n his mind
which is definitely stated in the previous verse to which I have already
referred, where the eternal life which Timothy is exhorted to lay hold
of is regarded as being the prize of the good fight of faith, which he
is exhorted to fight. And so the third metaphor here is that which is
familiar in Paul's writings, where eternal life is regarded as a garland
or prize, given to the victor in race or arena. It is exactly the same
notion as he otherwise expresses when he says that he follows after if
that he may 'lay hold of that for which also he is laid hold of by Jesus
Christ.' This is the underlying thought, that according to a Christian
man's acts here is his capacity of receiving the real life yonder.

That is not given arbitrarily. Each man gets as much of it when he goes
home as he can hold. The tiniest vessel is filled, the largest vessel is
filled. But the little vessel may, and will, grow bigger if that which
is deposited in it be rightly employed. Let us lay this to heart, that
Christian men dare not treat it as a matter of indifference whether to
the full they live lives consistent with their profession, and do the
will of their Master or no. It is not all the same, and it will not be
all the same yonder, whether we have adorned the teaching, or whether
our lives have habitually and criminally fallen beneath the level of our
professions. Brethren, we are too apt to forget that there is such a
thing as being 'saved, yet so as by fire'; and that there is such a
thing as 'having an entrance ministered abundantly into the Kingdom.' Be
you sure of this, that if the hands of your spirits are ever to be
capable of grasping the prize, it must be as the result of conduct here
on earth, which has been treasuring up treasures yonder, and laying a
foundation on which the incorruptible house may solidly rest.

III. And now the last word that I have to say is that these principles
are perfectly compatible with the great truth of salvation by faith.

For observe to whom the text is spoken. It is to men who have professed
to be believers, and it is on the ground of their faith that these rich
men in Timothy's churches are exhorted to this conduct. There is no
incompatibility between the doctrine that eternal life is the gift of
God, and the placing of those who have received that gift under a strict
law of recompense.

That is the teaching of the whole New Testament. It was to _Christian_
men that it was said: 'Be