Spiritual drilling
The whole man must be drilled into form and disciplined into orderly action, just as the whole armour of God is necessary for the protection of the soldier of Christ. It is not enough for safety to wear a helmet while the breast is exposed, nor to bare the head while the lees are covered; and it is not enough for service that part of our nature is trained to obedience. We must seek to have all in right order.
I. THE HEART. This must be guarded most sedulously, and before all else. We cannot have our actions right in the sight of God while the heart is perverted. The attempt to secure this only ends in hypocrisy. The first duty of the soldier is loyalty. The first duty of the Christian is fidelity. Nevertheless, though the fountain must be pure if the stream is to be pure, its purity will not secure the water against subsequent defilement. It is not enough to think of the state of the heart, we must also consider the course of our actions. A pseudo-spirituality ends in indifference to morals, and even in positive immorality. St. Paul did not think his work done when he had laid the foundation of the Christian character. He sought the "edification," the "building up," of it by detailed and earnest instruction in Christian morals.
II. THE LIPS. The first and most ready expression of the state of the heart is in our conversation. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Now, it is important to remember that we are responsible for our words. For "every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment" (Matthew 12:36). Words are deeds. They carry influence and linger in memories and are transmitted from one to another long after the speaker has forgotten them.
III. THE EYES. The eye is one of the chief gateways of knowledge. According to the objects on which we fix it, the class of our knowledge will be determined. It is the guide in our actions. Now, it is requisite that the Christian have:
1. A straight and "single" sight (see Matthew 6:22), looking only at the truth, with no stray glances at the innumerable deceptions of low self-interest.
2. A long sight, looking at the end of the race—the Celestial City, neither allured by the fascinations of Vanity Fair nor distracted by the horrors of the Valley of the Shadow of Death.
3. An upward gaze fixed on God and Christ rather than on worldly loss or gain.
IV. THE FEET. All the life leads on to the outgoings of activity. The ultimate question is—In what way are we going? Here the requisite is that the feet should go straight on. There are many ways of wrong, only one of right; hence the breadth of the former and the narrowness of the latter. We must especially avoid the error of falling into extremes. While shunning the track to the left let us see that we do not go off on that to the right. The path of duty is between these extremes. Yet the way to find it is not by seeking for a mean and so only accepting a compromise, but by aiming at the true and the right and pressing straight on to them irrespective of all conflicting influences.
HOMILIES BY E. JOHNSON