Holiness [III]

~ Chapter Five: The Cost ~

“If we desire to do good, let us never be ashamed of walking in the steps of our Lord Jesus Christ. Work hard if you will, and have the opportunity, for the souls of others. Press them to consider their ways. Compel them with holy violence to come in, to lay down their arms, and to yield themselves to God. Offer them salvation, ready, free, full, immediate salvation. Press Christ and all His benefits on their acceptance. But in all your work tell the truth, and the whole truth. Be ashamed to use the vulgar arts of a recruiting sergeant. Do not speak only of the uniform, the pay, and the glory; speak also of the enemies, the battle, the armor, the watching, the marching, and the drill. Do not present only one side of Christianity. Do not keep back ‘the cross’ of self-denial that must be carried, when you speak of the cross on which Christ died for our redemption. Explain fully what Christianity entails. Entreat men to repent and come to Christ; but bid them at the same time to ‘count the cost.’”

“[Let] every reader [think] seriously, whether his religion costs him anything at present. Very likely it costs you nothing. Very probably it neither costs you trouble, nor time, nor thought, nor care, nor pains, nor reading, nor praying, nor self-denial, nor conflict, nor working, nor labor of any kind. Now mark what I say. Such a religion as this will never save your soul. It will never give you peace while you live, nor hope while you die. It will not support you in the day of affliction, nor cheer you in the hour of death. A religion that costs nothing is worth nothing. Awake before it is too late. Awake and repent. Awake and be converted. Awake and believe. Awake and pray. Rest not till you can give a satisfactory answer to my question, ‘What does it cost?’”

~ Chapter Six: Growth ~

“When I speak of growth in grace, I do not for a moment mean that a believer’s interest in Christ can grow. I do not mean that he can grow in safety, acceptance with God, or security. I do not mean that he can ever be more justified, more pardoned, more forgiven, more at peace with God, than he is the first moment that he believes. I hold firmly that the justification of a believer is a finished, perfect, and complete work; and that the weakest saint, though he may not know and feel it, is as completely justified as the strongest. I hold firmly that our election, calling, and standing in Christ admit of no degrees, increase, or diminution. If anyone dreams that by growth in grace I mean growth in justification, he is utterly wide of the mark, and utterly mistaken about the whole point I am considering. I would go to the stake, God helping me, for the glorious truth, that in the matter of justification before God every believer is ‘complete in Christ’ (Col. 2:10). Nothing can be added to his justification from the moment he believes, and nothing taken away.”

“[By growth in grace] I only mean increase in the degree, size, strength, vigor, and power of the graces, which the Holy Spirit plants in a believer’s heart. I hold that every one of those graces admits of growth, progress, and increase. I hold that repentance, faith, hope, love, humility, zeal, courage, and the like, may be little or great, strong or weak, vigorous or feeble, and may vary greatly in the same man at different periods of his life. When I speak of a man growing in grace, I mean simply this—that his sense of sin is becoming deeper, his faith stronger, his hope brighter, his love more extensive, his spiritual-mindedness more marked. He feels more of the power of godliness in his own heart. He manifests more of it in his life. He is going on from strength to strength, from faith to faith, and from grace to grace.”

A World Set Against Growth in Grace. “It is useless to conceal from ourselves that the age we live in is full of peculiar dangers. It is an age of great activity, and of much hurry, bustle, and excitement in religion. Many are running ‘to and fro,’ no doubt, and ‘knowledge is increased’ (Dan 12:4). Thousands are ready enough for public meetings, sermon hearing, or anything else in which there is ‘sensation.’ Few appear to remember the absolute necessity of making time to ‘commune with our hearts, and be still’ (Ps. 4:4). But without this there is seldom any deep spiritual prosperity.”

