Book Summary
Published in 1668, The Difference Between the Spots of the Godly and of the Wicked by Jeremiah Burroughs is a collection of four sermons preached in July 1645 at Cripple Gate, London, centered on Deuteronomy 32:5: “They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation.” In this work, Burroughs, a prominent English Puritan preacher, explores the theological distinction between the sins of the godly (believers) and the sins of the wicked (unconverted), emphasizing their differing nature, effects, and outcomes.
Burroughs argues that while both the godly and the wicked bear the “spots” of sin, these imperfections differ fundamentally. The sins of the godly, though present due to human imperfection, are tempered by their faith, repentance, and reliance on Christ’s grace, leading to conviction, humility, and a desire for sanctification.
In contrast, the sins of the wicked are marked by rebellion, indifference to God, and a lack of remorse, resulting in spiritual separation from Him. Through careful biblical exegesis, Burroughs illustrates how God deals differently with each group, offering mercy and restoration to the godly while condemning the unrepentant.
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"Their spot is not the spot of his Children." - Deut. 32:5
The words read are part of Moses' song, which he sang shortly before he was to die, much like a swan that sings its sweetest when death approaches. The purpose and goal of this song by Moses were to leave a testimony behind after he was gone, highlighting the goodness, mercy, and faithfulness of God towards the people, and their sinfulness and stubbornness towards Him in return. This was so that if great troubles came upon them after he was gone, they would have no reason to speak ill of God or His servant Moses. They might say, "You brought us to a good land, you gave us many promises that God would be our God, be gracious to us, and never leave us; yet look at what has happened to us." Moses leaves this song behind specifically to silence such complaints. It's as if Moses is saying, "It's true, the Lord used me to bring you out of Egypt, and through me, He made many promises to encourage you. He chose you to be a special people and led you all this time. But if troubles come upon you, if you find yourselves in a sad and distressed condition after I am gone, remember what I leave behind. Know that God is to be justified in all things, and His word is to be justified; but you have sinned and rebelled against God, bringing upon yourselves all the trouble that has come upon you." This is the purpose of Moses' song.
He presents this as a Song; for this 32nd chapter of Deuteronomy is a Song in Hebrew, similar to one of David's Psalms. He presents it as a Song so they might remember it better and teach their children the exact words. He begins in a very elegant way: "Give ear, oh ye Heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O Earth, the words of my mouth." Why, Moses, there was a time you said you were not eloquent? But that was because you wanted to excuse yourself from work. Here it shows that he was indeed eloquent: "Give ear, O Heavens, and hearken, O Earth," as if Moses were saying, "What I am speaking about this people (who are a wretched and stubborn people) will not be regarded, but Heaven and Earth shall be witnesses against them; the Heavens and the Earth shall hear." Though what is spoken from the Word by way of reprimanding a sinful people may be neglected and ignored, know that there is an impression upon the Heavens and Earth. Rather than the Lord lacking witnesses, Heaven and Earth shall come to testify against that people.
After his introduction in the first two verses, he begins by praising the Name of God: "Because I will publish the Name of the Lord, Ascribe the Greatness unto our God. He is the Rock, his Work is perfect; for all his ways are Judgment: a God of Truth, and without Iniquity, Just and Right is he" (Deut. 32:3-4). It's as if he is saying, no matter what happens to you, the Name of God remains Great and Glorious. It's a good way to convince and humble sinners by lifting their hearts to see the Glory of the Great God, with whom they have to deal, and against whom they have sinned. It was an excellent demonstration of Moses's faith when he was about to die; he could still find comfort in God. It's as if he said, "Well, the Lord has carried me through many changes, troubles, and afflictions, and I don't know what God will do with his people next. But I am sure of this: he is a Great and Blessed God; he is a Rock, and his work is Perfect, and all his ways are Judgment, a God of Truth, without Iniquity, Just and Right is he." I am sure, no matter what happens to me or to the people, God is to be acknowledged as Holy, Righteous, Just, Perfect, Great, and Good in all his ways. Oh! It's good to have our hearts always confirmed in God, to keep good thoughts of God, and to hold God high in our thoughts and hearts, no matter what changes or states we encounter in this world.
But then he approaches them, having exalted God and justified Him, acknowledging that they have corrupted themselves; they have abandoned this Blessed and Glorious God who has been so faithful to them in all His ways.
Corrupted themselves! You might say, who isn't corrupted? Who is without sin? Oh, but if it were only some human weakness, it wouldn't be so bad. But they have corrupted themselves so much that "Their spot is not the spot of my children." It is beyond what could have been expected for those who had such a close relationship with God as these people did! They are stained and defiled with their sin, and in such a way that their spot is not the spot of His children. This is the main point of the words and how they came about.
Their spot. The word translated here as "spot" means a blemish or a fault. It's the same word used in Deuteronomy 17:1: "Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the Lord thy God any bullock or sheep wherein is blemish, or any ill-favouredness." But we understand what the English word means; their spot refers to the spot of their sin, that sin of theirs. That blemish is not the spot of His children. Even though the children of God have spots while they live in this world, and they have many sins that are defiling, the spots of these men are of a different nature. It is not the spot of His children (Deut. 32:5).
There are three doctrinal points in these words; the first two are implied, and the third is expressed: The two that are implied are these:
- Doctrine #1: First, that sin is a spot.
- Doctrine #2: Secondly, even the children of God, while they live in this world, have their spots.
- Doctrine #3: Thirdly, which is the main point and focus of the words, there is a significant difference between the sins and blemishes of wicked and ungodly people, and the blemishes of God's children.
That's what I aim to do in choosing these words: to show the difference between the sins of wicked people and the sins of the Saints. I have chosen this Scripture to address this point for these two reasons:
First, to address the common excuse that many worldly people use to ignore the impact of the Word on their hearts and remain comfortable in their sinful ways. They say, "Can we be without sin? Are even the best people free from sin?" Because no one is without sin, they use this as a reason to dismiss the Word and become complacent. They hear many truths preached from the Word, but these truths do them no good at all, simply because of this reasoning. If only this excuse were removed, the Word might have a much greater influence on them.
Now therefore, I hope before we finish with this Scripture, I will weaken, if not completely remove, the excuse that complacent sinners have for themselves, because everyone has their sins. I will show you that there is a significant difference, perhaps, between your sin and the sins of a Child of God.
And then the second reason why I chose this Scripture is for the comfort of God's children. On one side, one person feels secure and hardened because, although they have sins, they think, "Well, everyone has sins." On the other side, those who are God's children feel so much sin within themselves that they are afraid they are not truly God's children. They worry that the sins they have argue against them being God's children. Now, they will find help in understanding this point when we lay out the differences between the sins of God's children and the sins of the wicked.
To pave the way for this important point, I will first briefly discuss the two previous points that are implied, but only to the extent necessary to lead us to the third, which is the main focus of the text.
Doctrine #1
First, then, sin is a spot; a blemish, as mentioned in James 1:27: "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." That is, to keep from the sins of the world; the sins of the world are the world's spot. Sin is,
First, a defiling spot; a spot that defiles, a blemish that taints the soul of man in the presence of the Holy God. It's contrary to the pure nature of God; it is the mixing of the soul with something worse than itself. It's a defiling thing. Mixing gold with silver does not defile the silver, but mixing lead with silver does defile it because lead is worse than silver. Similarly, the communion the soul has with God, and the mingling of the heart with divine things, does not defile it but makes it better. However, when the heart mingles with the world, it defiles the soul because the soul is mixed with something worse than itself. It is a defiling spot. You know what it is like to have your body smeared with dirt or your clothes spotted with filth and dirt. Just as your body or clothes can be smeared with dirt, so is the face of your soul in the presence of God when sin is upon you. It's a defiling spot.
Secondly, sin is like a spreading stain, similar to the spot of leprosy that spreads more and more. No matter how long a sinner lives, this stain will cover them increasingly. If you had a small spot on your skin, you might ignore it at first. But if you saw it spreading, you would realize there is something wrong. It's the same with your sin. When you are young, the stain is small in comparison, but as you grow, it spreads more and more until you are covered in sores and spots. This is how it is with old sinners; sin is a spreading stain that spreads within a soul, a family, or any community where sinners live.
Thirdly, it is an infecting spot, a spot that by itself infects; a plague spot that infects the soul and everything you get involved with, and it infects the company you interact with; that's the nature of this spot.
And then fourthly, it's a staining spot. It pains the soul so much that all the created power in Heaven and Earth cannot wash it away. You might think little of the sin you commit, finding pleasure and delight in such a sinful way for maybe just a quarter of an hour. But when this pleasure is over, there's a stain left on your soul that marks you for eternal death. This stain will remain for all eternity unless one thing is applied: the blood of Jesus Christ. Let all the angels in Heaven and people in the world use their wisdom and strength to remove the stain in your soul, and it will not be enough. Only the blood of the Son of God can cleanse and remove that stain from your soul. Such a spot is sin—a staining spot! In Jeremiah 2:22, "Though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap; yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord" (Jer. 2:22). You may use many means to get rid of your sin; perhaps you may cover it up, or there may be some kind of slight sorrow. But it's not all the sorrow in the world, even if you could shed as many tears as there are drops of water in the sea, that will wash away your sin. If there were nothing else to do it, all your tears would not be enough. It must be only the blood of the Son of God. Many people think they can wash away their sins with their sorrow, but they must know there is something beyond sorrow. It is only the blood of Jesus Christ that can cleanse and take away this stain.
Application
Now, if sin is such a stain, such a spot, let us learn to look into God's mirror to see our own spots, how we are marked by our sin. If it is such a foul, spreading, staining spot, why do men and women not see it? They don't see their own faces. Oh! They have never been acquainted with God's mirror. What's that, you ask? James 1:23-24 will show you what God's mirror is, in which you may see your faces, in which you may see your spots: "For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like." But whoever looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, etc. The law of God is the mirror that God would have you look into to see your face. You cannot know your heart without holding the law of God before you. Paul thought himself beautiful enough until the law came. That scripture is notable for it, in Romans 7:9: "For I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died." I was alive, I was joyful, and thought myself well enough; but when the commandment came, when God took the mirror of the law and held it before my face, I saw myself as a most ugly monster. I remember reading about an old woman who used a false mirror continually to look in, and it presented her as beautiful to herself, and she would never look upon any other. But once, there being a mirror nearby, she chanced to look into it, and when she beheld her face and was told it was a true mirror, she went mad upon seeing her ugly face. Certainly, most people have no other mirrors to look into to behold the face of their souls but their own carnal ideas and the ways of other men, and the like. But if God should hold the mirror of his law to some of your faces to behold how loathsome you are in the eyes of God (for so they are in God's eye as this mirror presents them if they are not washed in the blood of Christ), it would be a dreadful sight to many a soul. But it is better that you see it now while there are ways to cleanse your souls of their spots than when you are about to die. For if, when you are at the point of death and ready to go to the great God to receive the sentence of your eternal doom, if conscience should hold the mirror of God's law before you and make you see the ugly face of your soul, spotted by sin, oh! it would be a soul-sinking sight to you. Learn to look now into the mirror of the law and examine your soul by the holy law of God, that you may see your spots there. Many of you spend a great deal of time every morning looking into the mirror to see if all things are well with your face. Oh, that you would spend as much time looking into the law of God and examining your hearts by the word. There stands a mirror in the window, and there lies a book on the shelf. Why not take the law of God to look into your hearts as you take the mirror to see your face? People are little acquainted with this mirror and therefore do not know their own souls.
