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November 20 Daily Devotional

Morning and Evening

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

“Called to be saints” (Romans 1:7).

Bible Reading

Romans 1:1–7

Devotional

We are very apt to regard the apostolic saints as if they were “saints” in a more special manner than the other children of God. All whom God has called by his grace and sanctified by his Spirit are “saints”. But we are apt to look upon the apostles as extraordinary beings, scarcely subject to the same weaknesses and temptations as ourselves.

Yet in so doing we are forgetful of this truth, that the nearer a man lives to God the more intensely he has to mourn over his own evil heart. And the more his Master honours him in his service, the more also the evil of the flesh vexes and teases him day by day. The fact is, if we had seen the apostle Paul, we should have thought him remarkably like the rest of the chosen family. And if we had talked with him, we should have said, “We find that his experience and ours are much the same. He is more faithful, more holy, and more deeply taught than we are, but he has the selfsame trials to endure. No, in some respects he is tried even worse than we are.”

Do not, then, look upon the ancient saints as being exempt either from infirmities or sins. And do not regard them with that mystic reverence which almost makes us idolaters. Their holiness is attainable even by us. We are “called to be saints” by that same voice that constrained them to their high vocation. It is a Christian’s duty to force his way into the inner circle of saintship. And if these saints were superior to us in their attainments, as they certainly were, then let us follow them. Let us emulate their fervor and holiness. We have the same light that they had, the same grace is accessible to us, and why should we rest satisfied until we have equalled them in heavenly character? They lived with Jesus, they lived for Jesus, therefore they grew to be like Jesus. Let us live by the same Spirit as they did, “looking to Jesus” (Heb. 12:2), and our saintship will soon be apparent.

[July 5]

Extracted from C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening (public domain), language modernized by Larry E. Wilson.

 

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