Biblical Texts on Growth in Grace. “What says Paul? ‘Your faith groweth exceedingly’ (2 Thess. 1:3). ‘We beseech you brethren, that ye increase more and more’ (1 Thess. 4:10). ‘Increasing in the knowledge of God’ (Col. 1:10). ‘Having hope, when your faith is increased’ (2 Cor. 10:15). ‘The Lord make you to increase in love’ (1 Thess. 3:12). ‘That ye may grow up into him in all things’ (Eph 4:15). ‘I pray that your love may abound more and more’ (Phil. 1:9). ‘We beseech you, as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more’ (1 Thess. 4:1). What says St. Peter? ‘Desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby’ (1 Pet. 2:2). ‘Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’ (2 Pet. 3:18).”

A Few Points on the Reality of Growth in Grace

“Growth in grace is the best evidence of spiritual health and prosperity. In a child, or a flower, or a tree, we are all aware that when there is no growth there is something wrong. Healthy life in an animal or a vegetable will always show itself by progress and increase.”

“[Growth] in grace is one way to be happy in our religion. God has wisely linked together our comfort and our increase in holiness. He has graciously made it our interest to press on and aim high in our Christianity. There is a vast difference between the amount of sensible enjoyment that one believer has in his religion compared to another. But you may be sure that ordinarily the man who feels the most ‘joy and peace in believing,’ and has the clearest witness of the Spirit in his heart, is the man who grows.

“[Growth] in grace is one secret of usefulness to others. Our influence on others for good depends greatly on what they see in us. The children of the world measure Christianity quite as much by their eyes as by their ears. The Christian who is always at a standstill, to all appearances the same man, with the same little faults, and weaknesses, and besetting sins, and petty infirmities, is seldom the Christian who does much good. The man who shakes and stirs minds, and sets the world thinking, is the believer who is continually improving and going forward. Men think there is life and reality when they see growth.”

“[Growth] in grace pleases God… The Scripture speaks of walking so as to ‘please God.’ The Scripture says there are sacrifices with which ‘God is well pleased’ (1 Thess. 4:1; Heb. 13:16). The husbandman loves to see the plants on which he has bestowed labor flourishing and bearing fruit. It cannot but disappoint and grieve him to see them stunted and standing still. Now what does our Lord Himself say? ‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.’ ‘Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples’ (John 15:1,8). The Lord takes pleasure in all His people—but specially those who grow.”

“[Growth] in grace is not only a thing possible, but a thing for which believers are accountable. To tell an unconverted man, dead in sins, to grow in grace would doubtless be absurd. To tell a believer, who is quickened and alive to God, to grow, is only summoning him to a plain scriptural duty. He has a new principle within him, and it is a solemn duty not to quench it. Neglect of growth robs him of privileges, grieves the Spirit, and makes the chariot wheels of his soul move heavily. Whose fault is it, I should like to know, if a believer does not grow in grace? The fault, I am sure, cannot be laid on God. He delights to ‘give more grace.’ He ‘hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servants’ (James 4:6; Ps. 35:27). The fault, no doubt, is our own. We ourselves are to blame, and none else, if we do not grow.”

Marks by which Growth in Grace may be Known.

“One mark of growth in grace is increased humility. The man whose soul is growing feels his own sinfulness and unworthiness more every year.”

“Another mark of growth in grace is increased faith and love toward our Lord Jesus Christ. The man whose soul is growing finds more in Christ to rest upon every year, and rejoices more that he has such a Savior. No doubt he saw much in Him when he first believed. His faith laid hold on the atonement of Christ and gave him hope. But as he grows in grace, he sees a thousand things in Christ of which at first he never dreamed. His love and power—His heart and His intentions—His offices as Substitute, Intercessor, Priest, Advocate, Physician, Shepherd, and Friend, unfold themselves to a growing soul in an unspeakable manner.”

“Another mark of growth in grace is increased holiness of life and conversation. The man whose soul is growing gets more dominion over sin, the world, and the devil every year. He becomes more careful about his temper, his words, and his actions. He is more watchful over his conduct in every relation of life. He strives more to be conformed to the image of Christ in all things, and to follow Him as his example, as well as to trust in Him as his Savior. He is not content with old attainments and former grace. He forgets the things that are behind and reaches forth unto those things that are before… On earth he thirsts and longs to have a will more entirely in unison with God’s will. In heaven the chief thing that he looks for, next to the presence of Christ, is complete separation from all sin.”