Secondly, if sin is such a stain, let's learn to be humbled by our stains if we have seen them, and to be aware of them. If we see our faces dirty, it makes us feel down, especially if we're in the company of those who are our superiors. Know that you are always before the Infinite God and His blessed angels, and they see your stains. So, be humbled and ashamed of your stains. A sincere heart is ashamed if either their flesh or clothes are stained. But someone with a careless attitude, who spends all week in dirty places, doesn't care if they're stained because their spirit often matches their work. However, someone with a sincere heart is ashamed and troubled if they are defiled. Work to cleanse your stains and blemishes; know that this is your task, to get your soul cleansed and purified. The Lord has opened a fountain for sin and uncleanness for Judah and Jerusalem to wash in. "O wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved. How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?" (Jer. 4:14). So I say to every soul, wash your heart from your stains. You wash your face and hands daily; oh, that there might be daily washing of your heart! If you have committed sin, don't let it sit and soak in. If any stains get on your clothes, you immediately put salt on it to prevent it from setting. So, as soon as you have sinned, apply the salt tears of your repentance. Though that's not all, the blood of Christ is the main thing to keep your soul clean from this staining spot. Doing it immediately will be much easier than waiting. Like an ink spot, if you try to remove it right away, it will be done with little trouble. But if you let it soak in, you can't get it out later. And so it is with sin that stays long on the soul. Oh! Many of your sins are old stains that have been on you for many years. Just like old stains on your clothes, washing won't work; all the soap you can use won't get them out. You must lay them out to frost on a winter night. Oh! So your old sins; you must not think that those old spots and stains on your soul will come off easily. You must be willing to soak and frost, to endure whatever hardship God calls you to, so you may be cleansed from them. It's an expression I remember from Augustine: he says, you would have everything good and clean in your house, all the furniture in your house, even your shoes if they are stained. You will have them clean. And do you care more for your very shoes than for your soul that's stained and defiled? Oh! There's little care for the cleansing of that. But now, my brethren, these things should especially be applied when we are to go more immediately and solemnly into the presence of God. We must look into the mirror of the law every day, be humbled, be ashamed, and work to cleanse the spots of our souls continually. But I say, when we are to go into God's presence in a more immediate manner, like when we are to present a petition to God, especially one that concerns our souls and eternal estates, when we are to hear His word and worship Him, when we are to go to His table at the Lord's Supper, we need to prepare by looking into that mirror and being humbled for our sins, and working to cleanse. Though you may not care much for spots on your face and clothes when you are at home, yet when you are to go before your betters, then you look in the mirror to be tidy and have clean clothes. Remember now, that every time you are to worship God, you are to set yourself as in His immediate presence, to deal with that infinitely holy God whose pure eyes cannot endure to behold even the least iniquity. That God is so holy that the very angels cover their faces, unable to behold Him. You are to go before this God, and will you go stained and dirty, and never look into the mirror of the law to see how you are there, so you may work to cleanse your soul? Will you come into God's presence in your filth? Oh, bold sinner who does not know what it is to deal with the Infinite Holy God. Those who know what God is, what His infinite holiness means, when they come into God's presence, they make it a great part of their work to prepare their hearts before they come. Indeed, the spiritual part of godliness consists as much in this one thing as in any: in the preparation of the heart for the presence of God in holy duties. And that man or woman who is careful and conscientious in this thing may have good comfort to themselves that they are acquainted with the spiritual part of godliness, that wherein the power of it consists. But for those who can go into God's presence, and no such fear and reverence of God is in their hearts, certainly these neither know God nor have anything of the power of godliness in their hearts.
Now, no matter, my brethren, what we endure in this world, so long as we may get our souls cleansed from the filth and the spots that are upon them, that when there shall be a further presence of God, which we shall have, than what we have now in holy duties, that then we may stand before Him without spot. So says the Apostle in 2 Peter 3:14, "Wherefore, beloved, seeing ye look for such things, be diligent, that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless" (2 Pet. 3:14). You look for new heavens and a new earth, when all the world shall be on fire around you, and the elements melting with fervent heat, and the heavens departing like a scroll, and the like. Do you look for such things? Do you look for the appearing of the Holy God? And dare you stand in the presence of that Holy God when He comes to pass the sentence of your eternal estate upon your souls? Dare you stand before Him with such defiled, stained souls as you have? Oh no! Says the Apostle, "Wherefore, beloved, seeing ye look for such things, be diligent, that you may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless" (2 Pet. 3:14). If those spots that are upon many of your spirits remain on you at that day, woe to you that you were ever born; you cannot be found in peace before God unless you are found without spot and blameless.
Yet, let me say further, woe to that soul that shall have one spot upon it on that day.
If this refers to the Great Day of Judgment, as many theologians believe, though there might be some uncertainty about other times, let's assume it means that day, as it is commonly understood. Then, woe to any man or woman who has even one spot on them. For on that day, we must be free from every spot, or else our souls will perish forever. But you can be without spot and blameless before Him—this is the main point here.
Doctrine #2
The second point is that God's children have their flaws; even the best of them have their flaws.
The Church is compared to the Moon; Christ is the Sun of Righteousness, but the Church, in Revelation 12, is compared to the Moon, and the Moon has its spots, while the Sun has none. No godly man or woman, in regard to their souls, is like Absalom, who was without any blemish in his body, from the crown of his head to the sole of his foot (2 Sam. 14:25); but it can be said of nobody's soul like that. "You are clean, but not all" (John 13:10). The best garden has its worms, and the best soul has its spots; for while we live here, there is that corruption remaining that will breed defilement of itself.
Considering that we live in a wicked world and interact with wicked people, it is as impossible to live in the world and converse with people without any spots as it is for a group of people to ride together on a muddy road in the middle of winter and keep their garments spotless. The condition of this world is such that it is not fit to have a saint in it without spots. God has reserved the time of fully cleansing His people for another world. Christ could cleanse His people immediately from all their spots, but because they are to live in this world, Christ sees it is not suitable for this vile world.
This world is not worthy of the saints, even with all their weaknesses; but it is not for the world to have the saints live without fault. If the world is offended by this, let them be offended; let them be stumbling blocks to them. I have no doubt that this is true for many souls. The world rejoices when they see the sins in the saints, but you have little reason to rejoice in the sins of others if you knew everything; for it may be intended for your ruin. I know no greater stumbling block to wicked people than the sins of those who profess godliness. But woe to those by whom offenses come (Matt. 18:7). The Lord, by allowing faults in His own people, exercises faith, humility, patience, and other graces in such a way that He takes pleasure and delight in seeing them exercised.
But this is not the main point I intend to make. Yet, oh godly heart, you know this to be true: there are spots in you. Sometimes, those who are godly think there's nothing but spots in them. But take comfort in this: even though your condition may be sad in this world as long as you are spotted, take heart because Jesus Christ is without any spots. Hebrews 9:14 says, "How much more shall the Blood of Christ, who through the Eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works, to serve the Living God?" (Heb. 9:14). Christ offered himself without spot, and this is the comfort of the saints while they have their many spots in this world. And in 1 Peter 1:19, there's the same expression: "We are redeemed with the precious Blood of Christ, as of a Lamb, without blemish, and without spot" (1 Pet. 1:19). You might ask, what comfort is it to me, in the midst of my spots, that Jesus Christ my Savior has no spots? This is the comfort: because God looks upon you not as you are in yourself, but in His Son. He considers you as a member of His Son and deals with you according to your relationship with Him. The righteousness of His Son is given to you. Christ is a Covenant-Head, the Head of the Covenant; and in that regard, being without spot, it is of unspeakable comfort to a gracious heart when it sees itself defiled and stained by sin.
And then further, know that through the righteousness of Christ, you are seen as without spot in terms of justification. The saints have their spots, meaning they have weaknesses and some sins; their sanctification is imperfect. But in regard to justification, they are completely without spot. You see this in Song of Solomon 4:7, where Christ speaks of His spouse, "Thou art all fair, my Love, there is no spot in thee." You might say this seems to contradict this text, but not at all; we can be without any spot in terms of our justification, yet still be spotted and defiled, and God can see that we are defiled with spots in our sanctification. It's true, the Lord will not charge these spots upon your soul if you are in Christ; yet He does expect you to be humbled for them.
