As I was preparing for our study last night, I pulled my files on sin, and was going through the quotations and illustrations I have amassed over a number of years about sin and sinfulness.
What I found was a large quantity of truths about sin said very succinctly and well. Since there was no time to share all of them with you last night, I decided to put them in this format for both my edification and yours. Think on them and let them stimulate you to a greater passion for Christ and a greater hatred for sin.
- The character of sin
“Every sin flows from the failure to treasure the glory of God above all things.” [John Piper, Preaching the Cross]
“Sin has many manifestations but its essence is one. A moral being, created to worship before the throne of God, sits on the throne of his own selfhood and from that elevated position declares, ‘I AM.’ That is sin in its concentrated essence; yet because it is natural it appears to be God. ‘What shall we do?’ (Acts 2:37) is the deep heart cry of every man who suddenly realizes that he is a usurper and sits on a stolen throne.” [A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy.]
“I fear nothing but sin.” [John Chrysostom, quoted by Thomas Brooks.]
“Evil deeds are the fruit of an evil heart. They are not an aberration from our true self, but a revelation of it.” [Sinclair Ferguson, The Grace of Repentance.]
- The pervasiveness of sin
“No one knows the one-hundredth part of sin that clings to his soul.” [John Calvin]
“I must assume that left to myself, energies within will quite likely betray me and urge me into a pattern of drift in life that will eventuate in implosion, a broken-world experience. G. K. Chesterton must have been thinking about this when he said through the words of his famous character Father Brown, ‘The one spiritual disease is thinking that one [is] quite well.’” [Gordon MacDonald, Rebuilding Your Broken World.]
- Sin in the life of the believer
“Sin and the child of God are incompatible. They may occasionally meet; they cannot live together in harmony.” [John Stott]
“God is none other than the Saviour of our wretchedness. So we can only know God well by knowing our iniquities.…Those who have known God without knowing their wretchedness have not glorified him, but have glorified themselves.” [Blaise Pascal]
“Most Christians seem content not to sin very much, but John’s goal [in 1 Jn. 2:1] was that we not sin at all. Every sin, no matter how small it may seem to us, is an affront to God’s authority, a disregard for his law, a spurning of his love.” [Jerry Bridges, The Practice of Godliness.]
“…so often when we sin we are more vexed at the lowering of our self-esteem than we are grieved at God’s dishonor. We are irritated at our lack of self-control in subjecting ourselves to some unworthy habit. We are unable to stand the disappointment of seeing ourselves fail. God does not honor these self-centered desires. This is one reason we do not experience more of his enabling power in our day-to-day struggles with so-called besetting sins.” [Jerry Bridges, The Practice of Godliness.]
- The effect of sin
“Lord, before I commit a sin, it seems to me so shallow that I may wade through it dry-shod from any guiltiness; but when I have committed it, it often seems so deep that I cannot escape without drowning.” [Thomas Fuller]
“He that turns not from every sin, turns not aright from any one sin. Every sin strikes at the honour of God, the being of God, the glory of God, the heart of Christ, the joy of the Spirit, and the peace of a man’s conscience; and therefore a soul truly penitent strikes at all, hates all, conflicts with all, and will labour to draw strength from a crucified Christ to crucify all.” [Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices.]
- The role of confession and repentance of sin
“Either sin is with you, lying on your shoulders, or it is lying on Christ, the Lamb of God. Now if it is lying on your back, you are lost; but if it is resting on Christ, you are free, and you will be saved. Now choose what you want.” [Martin Luther]
“Until man admits that he is a creature who is answerable to a Creator, he can never confess that he is a sinner who is in need of a Redeemer.” [Warren Wiersbe, Real Worship.]
- The redemption of sin by God
“I have heard it said, ‘God didn’t die for frogs. So he was responding to our value as humans.’ This turns grace on its head. We are worse off than frogs. They have not sinned. They have not rebelled and treated God with the contempt of being inconsequential in their lives. God did not have to die for frogs. They weren’t bad enough. We are. Our debt is so great, only a divine sacrifice could pay it.” [John Piper, The Passion of Jesus Christ.]
“Two things there are which man has no arithmetic to reckon and no lie to measure. One of these things is the extent of that man’s loss who loses his own soul. The other is the extend of God’s gift when he gave Christ to sinners.…Sin must indeed be exceedingly sinful, when the Father must needs give his only Son to be the sinner’s Friend!” [J. C. Ryle]
- Our protection from future sin
“All sin is either from false principles, or ignorance, or thoughtlessness, or unbelief of what is true.…It is good, therefore, to store up true principles in our hearts, and to refresh them often, that, in virtue of them, our affections and actions may be more vigorous.” [Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed.]
“Human behavioral problems do not stem from an animal ancestry, as Freud and most others in these fields have alleged, but from sin — from rebellion against God and His Word. They can therefore be cured only through returning to God and His Word.” [John Morris, The Long War Against God.]
“Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in Thee.” [Augustine]
This morning, having spent most of the last couple of days thinking about these kinds of truths, I read this condemnation about the nation of Israel in a prayer of Jeremiah —
You [God] are near to their lips,
But far from their mind. [12:2]
That condemnation is sobering.
It is possible, even for the chosen people of God, to be saturated with the truth of God to the extent that He is often the first and most frequent word spoken. And at the same time, He may be far removed from the affections of the speaker. (For a New Testament equivalent, see Rev. 2:1-7.)
As you think about the remaining indwelling sin in your life, turning that condemnation into a prayer is a fitting response: “Lord, may You always be first and foremost both in my words and in my affections — may desire for you be preeminent both in my desires and deeds today.”
Words of Grace 