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NOVEMBER: Tests of Truth and Love

November 16

MORALITY AND CONFORMITY

Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
1 John 4:13

We are reminded here of the nature of the Christian life. I am increasingly convinced that most of our troubles arise from the fact that our whole conception of the Christian life tends to be inadequate. I am not referring to people outside the church at the moment, but to Christian people. I speak for myself when I say that there is nothing of which I have to remind myself more constantly than the very nature of the Christian life. We are all the same; the first Christians were the same as well, and that is why the epistles were written. It was because of this constant tendency to think and conceive of the Christian life in an inadequate manner that the apostles were led and moved by God to write their letters with their wonderful instruction.

What is the Christian life? Living as a Christian does not just mean moral living, nor just being good and decent. Of course it includes those things, but that is not the whole of the Christian life. Is it not obvious that there are large numbers of people who think seriously that constitutes the Christian life? There are many people attending morning services in church who say that just because they are not guilty of certain things, they are true Christians. To which I reply, “Hereby we know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit”; then our little morality shrivels into nothing. Morality is essential, but God forbid that we should reduce this glorious life to just a little decency and morality!

Then there are those who think of Christianity just as a matter of religious conformity. But to regard that as the whole of Christianity is to miss the splendor of this great thing that is expounded in the New Testament.

A Thought to Ponder
Living as a Christian does not just mean moral living, nor just being good and decent.

From The Love of God, pp. 92-93.




Today’s devo is taken from Walking with God Day by Day © 2003 by Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

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