There is a certain kind of sober-mindedness that seems to come over Christians as they age. It can flow from many sources, I’m sure, but I think it often arises from a kind of fear—a fear that they may not finish their race without some kind of a major stumble. After living the Christian life for so long, they have seen friends fall, pastors give up, and peers drop out. This has alarmed them, and they feel a brooding sense of fear that perhaps they could be next.
Hopefully, this sobermindedness causes them to rely more completely on the Lord and to plead for his mercy. Hopefully, it causes them to realize all the more that they cannot hope to be victorious in their own strength. Hopefully, it causes them to preach the gospel to themselves with even greater diligence and even deeper desperation.
But I have observed that this sense of sober-mindedness can also lead to what I have come to describe as “defensive sanctification.” Let me explain what I mean by that.
At our best, we do what we do before the Lord out of a sense of deep delight in him. We prioritize personal times of devotion
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