In Ephesians 5:27, we see a scripture that shows you will one day be without any spot in terms of your sanctification. Even though you are spotted now, the time is coming when you will be delivered from all these spots regarding your sanctification. The Apostle says there, "Christ loved his Church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word: That he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy, and without blemish" (Eph. 5:25-27). Notice the abundance of words here: sanctifying, cleansing, washing, presenting a glorious Church, not having spot, not having wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. All these expressions show the state the Saints will be brought to and are meant to uphold your spirit despite all your spots. Let me speak to you who are aware of the many spots in your soul: What is it that upholds your heart? One would wonder how any soul that knows what it is to deal with such an infinitely holy God as the Lord is, could be upheld, seeing it's so defiled and full of spots in everything! What can keep it from sinking? Perhaps what upholds you is the thought, "We all have our sins, and we are all sinners." If that were the only thing to uphold a gracious heart, it could not help but sink into despair. But now, these three things uphold a gracious heart: I have my spots indeed and am defiled—woe to me for the defilements of my soul and my life. This is indeed the burden I have in this world, the great affliction upon me, that my soul is so defiled. O! but blessed be God, I have to deal with God through Jesus Christ, who offered himself to the Father without any spot. I have to deal with God through the Lamb that was sacrificed, who had no spot; and it was for me that he was slain, and God looks upon me through him, and he is made of God sanctification. I am indeed imperfect and have many spots; yet, blessed be God, he has revealed that justification is perfect in this life: That the Lord, through the righteousness of his Son, looks upon me as without spot; that is, he will not lay any of these spots to my charge. Furthermore, this is the comfort of my soul: though I have many spots now, there is a way revealed to cleanse my soul from all spots through the blood of Christ and through the word of God, to cleanse and wash me. I find in the word that Jesus Christ had such a desire to cleanse my soul from spots that he gave himself for that very purpose. There is a time when all these spots must be washed away, and when this defiled, polluted soul of mine shall be before the Lord and his Christ, and live forever with them, without any spot or wrinkle, or any defilement whatsoever; but shall be made fully perfect in my sanctification, as now I am in my justification. It's this that upholds my soul. That's something indeed; that in this life of yours, where there is so much corruption, if your soul is upheld from sinking with such considerations as these, surely you have gone beyond a carnal heart, and I may even say, that your spot is the spot of God's children, and not the spot of the wicked and ungodly. Remember that one expression in Ephesians 5, which is very remarkable and of great use: "Christ loved us, and gave himself, that he might sanctify and wash us," and the like. Notice, it is made the great fruit of the love of Jesus Christ to sanctify a soul, therefore it's a matter of great consequence; for Christ shows his love in a special manner in sanctifying and cleansing the soul. This is from the peculiar and electing love of God. It shows that when Christ comes to cleanse the soul from spots and defilements, he had loved that soul from all eternity. But on the contrary, if the Lord lets you lie in the filth of your sin, it is an argument that he never set his heart upon you.
For instance, suppose a man is riding on the highway and sees a child lying in the filth, ready to choke with the dirt and mire, and to perish there. As he rides by, he looks upon the child, sees it ready to perish, and then goes away and leaves it there. Wouldn't everyone say, "Certainly this is not the father of the child that rides away like that"? But if the father or mother comes by and sees the child, the mother would cry out, "O my child!" and snatch it up, carry it away, get water, and wash it, cleansing the child. This shows the love they have for the child. Thus it is in the love of Christ. Christ sees all your filthiness and pollution; he sees men and women wallowing in the dirt. Christ looks upon them, goes by, leaves them still, and lets them wallow in their corruptions more and more, and passes by. Surely the heart of Christ is not much towards them; there's little relation that Christ or God has to such as these. But when there is one that belongs to Jesus Christ, whom Christ has set his love upon from eternity, Christ sees such a one wallowing in the filth of sin. O! the very heart of Christ yearns, O! Christ takes them, and with his own blood cleanses them, and will never stop washing and cleansing the soul until he has cleansed it from all its spots and presented it before the Father.
And note, secondly, Christ loved us, and this is a result of Christ's love—to cleanse us from our stains. He gave himself so that he might cleanse us. You might think it's not important to be cleansed from the filth of your sin, but Christ thought it was so important that he gave his life for it. He considered the cleansing of souls from the filth of their sins worth his life. It cost more than ten thousand worlds to cleanse a soul from the filth of its sin, as well as from the guilt. I urge you to think about this: the cleansing of a soul from the filth of sin cost Christ something more valuable than ten thousand worlds. Yet, how many people wallow in sin and take pleasure in it? But I say, it is of such great importance to be cleansed from sin that Christ was willing to give his very life to cleanse his Church from sin. Now, if your heart is such that you value the love of Christ in this way, and you can appreciate Christ for this—that he gave himself to cleanse your soul from sin—then surely you truly value cleansing from sin. If you value it so highly, this is a good sign that you are one of God's children. Therefore, daily exercise your faith in this Christ by applying the blood of Jesus Christ to your soul and renewing the work of your repentance, knowing that as long as you live, there will be spots.
The Second Sermon. July 20th, 1645.
Doctrine #3
But now comes the third point: It's true, the people of God have all their spots; yes, but know, there's a great deal of difference between the spots of the godly and the spots of the wicked.
And I chose this Scripture to address this point, to remove that empty excuse that hardens the hearts of most people in their sin: "Yes, it's true, we have sin, and who doesn't? Even the best of us have our sins." I ask you, don't you know that this is the main excuse most people in the world use to justify themselves? You have your sins, and the best have their sins; but there's a big difference between the sins of one and the sins of the other. You will see a big difference, no matter what you say. In Psalm 18:21, David says, "I have not wickedly departed from my God." David wouldn't deny that he sometimes strayed from God, but he says, "I have not wickedly departed from Him." He can appeal to God on that. There are still corruptions remaining in the saints; in their understanding, there is some dimness, though there is light. But I may say of that, as in Isaiah 9:1, "The dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation." It shall not be such dimness. It's spoken there in the case of affliction and misery. We can apply it this way, by way of allusion, in the case of remaining corruptions: There is dimness in understanding, but not like what was there before and is in natural people. There is not that dimness of darkness in the weakest man or woman in the world who is converted, who has the least natural abilities, as in the greatest learned man or woman in the world who is unconverted. And though perhaps a child of God may have some security in their heart for a while, yet in 1 Thessalonians 5:6, "Let us not sleep as do others, lest perhaps we should sleep and be overtaken." Yet, says the Apostle, God forbid we should sleep as others do. There's a big difference between the sleep of God's people and the sleep of others; that is, between the security of their hearts and the security of other people's hearts. It was the special work of the priest in the time of the Law to discern between spot and spot, to show which was the spot of leprosy and which was not.
When there was a spot on a person's body, they had to go to the priest to determine whether the spot was leprosy or not.
It's a special duty of the ministers of the Gospel to show the difference between the flaws of the wicked and the flaws of the children of God. This is where the spiritual depth of their ministry lies, and much of its effectiveness depends on this. Without this understanding, our ministry is likely to achieve little good. Therefore, even though I had considered other topics, I realized that unless something is established about this, I might preach many arguments and explain many points of religion to you, but the lack of knowledge in this area might hinder the effectiveness of it all. In Jeremiah 15:19, God says to Jeremiah, "If thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth" (Jer. 15:19). This is the work God expects from His ministers; it's the work of a soul-saving ministry to distinguish between the precious and the vile. When they do this, they speak as the mouth of God to the people. God makes men, in this regard, to be as His mouth, for it is a point that separates the precious from the vile. Therefore, as Moses said of the whole song in verse 46 of this chapter, "Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, for it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life" (Deut. 32:46-47). I urge you, brothers, to set your hearts on this and pay attention, for it is certainly not a vain thing; it is your life. Understanding this point correctly is as valuable as your souls, and thousands of souls perish eternally for lack of understanding it rightly—so let's delve into it.
There's a big difference between the sins found in wicked people and the sins found in the Saints. It must be acknowledged.
First, in certain specific actions, a wicked person might do something better than a godly person and not sin as much in some actions; we have well-known examples of this.
Consider the example of Abimelech and compare him with David: Abimelech, in relation to Abraham's wife, and David in relation to Uriah's wife. Abimelech behaved like a saint, while David, in comparison, acted more like a wicked man.
And, secondly, if we compare Rehoboam and Amaziah with Asa; Rehoboam and Amaziah were both wicked men, but yet they, in some actions, did better than Asa, who was a godly man. It is very remarkable when comparing their stories: For Rehoboam, he was a wicked man, and yet in 1 Kings 12:24, when ten tribes of his kingdom rebelled against him, and he gathered an army to bring them back to obedience, a simple prophet of God came to him and said, "Thus saith the Lord, ye shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: Return every man to his house, for this thing is from me." The text says they listened to the word of the Lord and returned to depart according to the word of the Lord. It is a very strange thing that a king, a wicked man, pushed to the extreme, with an army ready, whose cause could be justified before all the world; for who would have said what the prophet did, that this was from the Lord? Yet that one simple man coming to him and telling him that it was from the Lord, though he must lose ten parts of his kingdom, ten out of twelve, yet Rehoboam listens to God, lets go of his army, lets go of the ten parts of his kingdom, just by hearing a prophet say it was from the Lord! One would think that this was a saint! What an obedient man was this to the word of God? And yet this was a wicked man, an unregenerate man.
Again, Amaziah was a man whose heart was not right with God (2 Chron. 25). He had hired an army, and a man of God came to him in verse 7, saying, "O King, let not the army of Israel go with you, for the Lord is not with Israel, specifically with all the children of Ephraim." But Amaziah said, "What shall we do for the hundred talents, which I have given to the army of Israel?" They had been paid in advance. The prophet replied, "The Lord is able to give you much more than this." Amaziah was willing not only to part with his army but also to lose the pay he had given them beforehand, simply at the word of God, delivered by one humble prophet. Now, one might think a wicked man who was a soldier would have dismissed such a message from a poor, weak man and told him to mind his own business; yet these two men did not. But now, you will find Asa, who was a godly man, did not act as well. These two, the Scripture marks as wicked men at this time when they acted so, and as far as it appears, they continued and perished in their wickedness. But now, I say, Asa, whom the Scripture notes as a godly man, acted quite differently (2 Chron. 16). There, a prophet came to Asa and rebuked him for relying on wicked men and for having so much association with those who were ungodly. The text notes in verse 10, "Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in a prison house, for he was in a rage with him because of this thing; and Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time." This was a godly man, and the others were wicked. You might say here that the fault of Asa was worse than the fault of Rehoboam or Amaziah, who were wicked men. Sometimes, therefore, in certain acts of sin, wicked men may do better than the saints. And therefore, by the way, you should learn not to congratulate yourselves just because you do good things in some particular acts. You may do good things in specific acts better than others who are godly, and yet you may perish eternally, while they may be saved in the day of Jesus Christ.
It must also be acknowledged that, considering the value of the souls of the Saints, any blemish in them is worse than the blemishes of wicked people. It's like a fly in a box of ointment being worse than a thousand flies in a barrel of beer because the ointment is more precious. In various circumstances, the spots of the Saints may seem worse than those of wicked people. I've mentioned this in another Scripture. However, when considering specific actions, the excellence of their souls, and certain circumstances, one may appear worse than the other. But when you look at everything together, the spots or sins of wicked people are far worse than the sins of the godly. I will show this in three ways, highlighting the difference between the sins of wicked people and the godly, and demonstrate that one is far worse than the other.
- First, regarding the nature of their sin.
- Secondly, in respect to the behaviors of their hearts concerning them.
- And, thirdly, in regard to how God is currently dealing with them because of their sin—their spots are different in these three respects.
