Growing in Grace by Bishop Hopkins

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Oct 15, 1857

Growing in Grace.

By Bishop Hopkins

THE light of the righteous is as the dawn that waxeth brighter and brighter unto the perfect day. Declining Christians have great reason to suspect themselves, and if they quickly repent not, and recover themselves to their pristine state, and do their first works with their first zeal and alacrity, they may sadly suspect that their graces are not true; for growth in grace is the best evidence of the truth of grace. Indeed, in young converts there must be a great deal of heat and fervor, which afterwards, when they are more established Christians, may abate; and they may think this is a decay in their graces, when indeed it is not.

For we must distinguish between a passionate love of God, and a sedate, serene, love of God. Our passions do in our first conversion, mingle more with our graces than afterwards; and then we are like a torrent, very swift and rapid, but neither so deep nor so strong.

And as little brooks and torrents, though they run very fiercely, yet stop and purl and murmur at every small pebble that lies in their way; but great rivers which seem to move with a slow and grave pace, yet bear down all mounds and dams, and whatsoever is in their way to oppose their passage, so it is here. Grave and settled Christians may seem to move more slowly, without any noise or tumult, but they have a great depth and strength in them, and are able to bear down before them those temptations and oppositions at which young novices who are more fierce and noisy, are forced to stop, complain and murmur. And we must estimate the growth in grace, not only, nor indeed so much, by the violence of its efforts, as its prevalency and effectualness, which proceeds from its being more radical and habitual in us.—Bishop Hopkins.