise of grace. With him, to do good is a matter of principle;
and in every variety of circumstances, it is the business of his life. Do
you fear that he will grow weary of well-doing? Never, so long as he
continues to grow in grace—for it is only the outward operation of the
inward principle. Place him in circumstances the most unfavorable to
benevolent action; let him, for his master's sake, be shut out from the
light of heaven, and chained in dreary solitude, where he can have no access
to a human being—and is his benevolent influence no longer exerted? I tell
you, No! That man is doing good even in his dungeon: he has in his bosom a
principle whose operations no tyrant can check, and no dungeon confine!
Though his communication with the visible world is cut off, he has communion
with the invisible God; and the influence of his prayers may not only change
his dark abode into a habitation for the Most High—but may carry the
blessings of God's grace to many souls! Cultivate, then, this holy
principle, that yours may be a life not only of sincere—but of persevering
benevolence; and that it may hereafter be said of you, as of your
Master—that you went about doing good.
4. Growth in grace is important, as constituting the only
adequate PREPARATION FOR HEAVEN. You hope
you have been renewed in the temper of your mind: but even if you are not
deceived in this hope, you cannot be insensible that there is much of
corruption still lodged in your heart; and that a mighty change is yet to
take place in your character, before you are prepared to inhabit the regions
of perfect purity. You still sometimes feel the risings of a spirit of
rebellion; sometimes you are brought under the power of evil affections; and
not unfrequently, when your soul would rise to heaven in pious
contemplation, it is weighed down to the dust by the most oppressive
sluggishness. But this spirit of rebellion, and these evil affections, and
this oppressive sluggishness, you can never carry with you to heaven: hence
the necessity of growing in grace, that you may be prepared for heaven. But
do you say that eternal life is promised to all who have been renewed; and
that, die when they will, God will see to it that they are completely
sanctified? Be it so—but let it not be forgotten that, in the ordinary
course of his providence, He accomplishes this object by bringing them to
work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. And besides, though
there is a pledge that all the regenerate shall be received to heaven, yet
the measure of their joy in that happy world is to be proportioned to their
present attainments. Would you then, Christian, be ready for your entrance
into rest; would you aspire to a place in heaven near your Redeemer, where
the beams of his glory shall illuminate your soul with brightest
effulgence—then, grow in grace—press forward to the mark of the prize of the
high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Let me, in the conclusion of this discourse, my young
friends, impress upon you, in one word, the importance of aiming at high
attainments in true religion. Whether you are to be a sluggish or an
active Christian; whether you are to cheer the region around you by the
light of a holy example, or to be a stumbling block in the path of
sinners—depends much on the resolutions which you now form, and the course
which you now adopt. Oh resolve—and supplicate God's grace to enable you to
execute the resolution—that you will exemplify the character of a constantly
growing Christian. Make all your worldly employments subordinate, and, so
far as possible, subservient to your progress in piety. Think yourself more
happy when you have gained the victory over a besetting sin, than if you
should see an empire at your feet. Let nothing allure you—let nothing drive
you—from the straight and narrow path of duty. If the world should come and
court you with its smiles, turn your back upon it, or meet it only as a
tempter. If it should cast its chilling frown upon you, and call your zeal
wild enthusiasm, and your devotion hypocrisy, remember that it is enough for
the disciple that he be as his master. Be it your grand object to become a
spiritually mature person in Christ Jesus. Keep your eye steadily fixed on
heaven, as the eagle's eye fastens upon the sun—and let your spirit
constantly press upward, as the eagle's wing lifts itself towards the orb of
day!
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