<p>24:16 <i>Herein I also exercise myself to have a conscience void of offence toward God and men always</i>- see on Acts 23:1. A personal focus upon the man Christ Jesus ought to lessen the degree to which our faith is focused upon the church, without making us out of church Christians. We need to toughen up, to realize more keenly the self-discipline and self-sacrifice which following the man Jesus requires of us. Paul &quot;exercised&quot; himself in his spiritual life (Acts 24:16), the Greek word <em>asko</em> being the source of the English word ascetic. It should not be that our Christianity gives us merely a headful of vital truths but a life unable to fend off sin. We must translate our doctrines into the practice of a transformed life. On-our-knees prayer, fasting, real sacrifice of time, money and human possibilities&hellip; this is what the life of Christ is about. This, too, is what forges real personality.</p>