I. The Symmetry of Christian Character.
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Whoever has one Christian grace is sure to have others. In the genuine child of God, all the elements of piety are united. He who has strong hope, and no holy fear of God, will soon become presumptuous. He who has strong fears, but no hope in God, will be desperate. Without reverence, love degenerates into fondness; and without love, dread degenerates into aversion. Faith that is not humble can never lay hold of the most precious truths of the gospel; and humility that does not rely on God is but abjectness. Joy that is not chastened with mourning for sin becomes giddy and trifling; while sorrow for sin that joys not in God works death. Peace which, when called to contend for the faith, refuses to stand up for the truth, would betray the cause of Christ; while he who loves contention and hates peace, is carnal and odious. Meekness without courage is but childishness; and courage without meekness is brutality.
There is a close connection between all the qualities that form the Christian character. The elements of one good trait contain the germ of others. Paul speaks of Christian character as a unit: "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." John says the same: "everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him" No man can love the Father without loving the Son, who was sent by him. He who loves the image of God in the Son, loves the image of God whenever discerned in the humblest Christian. It cannot be otherwise. Anything contrary to this makes hypocrisy and formalism as precious as true piety.
The great defect in all who make a spurious profession of religion is, not that they have not some things about them that look well, but all is out of proportion. They have zeal, but not gentleness; they have boldness, but not meekness. They pretend to more than they actually experience. With all their ardor they display vain-glory and self-sufficiency. Sometimes they excuse iniquity—and smile at sin. Their charity does not "bear all things." They incline to censoriousness. To some they behave crudely; to others they will not speak a civil word; to others they have real hatred. In the beatitudes Jesus Christ described but one character. Where poverty of spirit, mourning for sin, meekness, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, mercifulness, purity of heart, and love of peace are genuine—they are found together. Circumstances will call one grace into more vigorous exercise than another. But if we have truly passed from death unto life, God will enable us in due time to exhibit every Christian temper. Human features out of all proportion are hideous. The same is true of any of the Christian graces.
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