We are called to differ in every attitude and way of life from the spirit and way of the world; to renounce the world's goods, to fear none of its evils, to reject its joys, and to have no regard for its happiness; to be as new-born babes who are born into a new state of things; to live as pilgrims in spiritual watching, in holy fear, and in heavenly aspiring after another life; to take up our daily cross, to deny ourselves, to profess the blessedness of mourning, to seek the blessedness of poverty of spirit; to forsake the pride and vanity of riches, to be not anxious for tomorrow, to live in the profoundest state of humility, to rejoice in worldly sufferings; to reject the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; to bear injuries, to forgive and bless our enemies, and to love mankind as God loves them; to give up our whole hearts and affections to God, and strive to enter through the strait gate into a life of eternal glory. To put so much emphasis upon attendance at public worship, and yet neglect these common duties of our ordinary lives which are commanded on every page of the gospel? If contempt for the temporal and concern for the eternal are necessary attitudes for Christians, it is necessary that these attitudes appear in the whole course of their lives. |

