Growth Follows Birth

So the apostle Paul, while emphasizing the fact that we can only draw near through Christ and the divine forbearance expressed in him, insists on the need for personal righteousness quite as much as the other Apostles. The baptism of regeneration is the Christian birth; then must follow the Christian life. Christ and his apostles all emphasize these two aspects of preparation; the belief on the Lord Jesus Christ, and then seeking to do whatever he has commanded (John 3:15; Matthew 28:20); the justification through faith, and then the "patient continuance in well doing" (Romans 2:7); faith, and then the works which will show our faith (James 2:14-26); acceptance of the "exceeding great and precious promises" God has given, and then adding to our faith all the Christian virtues (2 Peter 1:4-8).

It would be a simple matter to show the course of Christian duty if it were not for the many complexities of the human mind. The whole ground is covered by those two great precepts cited by the Lord Jesus as the foundation of the Law and the Prophets. If we loved God with all our heart and strength, and loved our neighbours as ourselves, we should be perfect (Matthew 22:36-40). We are far from perfect in our native condition, and even when we have been brought under the constitution of righteousness through Christ we are still in need of constant instruction and admonition. Our faulty memories need frequent reminders of the foundations, and our dull perceptions require to be shown in a thousand ways how the principle of love can be applied in the complexities of human life.