These two excerpts perfectly describe and pinpoint the kind of Christian I want to be:
“What is a Christian? He can be described from many angles, but from what we have said it is clear that we can cover everything by saying: he is a man [or woman] who acknowledges and lives under the word of God. He submits without reserve to the word of God written in ‘the Scripture of truth’ (Daniel 10:21), believing the teaching, trusting the promises, following the commands. His eyes are to the trusting promises, following the commands. His eyes are to the God of the Bible as his Father, and the Christ of the Bible as his Savior. He will tell you, if you ask him, that the word of God has both convinced him of sin and assured him of forgiveness. His conscience, like Luther’s, is captive to the word of God, and he aspires, like the psalmist, to have his whole life brought into line with it. ‘O that my ways were directed to keep thy statues!’ ‘O let me not wander from thy commandments.’ ‘Teach me they statutes. Make me to understand the way of thy precepts.’ ‘Incline my heart unto thy testimonies.’ ‘Let my heart be sound in thy statutes.’ (Ps. 119:5, 10, 26, 36, 80.) The promises are before him as he prays, and the precepts are before him as he moves among men. He knows that in addition to the word of God spoken directly to him in the Scriptures, God’s word has also gone forth to create, and control, and order things around him; but since the Scriptures tell him that all things work together for his good, the thought of God ordering his circumstances brings him only joy. He is an independent fellow, for he uses the word of God as a touchstone by which to test the various views that are put to him, and he will not touch anything which he is not sure that Scripture sanctions.” (Knowing God, 1973 ed., p. 104-105)
“Zeal in religion is a burning desire to please God, to do His will, and to advance His glory in the world in every possible way. It is a desire which no man feels by nature—which the Spirit puts in the heart of every believer when he is converted—but which some believers feel so much more strongly than others that they alone deserve to be called ‘zealous’ men [or women]…
A zealous man [or woman] in religion is pre-eminently a man of one thing. It is not enough to say that he is earnest, hearty, uncompromising, thorough-going, whole-hearted, fervent in spirit. He only sees one things, he cares for one thing, he lives for one thing, he is swallowed up in one thing; and that one thing is to please God. Whether he lives, or whether he dies—whether he has health, or whether he has sickness—whether he is rich, or whether he is poor—whether he pleases man, or whether he gives offense—whether he is thought wise, or whether he is thought foolish—whether he gets blame, or whether he gets praise—whether he get honor, or whether he gets shame—for all this the zealous man cares nothing at all. He burns for one thing; and that one thing is to please God, and to advance God’s glory. If he is consumed in the very burning, he cares not for it—he is content. He feels that, like a lamp, he is made to burn; and if consumed in burning, he has but done the work for which God appointed him. Such a one will always find a sphere for his zeal. If he cannot preach, work, and give money, he will cry, and sigh, and pray…If he cannot fight in the valley with Joshua, he will do the work of Moses, Aaron, and Hur, on the hill (Exodus 17:9-13). If he is cut off from working himself, he will give the Lord no rest till help is raised up from another quarter, and the work is done.” (Practical Religion, 1959 ed., p. 130)
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