Encouragement and Duty

We cannot separate the encoragement of Christianity from the duties that are to be obeyed.  Although true peace of conscience is founded on Christ’s sacrificial death, yet it is enjoyed only in serving Him.  The wonderful offer of Matthew 11:28, “Come to Me and I will give you rest” cannot be separated from from verse 29, “Take My yoke upon you, and you shall find rest for your souls.”  As we must come to Christ for comfort, so we must obey Him if we would experience the fulness of that confort in our souls.  The Gospel alone so excellently provides for all of our needs.  We find in it Christ’s merits for our failings and the Spirit’s strength for our weaknesses.  But it must be accepted on God’s terms.