“Another mark of growth in grace is increased spirituality in taste and mind. The man whose soul is growing takes more interest in spiritual things every year. He does not neglect his duty in the world. He discharges faithfully, diligently, and conscientiously every relation of life, whether at home or abroad. But the things he loves best are spiritual things. The ways, and fashions, and amusements, and recreations of the world have a continually decreasing place in his heart. He does not condemn them as downright sinful, nor say that those who have anything to do with them are going to hell. He only feels that they have a constantly diminishing hold on his own affections, and gradually seem smaller and more trifling in his eyes. Spiritual companions, spiritual occupations, spiritual conversations, appear of ever-increasing value to him.”

“Another mark of growth in grace is increase of charity. The man whose soul is growing is more full of love every year—of love to all men, but especially of love to the brethren. His love will show itself actively in a growing disposition to do kindness, to take trouble for others, to be good-natured to everybody, to be generous, sympathizing, thoughtful, tenderhearted, and considerate. It will show itself passively in a growing disposition to be meek and patient toward all men, to put up with provocation and not stand upon rights, to bear and forbear much rather than quarrel. A growing soul will try to put the best construction on other people’s conduct, and to believe all things and hope all things, even to the end. There is no surer mark of backsliding and falling off in grace than an increasing disposition to find fault, pick holes, and see the weak points in others.”

“One more mark of growth in grace is increased zeal and diligence in trying to do good to souls. The man who is really growing will take greater interest in the salvation of sinners every year.”

The Means by which We Grow in Grace. “Many admire growth in grace in others, and wish that they themselves were like them. But they seem to suppose that those who grow are what they are by some special gift or grant from God, and that as this gift is not bestowed on themselves they must be content to sit still. This is a grievous delusion, and one against which I desire to testify will all my might. I wish it to be distinctly understood that growth in grace is bound up with the use of means within the reach of all believers, and that, as a general rule, growing souls are what they are because they use these means.”

“One thing essential to growth in grace is diligence in the use of private means of grace. [These are] means as a man must use by himself alone, and no one can use for him. I include under this head private prayer, private reading of the Scriptures, and private meditation and self-examination. The man who does not take pains about these three things must never expect to grow. Here are the roots of true Christianity. Wrong here, a man is wrong all the way through! Here is the whole reason many professing Christians never seem to get on. They are careless and slovenly about their private prayers. They read their Bibles but little, and with very little heartiness of spirit. They give themselves no time for self-inquiry and quiet thought about the state of their souls.”

“Another thing that is essential to growth in grace is carefulness in the use of public means of grace. By these I understand such means as a man has within his reach as a member of Christ’s visible church. Under this head I include the ordinances of regular Sunday worship, the uniting with God’s people in common prayer and praise, the preaching of the Word, and the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.”

“Another thing essential to growth in grace is watchfulness over our conduct in the little matters of everyday life. Our tempers, our tongues, the discharge of our several relations of life, our employment of time—each and all must be vigilantly attended to if we wish our souls to prosper. Life is made up of days, and days of hours, and the little things of every hour are never so little as to be beneath the care of a Christian. When a tree begins to decay at root or heart, the mischief is first seen at the extreme ends of the little branches. ‘He that despiseth little things,’ says an uninspired writer, ‘shall fall by little and little.’ That witness is true. Let others despise us, if they like, and call us precise and overcareful. Let us patiently hold on our way, remember that ‘we serve a precise God,’ that our Lord’s example is to be copied in the least things as well as the greatest, and that we must ‘take up our cross daily’ and hourly, rather than sin. We must aim to have a Christianity that, like the sap of a tree, runs through every twig and leaf of our character, and sanctifies all.”

