"Nothing, either great or small;
Nothing have I now to do:
Jesus died and paid it all,
Long time ago."
This would surely be getting salvation at a cheap rate. There is in this no "trial of faith, more precious than gold," no "cleansing of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord." This means receiving the crown without bearing the cross. But the early Christians were never soothed with such sedatives. On the contrary, they were admonished to count the cost. Some of the items in this cost were "self-denial, no certain dwelling place," the loss of all things, persecutions, fiery trials, bonds, imprisonments, death. They were not taught to regard the church as a cradle in which their spiritual infancy was to be rocked, but as being a camp for soldiers, with stout hearts and strong sinews, ready to do battle for the Lord. They were therefore exhorted to put on the whole armor of God: and their baptismal vow was the act of putting this armor on publicly, and their enrollment in the Lord's host, prepared for the great conflict. They were expected from that hour forth to "fight the good fight of faith," and the battle hymn that flowed out of the heart of every baptized believer of that day was, in spirit if not in form, the same that some of us are still ready to sing:
"Sure I must fight, if I would reign;
Increase my courage, Lord:
I'll bear the cross, endure the pain,
Supported by thy Word."
I would rejoice if I could here, this night, be the means of melting the ice that binds the hearts of some halfway believers, and if the angel would trouble the sluggish pool in others. May God help you, friends, to feel a sense of your duty, and, like these honest Samaritans named in the text, "believe the things spoken concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, and be baptized, both men and women."