Test of Discipleship
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Him. We long to bear His image, breathe His spirit, do His will, and
please Him in all things.
Those who become new creatures in Christ Jesus will bring forth
the fruits of the Spirit, “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.”
Galatians 5:22, 23
. They will
no longer fashion themselves according to the former lusts, but by
the faith of the Son of God they will follow in His steps, reflect His
character, and purify themselves even as He is pure. The things they
once hated they now love, and the things they once loved they hate. The
proud and self-assertive become meek and lowly in heart. The vain and
supercilious become serious and unobtrusive. The drunken become
sober, and the profligate pure. The vain customs and fashions of the
world are laid aside. Christians will seek not the “outward adorning,”
but “the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even
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the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit.”
1 Peter 3:3, 4
.
There is no evidence of genuine repentance unless it works refor-
mation. If he restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, confess
his sins, and love God and his fellow men, the sinner may be sure that
he has passed from death unto life.
When, as erring, sinful beings, we come to Christ and become
partakers of His pardoning grace, love springs up in the heart. Every
burden is light, for the yoke that Christ imposes is easy. Duty be-
comes a delight, and sacrifice a pleasure. The path that before seemed
shrouded in darkness, becomes bright with beams from the Sun of
Righteousness.
The loveliness of the character of Christ will be seen in His follow-
ers. It was His delight to do the will of God. Love to God, zeal for His
glory, was the controlling power in our Saviour’s life. Love beautified
and ennobled all His actions. Love is of God. The unconsecrated heart
cannot originate or produce it. It is found only in the heart where Jesus
reigns. “We love, because He first loved us.”
1 John 4:19
, R.V. In
the heart renewed by divine grace, love is the principle of action. It
modifies the character, governs the impulses, controls the passions,
subdues enmity, and ennobles the affections. This love, cherished in
the soul, sweetens the life and sheds a refining influence on all around.
There are two errors against which the children of God—
particularly those who have just come to trust in His grace—especially
need to guard. The first, already dwelt upon, is that of looking to their
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