“Another thing that is essential to growth in grace is caution about the company we keep and the friendships we form.”

“There is one more thing that is absolutely essential to growth in grace—and that is regular and habitual communion with the Lord Jesus… [This is the] daily habit of intercourse between the believer and his Savior, which can only be carried on by faith, prayer, and meditation. It is a habit, I fear, of which many believers know little. A man may be a believer and have his feet on the rock, and yet live far below his privileges. It is possible to have ‘union’ with Christ, and yet to have little if any ‘communion’ with Him. But, for all that, there is such a thing… We must not be content with a general orthodox knowledge that justification is by faith and not by works, and that we must put our trust in Christ. We must go further than this. We must seek to have personal intimacy with the Lord Jesus, and to deal with Him as a man deals with a loving friend. We must realize what it is to turn to Him first in every need, to talk to Him about every difficulty, to consult Him about every step, to spread before Him all our sorrows, to get Him to share in all our joys, to do all as in His sight, and to go through every day leaning on and looking to Him.

Going too far in religion? “We can never have too much humility, too much faith in Christ, too much holiness, too much charity, too much zeal in doing good to others. Then let us be continually forgetting the things behind, and reaching forth unto the things before (Phil. 3:13). The best of Christians in these matters is infinitely below the perfect pattern of his Lord. Whatever the world may please to say, we may be sure there is no danger of any of us becoming ‘too good.’ Let us cast to the winds as idle talk the common nothing that it is possible to be ‘extreme’ and go ‘too far’ in religion. This is a favorite lie of the devil, and one that he circulates with vast industry. No doubt there are enthusiasts and fanatics to be found who bring evil report upon Christianity by their extravagances and follies. But if anyone means to say that a mortal man can be too humble, too charitable, too holy, or too diligent in doing good, he must either be an atheist or a fool. In serving pleasure and money, it is easy to go too far. But in following the things that make up true religion, and in serving Christ, there can be no extreme. Let us never measure our religion by that of others, and think we are doing enough if we have gone beyond our neighbors. This is another snare of the devil.

Wholly Debtors to Christ’s Grace. “Let us mind our own business… Let us follow on, making Christ’s life and pattern our only pattern and example. Let us follow on, remembering daily that at our best we are miserable sinners. Let us follow on, and never forget that it signifies nothing whether we are better than others or not. At our very best we are far worse than we ought to be. There will always be room for improvement in us. We shall be debtors to Christ’s mercy and grace to the very last. Then let us leave off looking at others and comparing ourselves with others. We shall find enough to do if we look at our own hearts.”

On Suffering and Growth in Grace. “[If] we know anything of growth in grace, and desire to know more, let us not be surprised if we have to go through much trial and affliction in this world. I firmly believe it is the experience of nearly all the most eminent saints. Like their blessed Master, they have been ‘men of sorrows, acquainted with grief’ and ‘perfected through sufferings’ (Isa 53:3; Heb. 2.10). It is a striking saying of our Lord, ‘Every branch in me that beareth fruit, my Father purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit’ (John 15:2). It is a melancholy fact, that constant temporal prosperity, as a general rule, is injurious to a believer’s soul. We cannot stand it. Sickness, and losses, and crosses, and anxieties, and disappointments seem absolutely needful to keep us humble, watchful, and spiritual minded. They are as needful as the pruning knife to the vine, and the refiner’s furnace to the gold. They are not pleasant to flesh and blood. We do not like them, and often do not see their meaning. ‘No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless, afterward, it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness (Heb. 12:11). We shall find that all worked for our good when we reach heaven. Let these thoughts abide in our minds, if we love growth in grace. When days of darkness come upon us, let us not count it a strange thing. Rather let us remember that lessons are learned on such days that would never have been learned in sunshine. Let us say to ourselves, ‘This also is for my profit, that I may be a partaker of God’s holiness. It is sent in love. I am in God’s best school. Correction is instruction. This is meant to make me grow.’”