Firstly, regarding the nature of their spots, and in various respects (except in some extraordinary cases, one of which we discussed earlier in those examples), I say the spots of the wicked are far worse than the spots of the godly. Indeed, the truth is, if you consider everything together, the spots of the wicked are worse at any time.
First, the sin of a godly person is more like a scar, a wound that is healed or almost healed. In contrast, the sin of an ungodly person is like a rotten, festering sore in the flesh. Consider the difference between the scar of a wound that is almost healed and a filthy, putrefied sore in the flesh; that is the difference between the sins of the saints and the sins of other people.
You might say that's just a metaphor; what do you mean by comparing it to a scar and a rotten sore?
The plain meaning of this is that the sin of a godly person is merely an obstacle in their soul's journey to make God their ultimate goal. The mindset of a godly person's soul is always directed towards God as their ultimate goal, and sin only comes in as a hindrance in this pursuit. However, the sin of a wicked person is a departure from God, choosing something else as their ultimate goal and chief good. Here lies a significant difference: when the heart of a godly person aims for God, their focus and aim are on God, but in some specific actions, they are hindered in this pursuit. On the other hand, a wicked person turns away from God and chooses some other good as their ultimate goal, embracing it as their chief good. This is exceedingly vile and abominable. Therefore, the sin of a godly person is the hindrance of their soul striving towards God as their ultimate goal. In contrast, the sin of a wicked person is the turning of their soul towards some base contentment as their chief good, making it their god.
Secondly, the sin of the children of God is not as contagious or infectious as the sin of the wicked. It's true that all sin has some level of infection and contagion, but there's a significant difference between the contagion and infection of the remaining sin in the saints and the sin in the hearts of unregenerate people.
You might ask, what difference?
Difference? First, in this: The spread and infection of sin in a wicked person make them abominable and loathsome because of their sin. However, the sins of the saints do not have the same infection; they do not spread in a way that makes their persons abominable and hateful before God. God hates the workers of iniquity, but He does not hate the saints who have iniquity in them. This is a significant difference in their spread and infection.
Yes, secondly, the sin in a wicked person defiles all their actions, even turning their best actions into sin. While you are unregenerate, your sin is so contagious that it makes all your actions sinful, even your best ones. In Psalm 109:7, it says, "Let his prayer become sin" (Ps. 109:7). All your actions before God are sinful while you are unregenerate. There is not only sin in them, but that sin has so defiled them that they are turned into sin for you. From an unclean thing, nothing clean can come; from a corrupt tree, there cannot be good fruit. There is nothing but the fruits of sin that come from an unregenerate heart. However, for the saints, even though they have sin in them and some sin clings to every one of their actions, there is no action that a child of God does that doesn't have some sin attached to it. Yet, there is not that infection in it to turn their actions into sin. No, God looks upon their actions as holy actions despite that. The work they do is seen as the work of the Spirit of God in them, even though evil clings to it as it comes through them. Therefore, there is not such an infection in their sin as there is in yours.
And then, secondly, the infection and contagion of the sin of wicked people is such that it defiles everything they touch, making it unclean to them. You know what the Scripture says in Titus 1:15: "Unto the pure all things are pure; but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled" (Titus 1:15). There is that uncleanness and filthiness in you while you are unregenerate, making everything unclean. All the mercies of God are unclean to you; you have no sanctified use of them. All the ordinances, their use to you, are polluted and unclean. As in the Law, the uncleanness of leprosy was such that whatever the leprosy touched was unclean; so it is with you. Whatever you meddle with—your food, your drink, your clothes, your estate—everything is made unclean to you. We consider the disease of the plague a very grievous disease because those who have it can touch nothing without the risk of infection; any clothes they put on, and the food and drink they consume. So it is with the sins of unregenerate people; all things they meddle with are spiritually infected to them, and they have no sanctified use of anything. But it is not so with the saints. They have sin in them, but you never read that their sin makes everything unclean. No, to the pure, all things are pure; God looks upon them as pure, and they have a holy use of their estate. They enjoy God's ordinances, God's works, God's mercy. The wicked, therefore, are not only spotted, but you find in Scripture they are called spots, in the abstract, because of the impression of their sin: "They are spots in your feasts" (2 Pet. 2:13, Jude 12). Not just spotted, but spots, as if they were entirely turned into pollution.
Thirdly, the sins of the saints are not like the sins of wicked people; their sins are not as deadly. The sins of wicked people are deadly. Wicked people, being defiled by their sin, lie in it like a dead animal lies in a sewer. That's the comparison the Holy Spirit uses to describe the wickedness of people in the world: "The whole world lies in wickedness" (1 John 5:19). The meaning of that text can be best expressed like this: Just as you see a filthy, dead, and rotten carcass lying in a sewer, so does the world lie in wickedness. Surely, their wickedness is of a different kind than the wickedness of the saints. There's a big difference between the sickly look of a weak person and the ghastly look of a dead body; a big difference between stiffness in a person's joints due to cold and the stiffness of a body lying dead; a big difference between some rashes on your children from heat or other causes and the filthy decay in a dead body. The saints, though they have sin in them, have a principle of life that works out that sin. Now, the ungodly have sin, but they have no principle of life to work it out. Hence, in Proverbs 25:26, the righteous are said to be like a troubled fountain when they fall. You know, a fountain that's troubled, or if dirt and filth are put into it, looks filthy and dirty like any puddle. For the moment, you can't see any difference between that and a filthy puddle. But if you wait a while, you'll see that the fountain, having a living spring, will work out all that filth. But if you throw dirt into a puddle on the road, it stays there and rots. This is the difference between the sin of the wicked and the sin of the godly. The sin of the godly is like the troubled fountain; there is a principle of life to work out that sin, and it will work it out in time. But the sin of the wicked is like the dirt thrown into a puddle on the road, where it lies and rots, and it is filthy. There is no spring to work out that filth. Hence, in 1 Peter 1, the hopes of the saints are called living hopes, meaning hopes that work out the filth in their souls. The wicked, therefore, have a deadly spot, but the saints have a principle of life. Even in their worst condition, when saints are most overcome by temptation, there are still signs of life; life will show in them.
You might ask, what signs of life will show in a godly man or woman when they are overwhelmed by sin and corruption? Yes, you will find four signs that will be present in them even when they are most overcome by their corruptions.
The first point is this: If believers sin, they try to bring themselves back to God. You'll find that their beliefs still lean towards holiness and strictness in God's ways. They might be overcome by a specific temptation and feel troubled and afraid, thinking there's no grace and no difference between them and wicked people. However, even when they are overcome by temptations, their beliefs remain aligned with God, His truth, and His ways, valuing the strictness of holiness. They consider God's Law to be good, holy, and righteous even at that time. We read about Saint Paul in Romans 7, who had a great struggle with his corruptions, almost like being led captive and sold under sin. But notice in verse 12, despite his struggle, he still declares the Law as holy, just, and good. He gives three praises to God's Law even when his corruptions were fighting against it. Similarly, you'll find that gracious hearts, even under temptation and possibly overcome by sin, still believe that God's ways and commandments are good, holy, and blessed. They might feel their hearts can't reach those standards, but they wouldn't want the commandments to be less holy or good. This is a sign of life in them. However, if someone falls into sin and starts thinking they were foolish for being so conscientious about sin and living strictly and holy, and dismisses it as youthful foolishness, then their judgment has changed. When did you ever know someone who, after such a fall, returned if their judgment turned against God's ways? Even if they are overcome by an act or have many heart disturbances and passions, if their judgment turns against the goodness, strictness, and holiness of God's ways, it's feared that this person is lost, and their mark is not that of God's children. In Leviticus 13:44, there's a notable scripture that hints at the difference in sins between people. The leprosy was a type of sin's uncleanness. The whole chapter is about discerning leprosy, what is a leprosy spot, and what is not. Notice, throughout, the priest looks at the spot and, seeing it in certain ways, pronounces the person unclean. But in verse 44, the priest pronounces someone utterly unclean if the plague is in their head. If it was in other parts, the priest only pronounced them unclean. But when the priest sees the plague in the head, the text says the priest shall pronounce them utterly unclean. Similarly, in the leprosy of sin, if it's in a person's affections, it's very bad, and they may be unclean by it. If it's in their will or thoughts, there's a lot of evil, but if it's in the upper part, like the senses, body, or actions, it may make them unclean. But if it's in their judgment, if someone has such a corrupt judgment that they judge against God's ways, against their goodness and strictness, and say, "Why be so precise and strict?" and claim God's Law isn't so strict, then I say, when it affects their judgment, such a person is to be pronounced not just unclean but utterly unclean, for the plague is in their head. But there's a sign of life in the saints; even if they are overtaken by corruptions, their judgments are for God and the strictness of His ways, unlike others.
Secondly, they do not yet abandon their ultimate goal; their main focus and end goal remain unchanged, even though, as I mentioned earlier, they are hindered. I will provide a scripture for this, which fits well, in Psalm 18:21. This scripture was quoted before to show the significant difference between the sins of wicked people and the sins of the godly. In that act of David, David says, "I have kept the ways of the Lord; and have not wickedly departed from my God." But now, David, how do you prove that? You sinned against your God very grossly, so why do you say you have not wickedly departed from your God? He proves it in verse 22: "For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me." That is, as if he should say, "Lord, though I was overtaken by this corruption, I still made you my end and my focus; my heart was still towards you. I did not put away your statutes from me, but I was willing for your statutes and judgments to remain before me." In this way, he proves that he had not wickedly departed from God. Can you say so now? You say you have sinned like others, but you hope your sin is not like the sin of wicked people. But can you say, as if in the presence of God, "Lord, you know that I have not wickedly departed from you; for all your judgments are before me, and I do not put away your statutes from me. O Lord, you know there is none of your statutes that I would put away from me?"
Thirdly, a third sign of a soul in the worst condition is this: even if a person has fallen into great sins themselves, they will still have a heart that values other godly people who have not fallen into such great sins. When have you ever known a truly godly person to become such an apostate that they hate the saints, and yet turn back to God? This can help you determine if they were truly godly or not. If it was a temptation for someone who is godly, even if they stray very far, they will return again. But personally, I have never known or heard of anyone who professed religion and fell so far as to hate the saints, to hate other godly people, and to persecute them, and then came back. However, you will find many godly people who fall badly, yet their hearts are still inclined towards the saints, and they believe those saints are in a blessed condition. They might think, "Though I have a wicked and vile heart, and I cannot overcome certain corruptions, there are those who can overcome their corruptions, there are those who are godly. Oh! They are in a happy condition. Oh! Happy is such a man, such a woman; they are not overcome with the corruptions that I am overcome with." So, even though they are overcome with sin, they will still have their heart towards the saints and value those who are not overcome with the same corruptions. But it is not so with the wicked.
