by J.R. Miller
"Do not be amazed that I said to you: You must be born again!" John 3:7
That which makes one a Christian, is not . . . the agreeing with Christ’s teachings, the uniting with His Church, the adoption of His morals, the espousing of His cause–but the receiving of Him as our personal Lord and Savior, and entering into a covenant of eternal friendship with Him. We are not saved by believing a creed which gathers up in a few golden sentences, the essence of the truth about Christ’s person and work–we must have the Christ Himself, whom the creed holds forth, in His radiant beauty and grace!
Many people think that being a Christian is . . . to pray a few moments morning and evening, to read a daily chapter or two in the Bible, and to attend church on Sundays.
These duties are important as means of grace–but they are not true religion. Real religion is living out the principles of Christianity in one’s ordinary week-day life. It is getting the Bible and the prayers and the services–into our thoughts and acts and character.
We must not cut our lives in two, and call one part secular, governing it by one set of principles–and regarding the other part as sacred, to be controlled by another set of rules. All of life is to be made sacred in the sense that everything is to be done in such a way as to please God, under the direction of His counsel. We have just as much true religion as we get into our week-day life, and not a whit more!
by J.R. Miller
