Faith’s Check Book
By Charles H. Spurgeon
UNCOVER AND CONFESS SIN
"He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy" Proverbs 28:13
Here is the way of mercy for a guilty and repenting sinner. He must cease from the habit of covering sin. This is attempted by falsehood, which denies sin; by hypocrisy, which conceals it; by boasting, which justifies it; and by loud profession, which tries to make amends for it.
The sinner’s business is to confess and forsake. The two must go together. Confession must be honestly made to the Lord Himself; and it must include within itself acknowledgment of the wrong, sense of its evil, and abhorrence of it. We must not throw the fault upon others, nor blame circumstances, nor plead natural weakness. We must make a clean breast of it, and plead guilty to the indictment. There can be no mercy till this is done.
Furthermore, we must forsake the evil: having owned our fault, we must disown all present and future intent to abide in it. We cannot remain in rebellion and yet dwell with the King’s Majesty. The habit of evil must be quitted, together with all places, companions, pursuits, and books, which might lead us astray. Not for confession, nor for reformation, but in connection with them we find pardon by faith in the blood of Jesus.
Thought’s for the Quiet Hour
Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ
1 Corinthians 11:1
When in the Mexican war the troops were wavering, a general rose in his stirrups and dashed into the enemy’s line, shouting, “Men, follow!” They seeing his courage and disposition, dashed on after him, and gained the victory.
What men want to rally them for God is an example to lead them. All your commands to others to advance amount to nothing so long as you stay behind. To effect them aright, you need to start for Heaven yourself, looking back only to give the stirring cry of “Men, follow!”
T. Dewitt Talmage
No comments:
Post a Comment