Fourthly, the last sign of spiritual life in the saints is this: Even though they struggle with many corruptions, they never completely lose the taste and appreciation for spiritual ministry and the Word, unlike others. Wicked people are so tainted by their corruptions that they lose all taste for spiritual things. They can't appreciate a spiritual ministry any more than a corrupt one. But someone who has ever had true godliness, even if they have fallen into serious sins, can still taste the Word to some degree. They can tell the difference between one ministry and another, between one company and another, between the spirit of one person and another. They don't completely lose their taste but still have some sense of the difference between what is spiritual and what is carnal, especially in the ministry of the Word. They find some savor in that because if they were ever converted, it was through the spiritual work of the Word that converted them, and some seed of it remains in their heart. This is what the Holy Spirit says through the Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 1:25: "The word of the Lord endures forever." This is the word that is preached to you by the Gospel. Now, Peter doesn't mean the physical book and letters of the Word of God, but the Word of God upon the hearts of the godly. As he says in verse 23, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and abides forever." All flesh is like grass, and all the glory, that is, all works of nature and common gifts, fade away, but the Word of God endures forever. This means the Word of God upon the hearts of the saints. There is a spiritual seed and power of the Word of God that first gave life to the soul, and it abides forever. No one falls away completely without some seed of the spirituality of God's Word remaining in their hearts, enabling them to savor God's Word. Thus, you see their spot is not deadly. O! If any of you who have godliness have fallen away from God, consider these things: Are there such seeds of life remaining in you? You are those who still belong to Him; therefore, do not fall away more and more. If you belong to God, you will not misuse what I am saying to you, but your souls will value it, and it will draw your hearts closer to God. But now, the sickness of the wicked is a death, as in John 11:4, where Christ says about Lazarus, "This sickness is not unto death." Two men are sick; one dies from it, the other recovers. You have your sins, and the godly person has their sins, and outwardly the godly person's sin appears as much as yours does. But yours may lead to death. Like a grievous spot on the flesh caused by some illness, it is not like the time of the plague when you see those blue marks, which they call God's tokens, even if you have no other spots or sores. Many men and women may seem to live very strictly and not fall into scandalous sins like others, and their spots don't seem as corrupt as others. But there are the blue spots of a plague upon them that lead to death. You know, a father and mother would much rather see their children's bodies covered in blisters and spots and running with filth than see just one of those blue spots on them, even if their skin seems otherwise whole.
You might ask now, what signs can we give of a soul's sickness leading to death, considering that godly people can also be sick due to sin just like others? I will provide you with these signs:
First, just like with a persistent illness in the body, even if it's minor, it can become deadly. For example, if someone has a cough, and it continues constantly, it might turn deadly. Be cautious of ongoing sins, even if they seem small, because if you continue in a constant pattern of sin, it can become deadly.
And then, secondly, if the disease reaches the heart, it becomes deadly. During an infection, if you can keep it from reaching the heart, you are safe enough. Physicians, although they provide medicines to prevent the infection from reaching the heart, do not have a medicine to cure the heart once the disease gets into it. They can keep it out of the heart, but they cannot remove it from the heart. "O! thy sin is evil and bitter, for it reaches unto thy heart," says the text (Jer. 4:18). O! that's an evil and bitter corruption that reaches your heart, meaning it comes to your heart and finds your heart willing to embrace that disorder and corruption of yours.
Thirdly, when the sickness is an increasing sickness. In Leviticus 13:8, when the spot spreads, the priest must say, "It is an infection of leprosy." Similarly, when you have some disorder or corruption, and it keeps increasing, be cautious. Perhaps you were only a little vain, but now you are becoming more vain, and so on. When the disease grows more and more within you, be careful; it's a spot of leprosy and may lead to your ruin.
Fourthly, a sickness is deadly when it overcomes the body's natural defenses, making the person unaware of their illness. When someone is sick, as long as their body is fighting the illness, there's hope. But if someone visits a person with a strong fever and asks how they are, and they respond, "Why, well, I thank God," without realizing their condition, it makes their wife and everyone around them turn away and start weeping. It would be better if they felt pain. Similarly, when people become numb to sin through habit, it's a sign that it leads to death. Perhaps when you first committed a sin, your conscience troubled you, but you've become so accustomed to it that you're no longer aware of it. This is a sickness leading to death, and you're likely to die from it when you become insensitive to sin through repeated actions.
Fifthly, when a person is sick and cannot keep anything down: I can say the same about the sin of wicked people. Even though your sin puts your soul in danger, there is hope if what is given to you can stay with you, meaning the Word, which is like medicine for your soul. When a timely truth comes and is applied to your soul against your sin, if you can receive that implanted word, it is likely to save your soul. But if, as soon as you hear a truth that comes close to you, your heart immediately rejects it and it won't stay with you at all, it is a dangerous sign that your sickness is a sickness leading to death (James 1:21).
Lastly, it's a deadly sickness when a person takes something that might help them, but if it doesn't work, then it's dangerous too. You might remember the Word, and it stays with you for a while, but nothing good comes from it; it brings great changes to others, but nothing at all to you. If you go to a doctor and say, "Sir, you prescribed such and such a thing, but it doesn't work," he might say, "I wonder why, because I have known it to work on others who were in as desperate a condition as one could be, and it helped them recover." So, I can say to some who sit under the Word, their souls are sick, and the Word doesn't work on them. But it has worked on others who were just as dangerously sick, which is an argument that their sickness was not unto death; God did not intend for them to die. But if you can sit under the Word, and it doesn't work on you, it's a sign that your sickness is unto death.
Fourthly, and lastly, consider how the sin of one person matches the nature of those who have sin within them. One person's sin is like a leprosy spot, meaning it fits the disposition of their soul. But another person's sin is indeed a spot, yet it doesn't come from their natural disposition; it's just an accidental disorder. The sin of one person comes from the natural state of their heart, while the sin of another comes from some accidental disorder that affects them. When a man or woman sins, and it aligns with their nature, consider this carefully: if you are most yourself, then you are most free to sin. Know that your sin comes from your natural disorder, not from any accidental disorder. Let me explain: there is poison in a toad, and there is poison that enters a person's body. The poison in the toad suits the toad's nature, so the toad is fine with it. But if a drop of poison enters a person's body, it causes a lot of trouble and makes them very sick because it is contrary to their nature. This is the difference between the sin of a wicked person and the sin of a child of God. The wicked person's sin is like poison in a toad, fitting their nature. But the sin of a child of God is like poison in a person's stomach, contrary to their nature. When a wicked person sins, they sin from themselves, as it is said of the devil, "he is a liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44). So, the sin of a wicked person is in its proper element within them, which is why wicked people are so unaware of their sin. But the sin of a child of God is out of place, which is why they feel it so much.
Now you might ask, how can a person use this note to understand the nature of their sin? I will mention five or six specific points about this.
First, when a man or woman is alone in secret, with no one watching, they should examine themselves. How does your heart feel when you are alone? You can't really tell the state of your heart when you're with others; you are most yourself when you are in secret, alone. Oh, what wickedness can be found in your heart when you are alone! In contrast, a godly person, even if they might fall into sin when with others, will have a heart more focused on God and opposed to sin when they are alone.
Secondly, we can say something is a person's true self if it is the original source of their soul. Consider your thoughts and feelings at their very beginning—what are they like? What is the nature or the temperament of your thoughts and feelings when they first arise? You can understand the true nature of a fountain by examining the water closest to the source. If the water flows a mile or two away, it might change and no longer reflect the nature of the fountain. Similarly, you can know your true nature by examining the initial workings of your thoughts and feelings when you are alone.
And thirdly, you can know yourself by observing how you behave when you are away from those who know you. Many people act properly and civilly at home and among their neighbors. But when they travel and are among strangers, they become loud, filthy, and unclean, revealing their true selves. Therefore, examine yourself in this matter.
Fourthly, you can know your true self by examining your heart and seeing how it behaves naturally when you are not under authority. Many young people live decently and civilly while they are under authority, but once they are on their own and free from any authority, their true nature shows. Suddenly, they seek out bad company, revealing that this was the natural state of their hearts all along.
Fifthly, you can know your true self by observing how you behave in times of prosperity and peace. During times of affliction, it's like being in God's restraints, and you might speak well and make good promises. But when you are at peace within yourself and have everything in the world as you desire, how does your heart behave then? The natural state and rhythm of your heart are most evident when you are in the most peace and prosperity. When everything around you is as you wish, that's when your heart's true nature is revealed. You might think your heart is good because you have good moods during sickness, but that doesn't necessarily mean your heart is good. Pay attention to how your heart behaves when you are most at peace and free from danger; that's the most natural state of a person's heart.
And then, sixthly, that's the most natural working of a person's heart when they are truly themselves, which they do with the most deliberation. A person might act differently than their natural heart would lead them to in a sudden moment. But it cannot be said to be truly them, as Paul said, "It is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me" (Rom. 7:17). But when a person acts upon deliberation and examination, then they are being most themselves. This helps you understand the difference between the sins of one person and the sins of another. The sins of wicked people come from their natural temperament, which their hearts agree with when they are most themselves. However, the sins of the saints are such that when they are truly themselves, their hearts do not agree with them as much. When temptations arise, it may draw their hearts away. But when they are truly themselves, they remain godly and gracious. Likewise, when they are not under authority, they are often better. Someone who was a servant and gracious then, when they become independent, is better than before because when they were a servant, they were much hindered. But when they become independent, they appear more gracious. And though they might be overcome suddenly, when they deliberate, they are most for God. So their sin does not come from their natural dispositions. Wicked people, when they are most themselves, sin the most. But the saints, when they are most themselves, serve God the most. And here's the difference between the spot of the wicked and the spot of God's children.
The Third Sermon. August 10th, 1645.
