Acts 8:37

These words may answer your concerns, devout reader, concerning the ordinances. Perhaps you say, “I should be afraid to be baptized; it is such a solemn thing to profess myself to be dead with Christ, and buried with him. I should not feel at liberty to come to the Master’s table; I should be afraid of eating and drinking damnation unto myself, not discerning the Lord’s body.” Ah!

Poor trembler, Jesus has given you liberty; do not be afraid. If a stranger came to your house, he would stand at the door, or wait in the hall; he would not dream of intruding uninvited into your parlor—he is not at home. But your child moves freely about the house; and so it is with the child of God.

A stranger may not intrude where a child may venture. When the Holy Spirit has given you to feel the spirit of adoption, you may come to Christian ordinances without fear. The same rule holds true for the Christian’s inward privileges. You think, poor seeker, that you are not allowed to rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory; if you are permitted to get inside Christ’s door, or sit at the bottom of his table, you would be well content.

Ah, but you shall not have fewer privileges than the very greatest. God makes no difference in his love for his children. A child is a child to him; he will not make him a hired servant, but he shall feast upon the fatted calf and shall have the music and the dancing as much as if he had never gone astray.

When Jesus comes into the heart, he issues a general license to be glad in the Lord. No chains are worn in the court of King Jesus. Our admission into full privileges may be gradual, but it is sure. Perhaps our reader is saying, “I wish I could enjoy the promises and walk at liberty in my Lord’s commands.” “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” Loose the chains from your neck, O captive daughter, for Jesus makes you free.