A reversal of the order is fatal

W.G.T. Shedd

There are two invitations given by the Lord Jesus Christ, which cover the whole subject of a sinner's salvation. One is an invitation to come to him, and the other an invitation to come after him. Examples of the first are: "Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matt. 11:28. "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37. Examples of the second are: "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart." Matt. 11 : 29. "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." Matt. 16:24. The first of these is an invitation to come to the Saviour, by trusting penitently in his atoning blood in order to pardon and reconciliation with God's holiness. The second is an invitation to come after the Saviour, by imitating his character and example. And they must be accepted in the order in which the Saviour has placed them. A reversal of the order is fatal. If the sinner attempts to come after the Saviour before he has come to him, to copy the Redeemer's life and conduct without seeking peace with God by trust in the Redeemer's offering for sin, it will be an utter failure. A pacified conscience and a sense of being forgiven, must go before all true obedience. If, again, the sinner separates these two invitations, the consequence is equally fatal. If he attempts to obey the first without obeying the second, to come to Christ without coming after him, he is St. James's antinomian and his faith is dead faith without works. And if he attempts to obey the second invitation without obeying the first, to come after Christ without coming to him, he is St. Paul's legalist, who has no true sense of sin, rejects Christ's expiation, and expects salvation by moral character and a moral life.