We are now going to discuss the differences between the sins of wicked men and godly men, focusing on how their souls behave differently regarding their sin. You will find that the way a godly person deals with sin is quite different from that of a wicked person. This will become clear in several ways. First,
First, a godly person, in their way of life, does not make plans to satisfy the desires of the flesh or prepare for sin like the wicked do. Making provision for the flesh is seen in Scripture as being opposite to putting on the Lord Jesus Christ, as stated in Romans 13:14: "But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof" (Rom. 13:14). You cannot put on the Lord Jesus and at the same time make provision for the flesh. A wicked, worldly heart thinks it can apply Christ and make provision for the flesh simultaneously. It's hard to say what might happen to a godly person in a moment of temptation, but certainly, when a godly person becomes familiar with the ways of Christ and knows Christ, they will see that making provision for the flesh and putting on Christ at the same time is impossible. The way of the ungodly is to plot and plan for sin. Does your conscience tell you that this is your way—to be alone with your thoughts, plotting, planning, advising, meditating, and considering how to satisfy the desires of your flesh? If so, you are someone who does not know what it is to put on Christ, and your mark is not that of God's children. The Apostle, speaking of the sins of the saints in Galatians 6, says, "If any man be overtaken with a fault, ye that are spiritual, restore such a man" (Gal. 6:1). It's as if there are no faults that the saints are guilty of except those they are overtaken by. But wicked people pursue their sins rather than being overtaken by them. When someone is plotting and planning to satisfy a sinful desire, they are seeking to pursue their sin rather than being overtaken by it. That's the first point.
Secondly, suppose sin has, to some extent, overtaken a believer. Yet, in the second place, it is not easily accepted. Even if sin comes and presents itself, and follows a child of God, I say, sin is not easily accepted; it is not allowed in on easy terms. A wicked person will accept their sin on very easy terms, at least some sin. If your servants leave the door unlatched, you will suspect them of being in league with the thief, that they are plotting together. So, when anyone accepts sin on easy terms, allowing it to easily enter the soul, it's a sign there is an alliance between the soul and sin. A gracious heart is watchful against sin and is careful to keep it out, to lock and bolt it out. It will not leave the door unlatched, allowing sin to enter on easy terms.
Thirdly, even if sin has entered, a gracious heart is easily convinced of its sin. It doesn't take much to convince such a heart after sin has overtaken it. A person with a gracious heart won't defend or justify their sin like a wicked person would. We see this with David, even though he was a king and a man of notable spirit. In 2 Samuel, when Nathan came to tell him of his sin, David immediately said to Nathan in verse 13, "I have sinned against the Lord" (2 Sam. 12:13). Nathan pointed out that David was the man who sinned, and David didn't resist or demand proof. He didn't say, "Prove it if you can; who can say I did this wickedness?" Instead, he admitted, "I have sinned against the Lord." He submitted to the prophet's word and acknowledged his sin, showing that a godly person is easily convinced of their sin. In contrast, a wicked person will defend their sin, denying it unless caught red-handed. They might argue they are not guilty, or if they are, that it's not a big deal, just their nature.
But a godly person doesn't argue this way. When they see their sin as vile, they recognize it comes from their wicked and cursed nature. That's why David, in Psalm 51, when acknowledging his sin, says, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me" (Ps. 51:5). He sees his sinful nature as a great aggravation of his sin. It's a sign of ignorance for someone to justify their sin by saying it's their nature. It's worse because of that. If a thief stood before a judge and said, "I committed this theft, but it's my nature," would that be a valid defense? Certainly not, and it won't be before the great Judge of all the world either. The saints know their sin is made worse by their nature. Secondly, a child of God won't usually blame temptation. They won't say, "It was a temptation that overcame me; I was tempted, and that's why I sinned." A gracious heart will rather blame the wickedness within than the temptation. The truth is, temptation couldn't prevail if it weren't for the wickedness in our hearts. Temptations came to Christ, but the devil found nothing in him, as Scripture says, so they couldn't prevail over him. If it weren't for the baseness of your heart, temptations wouldn't prevail. So, blaming temptation is a carnal excuse. A gracious heart will confess before the Lord, "O! it is my own wickedness."
Thirdly, a truly gracious heart will not blame God for their sin by saying, "When God gives me more grace, I will do better; but I can't do anything on my own, and because God hasn't given me grace, that's why I fell into such sins." This is the audacity of people's hearts, to try to blame all their sins on God, as if the only reason they sin is because God is the cause of it. They think that they would do better if only God didn't withhold His grace, and so they try to shift all the blame from themselves to God. But know this: the Lord will find you out one day, and He will hold you accountable for your sin. Your destruction and wickedness come from yourself. A gracious heart will not make excuses for sin in this way. It's very dangerous when you hear anyone who claims to be religious making excuses for their looseness in this manner. We have reason to fear that their flaw is not the flaw of God's children (Deut. 32:5).
Fourthly, when sin has gained some ground against a child of God, they are quickly stopped in their sin. They are easily convinced of it, do not defend it, and are ready to be stopped; even a small thing will halt the course of their sin. Any truths of God that come to them find a heart with a principle that aligns with God's truths, and their heart embraces those truths, thus stopping their sinful course. A wicked person sins, and having no grace that aligns with God's truth, when anything opposes their sin, their heart opposes that which would oppose the sin. But a child of God, even if overcome by sin, when the truth of God comes, it finds something in the heart that aligns with the truth, and they quickly embrace it. You have a notable example of this in the prophet David in 1 Samuel 25:32. To understand it, look at the verses before; you will find that David was on a sinful path. His anger had risen and prevailed against him, and he was about to commit a wicked act, to avenge himself and be guilty of bloodshed. But Abigail met David on his way, when he was on the path of sin, and showed him in a very fair manner the evil of his course if he were to accomplish what he intended. Notice, David, though his anger was high, when Abigail came and spoke reason to him, showing him the evil of his sin, David's spirit calmed, and David said to Abigail, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me: And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood" (1 Sam. 25:32-33). When David was in a mighty heat, on a sinful path, if someone were to come to some of you when your passion is high, and you are resolved to do something, if someone were to come and fairly plead that such a thing is evil, a sin against God, you might quickly respond, "I will, and I will, I care not, and let come of it what will come, I will do it." Thus, when the lust is high, there is no arguing against it, and no truth can stand against it. But if the heart were gracious, though corruptions may stir for a while, let any truth of God come and be suggested to such a soul, it finds something within that aligns with it, and the heart will be ready to fall down, "Oh blessed be God, and blessed be your counsel, and blessed be God that has hindered me from such a way of sin! Oh, my wretched nature was stirring and working, and I was resolved to have done such a thing; if the Lord had not in mercy sent you to have stopped me in such a way, oh what might I have done!" Here now is the spirit of David. Consider this, you who sometimes plead for David's sin; and did not David commit such a sin, you will say? Yes, but then notice how quickly David was convinced and how soon he was stopped in his sin.
Fifthly, there's no godly person, no matter how many sins they have, who is controlled by any sin. This is a certain truth: there is no person in the world with even the smallest amount of grace who is under the power of any reigning sin. Sin may live in them, but it does not rule over them. The Scripture is very clear about this, and it cannot be denied: "For sin shall not have dominion over you; for you are not under the Law, but under Grace" (Rom. 6:14). A soul under the dominion of any sin is under the Law, meaning it is under the curse of the Law, in a natural state, and has no interest in Christ. But if the soul comes to be under grace, either sin must not have dominion over you, or God must not be faithful—one of the two. For this is the promise of the Holy Spirit: if you are under grace, sin shall have no more dominion over you. It does not say that if you are under grace, you will commit no more sin, but that sin shall not have dominion over you. Therefore, any person over whom any sin has dominion is certainly not under grace. This is the word of God, and O that God would bring it to the consciences of those it concerns today, that whoever is under the dominion and reign of any sin is not currently under grace and has no interest in the grace of Jesus Christ.
Now you might ask, what is the reign and dominion of sin?
First, it's clear in many people that they are under the control of sin. These are people who continue in known sins just to satisfy their flesh. Such individuals are under the power and rule of sin. Sometimes, even a secret sin can be a ruling sin. A person can be under the authority of a king they've never seen in their life; they might not know where the king is, yet they are still his subject, and he reigns over them. Similarly, a secret sin can be a ruling sin. A ruling sin is one that a person gives themselves over to, even if it's in a very secretive way. There's a difference between a tyrant who violently forces people to submit or one who uses surprise or cunning to persuade people to submit, and a prince who reigns on his throne with his subjects acknowledging their submission to him. The sins of the wicked are ruling sins, meaning their sins command them, and they surrender their wills to their sins. The will and affections are tied to the sin. In a natural person, there's nothing more in their will than their sin. Therefore, Scripture equates the will of man with the will of the flesh (John 1:13). When the will yields to the ways of sin, then sin can be said to be on the throne. But in a godly person, there is a universal, spiritual, and irreconcilable opposition to sin. Even though sin remains in them, there is a universal, spiritual, irreconcilable opposition to it. Sin does not reign in a soul as long as there is opposition. In a kingdom, if there is universal opposition to someone, they cannot be said to reign. In the soul of a child of God, there is opposition to sin—universal, spiritual, and powerful. I will explain these further.
First, a powerful opposition: This means he doesn't just wish he couldn't sin or wish to be different, but he makes it the main focus of his life, above everything else in the world, to fight against his sin. If God were to speak from Heaven and ask, "Poor creature! What would you have me do for you?" this person would respond, "Lord, you who know all things, know that this is the true desire of my soul above everything else. O, give me power against my sin, especially against those specific sins that my nature is most inclined to." O! This is what my heart is most against. Many people deceive themselves by thinking they oppose their sins just because they have some wishes and desires to be better. But do you see it as a matter of life and death, and does your soul work harder against your sin than against anything else in the world? Many men and women are strong in pursuing their sins, but their spirits are not strong in opposing their sins. But a gracious person makes this their greatest and most important work.
And then the second thing, it is a universal opposition; and that in these two regards.
First, all the parts of the soul rise up against sin. In a wicked person, there is some kind of opposition to sin; that is, sometimes their conscience opposes the desires in their emotions. A wicked person might have a convinced conscience, and their conscience won't let them be at peace. However, their emotions still like sin, even though their conscience won't let them rest. You might ask, how can a person tell the difference? You can tell if the opposition is only in your conscience and not in your heart and emotions if, even though you don't dare commit the sin right now, you wish you had the freedom to do it. You wish there wasn't a law forbidding it and would be happy if the law were more lenient. You would like it if such a thing weren't a sin, and if you could do it quietly without any danger, you would. In this case, the opposition isn't in your will; it's only in your conscience. This is the kind of opposition to sin that a carnal heart might have. Their conscience might be so strong that they don't dare commit the sin, not even in secret. Some might say that many hypocrites go this far by not committing sin in front of others but will do it in secret.
