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April 15 Daily Devotional

A First Book of Daily Readings

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (selected by Frank Cumbers)

A wonderful fashion of teaching He hath,
And wise to salvation He makes us through faith

[People] say, I know a person who does not claim to be a Christian, never goes to a place of worship, never reads the Bible, never prays, and frankly tells us he is not interested in these things at all. But, you know, I have a feeling that he is more of a Christian than many people who do go to a place of worship and who do pray. He is always nice and polite, never says a harsh word or expresses an unkind judgment, and is always doing good." ... That is the kind of confusion that often arises through failure to be clear....

Take this man who by nature appears to be such a fine Chris­tian. If that is really a condition or state which conforms to the Beatitudes, I suggest that it is quite unfair, for it is a matter of natural temperament.... Some of us are born aggressive, others are quiet; some are alert and fiery, others are slow. We find ourselves as we are.... As people differ in their physical appearance, so they differ in temperament; and if that is what determines whether a man is a Christian or not, I say it is totally unfair.

But, thank God, that is not the position at all. Any one of us, every one of us, whatever we may be by birth and nature, is meant as a Christian to be like this; ... we can be like this. That is the central glory of the gospel. It can take the proudest man by nature and make him a man who is poor in spirit. There have been some wonderful and glorious examples of that.

I would suggest there has never been a naturally prouder man than John Wesley; but he became a man who was poor in spirit. No; we are not concerned about natural dispositions, or what is purely physical and animal, or what appears to simulate the Christian character.... Here are characteristics and dispositions that are the result of grace, the product of the Holy Spirit, and therefore possible for all. They cut right across all natural states and natural dispositions.

Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, i, pp. 35-6



“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

"These gems of evangelical truth, biblically based, help the reader to understand this world in the light of the Word." —Church Herald

"Christ-honoring, thought-provoking discussions" —Presbyterian Journal

"Few daily devotional books offer as much substantial insight as this one." —Christian Bookseller

"...will help to either open or close your day." —Evangelize

 

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