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Holiness is not a merit by which we can attain communion with God, but a gift of Christ, which enables us to cling to him, and to follow him.
The sublimest virtue according to philosophers is to live the life of nature, but Scripture points us to the perfect Christ as our example.
Philosophers never rise above the natural dignity of man. (But Scripture points us to our only sinless Savior, Jesus Christ. Rom. 6:44ff; 8:29)
If a man has learned to regard God in every enterprise, he will be delivered from all vain desires.
All who have not been influenced by the principle of self-denial, have followed virtue merely from the love of praise. Even those of the philosophers who have contended that virtue is desirable for its own sake, have been puffed up with so much arrogance, that it is evident they desire virtue for no other reason than to give them a chance to exercise pride.
The poor yield to the rich, the common people to the upper ten, the servants to their masters, the ignorant to the scholars; but there is nobody who does not imagine that he is really better than the others.
For we shall never arrive at true meekness by any other way than by humiliating ourselves and by honoring others from the depth of our hearts (Rom. 12:10; Phil. 2:4; 1 Cor. 4:7).
Scripture urges and warns us that whatever favors we may have obtained from the Lord, we have received them as a trust on condition that they should be applied to the common benefit of the church.
Alms are compared in the Scriptures to sacred offerings to show us that the exercises of charity under the gospel have taken the place of the sacrifices under the law of the Old Testament (1 Cor. 13:4–8; Ps. 16:2–3).
If we cover and obliterate man’s faults and consider the beauty and dignity of God’s image in him, then we shall be induced to love and embrace him (Heb. 12:16; Gal. 6:10; Isa. 58:7; Matt. 5:44;
There are people who are known to be very liberal, yet they never give without scolding or pride or even insolence. We are sunk to such a depth of calamity in this awful age that scarcely any alms are given, at least by the majority of men, without haughtiness and contempt.
Heartfelt pity will banish arrogance and reproach, and will prevent contempt and domineering over the poor and the needy. When a member of our physical body is diseased and the whole body has to labor to restore it to health, we do not despise this diseased member or hold it under obligation because it needs all this assistance.
Moreover, a true Christian will not ascribe any prosperity to his own diligence, industry, or good fortune, but he will acknowledge that God is the author of it.
That is just not very Republican.
4. A true Christian possesses a consolation which affords him more sweet satisfaction than the greatest wealth or power, because he believes that his affairs are so regulated by the Lord as to promote his salvation.
Therefore, in every affliction, we ought immediately to review our past life. When we do so we shall certainly find that we have deserved such chastisement. Nevertheless, we should not draw the conclusion that we are first of all exhorted to patience because we should remember our sins. For Scripture furnishes us a far better reason when it informs us that in adversity “we are chastened by the Lord, in order that we should not be condemned with the world.”
It is true that poverty by itself is misery; and the same may be said of exile, contempt, shame, and imprisonment; and finally, of all calamities death is the last and the worst. But when God breathes his favor on us, all things work together for our happiness and our well-being.
2. Moreover, we are not required to be cheerful while we shake off all sense of bitterness and sorrow. The saints could not find any patience in cross bearing if they were not disturbed by sorrow and harassed with grief. For instance, if there were no hardship in poverty, no agony in sickness, no distress in insults, no horror in death, what courage or moderation would it be to regard these afflictions with indifference? But since each of them by its own bitterness bows down our hearts as a matter of course, the faithful will show their real strength by resisting and overcoming their grief,
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At present there are among Christians modern Stoics who think it is wrong to groan and to weep and even to grieve in loneliness. Such wild opinions generally come forth from men who are more dreamers than practical men, and who, therefore, cannot produce anything else but fantasies.
For he mourned and wept for his own calamities as well as for those of others, and he did not teach his disciples any different way. “The World,” said he, “shall rejoice, but ye shall weep and lament.” And that no man might call sadness a vice, he has pronounced a blessing on them that mourn.
For despair will be the end of those who let their patience slip into indifference and who contend that a man is strong and courageous when he makes himself a senseless block. On the contrary, Scripture praises the saints for their patience when they are severely afflicted by their adversities, but not broken and overcome by them; when they are bitterly distressed, but nevertheless filled with spiritual joy; when they are weighed down by anxiety and become exhausted, and yet leap for joy because of the divine consolation.
When we are oppressed with poverty we shall feel lonely and sorry. When we are defamed, despised, and offended, likewise we shall feel restless. When we have to attend the funeral of our friends we shall shed tears.
4. But we must always come back to this consolation: The Lord planned our sorrow, so let us submit to his will. Even in the throes of grief, groans, and tears, we must encourage ourselves with this reflection, so that our hearts may cheerfully bear up while the storms pass over our heads (John 21:18).
If praise and thanksgiving to the Lord can come forth only from a cheerful and joyful heart—and there is nothing which ought to repress such emotions—then it is evident that God will temper the bitterness of the cross by the joy of the Spirit.
For even if after we have become convinced of this, we hardly know how to stop our perverse and foolish admiration of it, as if life were nothing but one great accumulation of blessings.
2. For, before he fully reveals to us the inheritance of eternal glory, he intends to show himself as our Father in matters of minor importance; and those are the blessings which he daily showers upon us.
But this we may positively state, that nobody has made any progress in the school of Christ unless he cheerfully looks forward to the day of his death and to the day of the final resurrection.
5. We must grant, indeed, that it is not right or possible to bind the consciences of others with hard and fast rules. But, since Scripture lays down some general principles for the lawful use of earthly things, we certainly ought to follow them in our conduct (1 Cor. 7:30–31).
For if this were not true, the psalmist would not enumerate among the divine blessings “the wine that makes glad the heart of man, and the oil that makes his face to shine.”
He who grows restless and dissatisfied while he puts up with privation and humility will not be able to guard against pride and arrogance if he rides to honor.
4. Let us also remember who demands this account. It is he who so highly recommends restraint, sobriety, frugality, and modesty. It is he who abhors excess, pride, showiness, and vain display. It is he who will not approve our management of his blessings unless we are urged on by love. It is he who with his own mouth condemns all pleasures which lead us away from chastity and purity, and which make us foolish and stupid (Phil. 4:12; Luke 6:2).
3. Our present life, therefore, will be best regulated if we always keep our calling in mind. No one will then be tempted by his own boldness to dare to undertake what is not compatible with his calling, because he will know that it is wrong to go beyond his limits.
And everyone in his respective sphere of life will show more patience, and will overcome the difficulties, cares, miseries, and anxieties in his path, when he will be convinced that every individual has his task laid upon his shoulders by God.