However, a natural conscience can lead a person to abstain from sin, not just because of others, but even in secret, where they don't dare sin even when only God and they are present. Yet, this doesn't mean they have saving grace. You might ask, how can that be? It's because, even though their conscience won't let them rest, they would still be glad to have their sin if they could. There's no change in their nature, which is evidence that there is no grace. If a person abstains from sin out of a principle of grace, it comes from a change in their nature. Certainly, there's no change in nature here, so it's not a universal opposition; it's only in one part of their soul. But the opposition of a gracious heart is in the whole soul. Not only is my conscience against my sin, but my will and emotions are too. I have a principle in my will and emotions, as well as in my conscience; all the parts of the soul oppose the sin.
And then secondly, it's universal, meaning there's opposition to all sin: not just some particular sin, but every sin. Whatever the sin may be, the heart opposes it. So much so that it can appeal to God, saying, "Lord, you who know all things, know there is not one way of wickedness in me. There's not one sin that my soul gives way to, but there is in my heart an opposition against every sin."
And then I say, it's a spiritual opposition; by that I mean this: it's an opposition not just from external arguments, like the danger, shame, or prejudice that might come from it. Instead, the opposition comes from a contrary stream of grace in the heart. There's a temptation to sin, but a carnal heart might think, "If I commit it, then this bad thing or that evil might happen, so I won't do it." But a gracious heart opposes not only from such arguments but from a contrary stream of grace in the soul. Now, when the opposition to sin comes from a contrary stream of grace, then the opposition not only keeps sin from acting but indeed decreases the habits of sin. This should be the care of a godly man or woman—not merely to restrain sin, but to oppose the habits of sin. Let me find the habits of my sin to be weakened and mortified in me. Let me follow my corruption to its very root and labor to deaden the root of my corruption. Oh, here's the work of a Child of God!
Imagine a stream of water flowing strongly. There are two ways to oppose it: You can build a dam to block it, or you can introduce another stream flowing in the opposite direction to overpower it. The second method is different from just blocking it with a dam. If you only dam a stream, it will rise higher and higher, trying to find a way to escape. But if there's an opposing stream, it can carry the water away smoothly. This is similar to how the sins of wicked people are opposed. It's not just when friends try to stop them from sinning, but when their own consciences oppose their sin. Their sin then swells even more, and they look for ways to gain the freedom to commit their sin. Once they break through the dam, they sin with more intensity. Many young people, when under authority, have their sins merely blocked, and their desires grow, wanting to express their sin, but they don't dare. Later, when they are on their own, their sin breaks out even more. However, a gracious heart has a new nature given by God, which is contrary to the nature of sin. This is the spiritual way of opposing sin.
And then it's an irreconcilable opposition; that is, a soul with any truth of grace will never be reconciled with any sin. It resolves within itself, "Whatever happens to me, even if I should perish eternally, I am resolved to fight against my sin eternally." Even when a soul fears that God will cast it away forever, it would still be reluctant to sin against God. Some people, when faced with horrors of conscience and fear that God will reject them, might say, "I might as well give up, and if I'm going to be damned, I might as well be damned for something." This is a sign that grace has not entered their heart. But another person, who has some principles of grace in their soul, might also experience terrors of conscience and fear being cast away. Yet, they conclude, "Well, whatever happens to me, let God do with me what He will, yet I will do what I can to honor Him. The name of God is blessed forever, whatever becomes of me." Therefore, they resolve to set themselves against the evil in their heart to the utmost forever. Now, this is a sign that there is grace, even though much corruption may prevail.
You can see now as I continue that there may be spots in one person and spots in another, but there's a great deal of difference between the sins of one and the sins of the other.
Further, consider the reasons why wicked people usually sin: godly people are rarely found to commit sin for the same reasons as wicked people do! There are many reasons why wicked people engage in sin. I will only name them, and even in naming them, I truly believe I may speak to many of your hearts.
Consider this: Commit a sin, and you might think it's just one, and you won't live in many sins. It's just one sin you want to continue in, and you hope God might show you favor for that. But what, not even in one? Godly people won't do that. Can you find any godly person on Earth who would allow themselves to live in a sin just because it's only one?
Secondly, says a worldly heart, it's just one, and it's a small one: I won't commit such obvious sins as others do. I won't swear, openly disrespect the Sabbath, get drunk, or be promiscuous. But sins in thought, and of a lesser nature, I hope they can be tolerated? And why does a person need to be so strict and precise? Yes, but understand that a gracious heart would never reason in such a way. Oh no, such a person knows that the smallest sin is a greater evil than the greatest suffering; that there is more evil in the smallest sin than in all the torments of Hell combined. And a godly person who understands God's ways knows that even the smallest sin requires the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse it, which is worth more than ten thousand worlds. Therefore, he will not allow himself even the smallest sin, because it is still a sin.
The third reason is this:
Why, even the best people have their sins just like we do. Those we read about in Scripture, haven't they fallen into serious sins? But I ask you to notice, though godly people have their weaknesses, show me any example since the beginning of the world of a godly person who justified their sin by saying another godly person committed it. A godly person does not commit sin for such a reason. They will not engage in sin just because they see others guilty of it too. If God is dishonored by another, let me be careful not to add to this dishonor, says a gracious heart.
Fourthly, another reason people justify their sin is because they think their sin isn't as bad as others'. They might say, "Mine is not the worst. If you come and rebuke them for a sin, they might respond, 'God grant you never do any worse.'" In matters of affliction, we can reason from a lesser to a greater and take up a lesser to prevent a greater. But when it comes to sin, we should never make such comparisons. There is a kind of infiniteness in sin, and even the smallest sin is enough to be my eternal ruin. What does it matter to me if others do worse? I urge you to consider this as we mention these things, for I do not take the time to expand on each one. The truth is, each of these points could be expanded into a sermon and could be very useful in removing these justifications for sin that ungodly people use to commit their sins.
Fifthly, another point is this: A wicked heart will take the risk of sinning because it hears that God is merciful and not as strict as some say. This shows that your flaw is not the flaw of God's children. Where do we ever find that a gracious heart would reason like this: "There is mercy with the Lord, so let me sin"? Oh no, the reasoning of a gracious heart is, "There is mercy with you, O Lord, so that you may be feared, and therefore you shall be feared" (Ps. 130:4). Not, "There is mercy with you, and therefore you shall be dishonored." If you have such reasoning in your heart, that you risk sinning because God is merciful, know that the Lord speaks to your soul today, saying that your flaw is not the flaw of God's children.
Sixthly, and further, not only because God is merciful, but because God has already shown mercy. Indeed, I hear there is a great deal of danger in sin, but I have lived all this time, and nothing has happened. Oh! For people to sin based on reasoning about God's patience! Because the Lord has been patient and allowed them to continue all this time: Oh, this is wicked boldness in your heart. You do not know with whom you are dealing. You have escaped all this time, but a sinner a hundred years old shall be cursed (Isa. 65:20). Your mark is not the mark of God's child if you dare to continue in your sin just because you have escaped for so long.
Seventhly, and even further, there's another reason that's worse than all these: some people will risk sinning because Jesus Christ died for sinners and because there's a way to be forgiven for sin. Oh, this is a most desperate way of turning the grace of God into indulgence, to dare to commit sin because Christ came to offer forgiveness for sin! Didn't Jesus Christ come into the world to destroy the works of the Devil (1 John 3:8), and do you make Jesus Christ a means to strengthen the works of the Devil? Bold and presumptuous heart! May the Lord rebuke you, for you consider the blood of Jesus Christ not only as a common thing but as a polluted, unclean thing. Surely your mark is not the mark of God's children.
Eighthly, another reason is this: A temptation comes to sin, and they decide to go ahead with it. Why? They hope they can repent afterwards. They think, "Even if I sin, I can just repent later, and then my sin will be forgiven and not held against me." But do you have any Scripture that shows a Child of God committing sin based on such reasoning? If you do this, your sin is not like the sin of God's Children. O foolish and base heart, you are doing something now that you know you might wish you had never done. This is infinite folly, and surely God does not allow His Children to fall into such wickedness as this, to risk sinning based on such reasoning.
Ninthly, another reason might be this: They will take the risk; why? Because it might possibly be compatible with grace. You will sometimes hear many who make some kind of profession reasoning like this: They will not commit actions they believe cannot possibly be compatible with grace, but if they think it might possibly be compatible with grace, they will use that as the reason for taking the risk. O wretched and vile heart, that reasons to commit sin because it might possibly be compatible with grace! Suppose it is true that many people who commit such a sin still go to Heaven; but is it possible for someone committing sin with this reasoning to go to Heaven? There's a big difference between doing something and doing something based on such reasoning.
Tenthly, lastly (though many others might be named), for a person to risk committing a sin because they have done much good: This is not the mark of a child of God. To sin for such a reason, thinking, "I have done some good, and therefore I may risk some sin," reveals the wickedness of a person's heart. It's like saying, if someone has "kept their church," they think they have more freedom during the week; if they are devout on the Lord's Day, they believe they can take more liberties during the week. This is an argument of a base and carnal heart that does not know the ways of God. To take liberty in sin at one time because they have been devout and done good at another time is wrong. That's the next point, the different grounds.
I will mention just one more thing:
A godly person, when they commit a sin, uses that fall as a way to help themselves against that sin and many others. If the Lord allows them to fall into a particular sin, they use it as a means to cleanse themselves from many other sins, especially to be cautious against that specific sin. The stain of one sin becomes a way to cleanse many other stains. Although they do not intentionally commit sin for this purpose, it often results in this effect. For example, if a child's coat has a few small stains, you might not pay much attention to them, but if there is a large stain, it prompts you to wash the entire coat. Similarly, for someone with grace, if the Lord allows them to fall into a significant sin despite their watchfulness and care, they use it as an opportunity to cleanse and wash their soul, not only from that sin but from all other sins they recognize in themselves. They especially focus on avoiding that particular sin in the future.
So, give me an example from the entire Bible where a godly person committed the same sin twice after truly repenting. Yes, Peter denied Jesus three times, but that was a continuous event, not after Peter's heart was struck and humbled, after his conviction and repentance. Personally, I know of no example from Genesis to Revelation of any child of God falling into the same outward act of sin after God had shown them the evil and they had repented of it. I'm not talking about sins of thought, which can be repented of and fallen into again, even though the heart strives against them. But for an outward act of sin, no child of God ever fell into it again after God had revealed its evil and they had repented. Therefore, the situation must be serious when there is no example in all of Scripture to compare it to. I appeal to you, who profess religion, and fall into some act of sin: Either your conscience accuses you and you repent, or it doesn't accuse you and you don't repent. If your conscience doesn't accuse you and you don't repent, that's a sign your heart isn't troubled. Well, if your heart is troubled and you have repented, give me an example of any child of God who fell into such an act of sin again. Indeed, I will show you various examples in Scripture where children of God who were overtaken by sin became more outstanding in the grace most contrary to that sin than in any other grace.
Peter fell into cowardice when he betrayed his Master. However, later in Scripture, he is noted for his boldness, as seen in John 21:7: "Therefore the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, 'It is the Lord.' Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his fisher's coat and threw himself into the sea." Oh, the love Peter had for Christ after he had denied Him! He had denied Christ, but now he was the most eager in his love for Christ. He wouldn't wait for Christ to come to the ship; he threw himself into the sea to be with Christ immediately. He had failed in love before, and now you see how prominent he is in love above the other disciples! And the same goes for boldness. In Acts 2:14, when the Jews mocked the apostles and disciples, the text says, "Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and said to them, 'Ye men of Judea.'" None of the others spoke, but Peter was the most eager. It was because Peter had denied Christ, and therefore he wanted to be the most forward in showing love to Christ. You cannot have comfort that your flaw is like the flaw of God's children unless, if you have been overcome by a sin, you later grow in the grace that is most clearly opposed to that sin.
Another example is Nicodemus. Nicodemus began to experience some work of grace within him, but the Scripture notes him as a very timid man, and that was his particular weakness—he was afraid and would come to Christ by night. Later, when the Scripture mentions Nicodemus again, it especially highlights his boldness, which was contrary to his previous sinful fearfulness. You can see this in John 19:39: "And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus." He appeared openly now.
The third person is Joseph of Arimathea, as mentioned in verse 38. "And after this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus." At first, he was a disciple but didn't dare to show it openly. Later, he became one of the most courageous, willing to acknowledge Jesus before Pilate himself, even when Jesus was at his lowest point. That's truly a sign of grace—to acknowledge Christ when He is in His lowest condition, crucified and dead, and to do so in front of rulers! The Scripture takes special notice of those who have fallen into sin but later become more prominent in the grace that opposes that sin. It's like a bone that, once set, becomes stronger than before. This is often true for the godly; if they fall into sin, they later grow stronger against it. This is a paradox in philosophy but true in divinity: the acts of the saints' sin not only restrain them from falling again but are used by God to decrease the habits of their sin. Now, I urge you to take these things to heart. O, that the Lord would lead you to reflect deeply and say, "Lord, have mercy upon me." We are all sinners, but God distinguishes between different sins. Though all have their flaws, I fear that my flaw may not be the flaw of God's children.
The Fourth Sermon. August 23rd, 1645.
I shall speak to one or two more particulars about this, and then we will come to the last thing proposed in the opening of this point.
The behavior of the heart of a child of God toward this sin.
The sins of the saints drive them to Jesus Christ. If there is any true grace, even if it's weak, your sins will push you towards Jesus Christ, not away from Him. They will make you value Jesus Christ as the Immaculate Lamb of God who has come into the world to take away your sin (John 1:29). This will make you hold Christ in high regard and cause your heart to follow Him with all your strength. Wicked people, when they sin, turn away from God and from Christ, and the things of Christ become less appealing to them. But the saints, when they sin, are driven to seek after Christ and value Him even more.
Lastly, their very sin makes them long for Heaven: "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Rom. 7:24-25). O! he turns to Christ, and he desires to be with Christ. So the saints long for Heaven above all other reasons because they know they will never be free from the body of sin and death they carry with them until they reach Heaven. Therefore, they value the state of Heaven as a glorious state because they will never sin against God again. I now ask you, in the name of God, to consider this in your conscience today: you say you hope to go to Heaven, but what is it that you value most about Heaven? A gracious heart would say, "O Lord, though I endure some sorrows and afflictions here, yet you know that the greatest burden of all is the burden of my sin; and when I am taken out of this world, I know I will never sin again, never sin against you." O that day! When will that day come when my soul will never sin again against the God I love? You who know all things, know that this is my desire for Heaven above all other reasons. Are you able to say this in the presence of God? This would indeed be a good argument that, though there are some spots, they may be the spots of God's children. And if this is true for you, then pay attention to the next point, which is—
God deals differently with His children concerning their sin compared to how He deals with the wicked and ungodly regarding their sins. Just as your attitude towards your sin is different from that of the wicked, God's behavior towards you will also be very different from His behavior towards the wicked and ungodly. They cannot expect to escape in the same way that you might be able to escape.
First, as in the first place: If a child of God sins, they have a pardon stored up for their sin, even a pardon stored up before the sin is committed. I do not mean the pardon is actually applied, but it is stored up. To say the sin is actually pardoned before it is committed is hardly English, much less theology. Whatever it may be in God's account or what God will do, when we say the sinner is pardoned, it indicates some work of God upon the creation that is actually in existence. Just as when we say the world was created, it was not created from eternity because it is a work of God upon the creation, and therefore it has a time. So, what's a work of God in Himself? That is from eternity. But what's a work of God upon the creature? That's in time, without any change in God's nature, just as the creation of the world did not change His nature. "There is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared" (Ps. 130:4); they are stored up with God. There are pardons stored up with God, there is an atonement made for the sins of God's children, for the sins they have committed, and the sins they shall commit. I say, an atonement is made even for them, and a ransom is paid. Jesus Christ offered Himself to the Father as a ransom for all the sins of the elect; it's stored up there. So says the Apostle in 1 John 2:1-2, "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins." So that when an ungodly person sins, the sentence of death comes out against them. But the Lord says concerning His children, "Let their souls be pardoned, for I have found a ransom" (Job 33:24). You say the best have their sin; true, but one person has a ransom, a price paid for their sin, and you have none, none as far as you know. In the condition you are in, you cannot know that you have any. Here's the difference between God's dealing with His children and others: one sins, and the Lord acknowledges a propitiation immediately, a ransom, a price, a pardon that's stored up, but He does not acknowledge it for you.
Secondly, the condition of God's children when they sin is very different from that of the wicked. They not only have a price paid and a pardon stored up for them, but you might ask, what if they don't claim their pardon? I admit, if they don't claim it, they won't have the comfort of it. However, the Scripture tells us they have an Advocate with the Father. If they don't know their sin due to ignorance, how can they claim their pardon? Yet, they have an Advocate with the Father continually, and it's the work of Jesus Christ at the right hand of the Father to be an Advocate to plead for believers with the Father. Whenever they sin against the Father, Christ stands as their Advocate, pleading. He watches for any accusations against them; if the Law, the Devil, or their conscience sends an accusation, Christ stands as an Advocate to plead their case. You know what an Advocate in Law means; he stands to plead the cause of his client, and whatever comes against him, he is informed so he can plead. This is the case for the children of God; despite their sin, they have an Advocate with the Father. In 1 John 2:1, it says, "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not; ye ought not to sin, take heed of sinning; But if ye do, you have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." I admit that what I am saying may be dangerous to wicked, carnal hearts that are ready to turn the grace of God into wantonness. But by that, they may know that what I say doesn't belong to them, that their spots are not the spots of God's children. Those who hear this and become hardened or emboldened in sin, there is no need for any other argument to prove that their spots are not the spots of God's children than that. Therefore, what I say does not belong to such people. However, it does belong to many of God's children, and they must have their portion, even though those it doesn't belong to will be ready to snatch at it. That's the second point in the different way God deals with His children when they sin compared to the ungodly. You sin as others do; your sin in action may be the same. But when you have sinned, who stands before the Father to plead your cause? What does Christ have to do with you, or you with Him? Instead, your conscience, the Law, and the Devil stand pleading against you, and there is no one to answer for you.
But, thirdly, when a godly person sins, God deals with them not according to the law of justice, but according to the law of grace. We are not under the law, says the Apostle concerning believers, but under grace. When someone else sins, the law immediately applies to them. But the Apostle says in Romans 8:1, "There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1). The law cannot condemn them; they are not dealt with according to the law, but according to grace. Now, when the ungodly sin, they are dealt with according to the law. God will not do them wrong, but the law must apply to them.
Yes, not only that, but they are freed from the Law and from all the curse of the Law. The Lord has promised that he will spare them as a man spares his only son who serves him, as stated in Malachi 3:17. If you are a child of God, this is your portion: "And they shall be mine," says the Lord of Hosts, "in that day when I make up my jewels, and I will spare them as a man spares his only son who serves him." This text holds a treasury of comfort for those who are God's children, who can, by the previous notes on the difference of sin and their different behaviors towards their sin, prove they belong to God. Here's the promise: The Lord will spare them as a father spares his own son who serves him. A father will not cast out his son from his house and disinherit him for every offense he commits; neither will God deal so with his children, even though they have spots and infirmities. Hence, we find that God takes action against some for a little sin and spares another, even though he is guilty of a greater sin. God's mercy is his own; he may deal with his mercy as he pleases. He will act justly with all, but he will be merciful to whom he pleases. The Scripture shows that the Lord has taken action against some for smaller sins, and yet spared others when they have been guilty of greater sins. Consider the example of Saul compared with David: David was one of God's children and had spots, even serious ones. Saul was not one of God's children, and he had his spots, some of which were not as serious in nature as David's. Yet see the different ways God dealt with Saul and David. For Saul, you will find that God utterly rejects him, and for what? In 1 Samuel 13:13, you can see why God rejected Saul: "And Samuel said to Saul, 'You have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which he commanded you. For now, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever, but now your kingdom shall not continue.'" As if Samuel were saying, "Well, this is the reason God will cut you off and cut off your kingdom." What was it? If you examine the matter, it was nothing but this: There was an agreement between Saul and Samuel that Samuel should come to him at a certain time. Samuel did not come exactly at that time or stayed, as Saul thought, somewhat too long. Saul was in great distress; the Philistines came upon him (his enemies). Now, being in such great distress, Saul had not sought God for his presence in the battle. Saul thought, "I have waited for Samuel all this time, and he does not come. Rather than go into battle without making supplication to God and offering sacrifice, I will, for this once, venture upon it myself," as he says in verse 12. It was a burnt offering to the Lord, in his time of distress, and he forced himself to do it. He was not eager to do it; it was out of what he thought was absolute necessity. Yet this is the sin for which Saul must be cut off and rejected, and his kingdom not to continue. You might say, what was this compared to the sin of David, of murder and adultery? Those were sins of another nature. Well, what if they were? