March 25 Daily Devotional

Walking in the strait way

The Christian is a man who always walks in the fear of God—not craven fear because "perfect love casteth out" that fear. Not only does he approach God in terms of the Epistle to the Hebrews, "with reverence and godly fear," but he lives his whole life like that.

The Christian is the only man in the world who does live always with and under this sense of judgment. He must do so because our Lord tells him to do so. He tells him his building is going to be judged; the test of life is going to come. He tells him not to say, "Lord, Lord," nor to rely upon his activities in the Church as being of necessity sufficient because judgment is coming and judgment by One who sees the heart....

These New Testament people lived in the fear of God. They all accepted the teaching of the Apostle Paul when he said, "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad" (2 Corinthians 5:10). That is addressed to Christians.

Yet the modern Christian does not like that; he says he will have nothing to do with it. But that is the teaching of the apostle Paul as it is the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount. "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ"; "Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord...." Judgment is coming, and it is going to "begin at the house of God," where it should begin because of the claim we make.

It is all impressed upon us here in the final section of the Sermon on the Mount. We should always be living and walking, distrustful of the flesh, distrustful of ourselves, knowing we have to appear before God and be judged by Him. It is a "strait gate," it is a "narrow way," this way that leads to life which is life indeed.

Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, i. pp. 27-8

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“Text reproduced from ‘A First Book of Daily Readings’ by Martyn Lloyd-Jones, published by Epworth Press 1970 & 1977 © Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes. Used with permission.”

Comments on D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, A First Book of Daily Readings

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