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Christ, so that He is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and
sanctification and redemption. Faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance,
patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity are the rounds
of this ladder. All these graces are to be manifested in the Christian
character; and “if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an
entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting
kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”
2 Peter 1:10, 11
.
It is no easy matter to gain the priceless treasure of eternal life. No
one can do this and drift with the current of the world. He must come
out from the world and be separate and touch not the unclean. No one
can act like a worldling without being carried down by the current of
the world. No one will make any upward progress without persevering
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effort. He who would overcome must hold fast to Christ. He must
not look back, but keep the eye ever upward, gaining one grace after
another. Individual vigilance is the price of safety. Satan is playing the
game of life for your soul. Swerve not to his side a single inch, lest he
gain advantage over you.
If we ever reach heaven, it will be by linking our souls to Christ,
leaning upon Him, and cutting loose from the world, its follies and
enchantments. There must be on our part a spiritual co-operation
with the heavenly intelligences. We must believe and work and pray
and watch and wait. As the purchase of the Son of God, we are His
property, and everyone should have an education in the school of
Christ. Both teachers and pupils are to make diligent work for eternity.
The end of all things is at hand. There is need now of men armed and
equipped to battle for God.
It is not men whom we are to exalt, but God, the only true and
living God. The unselfish life, the generous, self-sacrificing spirit,
the sympathy and love of those who hold positions of trust in our
institutions, should have a purifying, ennobling influence which would
be eloquent for good. Their words in counsel would not then come
from a self-sufficient, self-exalted spirit; but their unobtrusive virtues
would be of more value than gold. If man lays hold of the divine nature,
working upon the plan of addition, adding grace to grace in perfecting
a Christian character, God will work upon the plan of multiplication.
He says in His word: “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through
the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.”
2 Peter 1:2
.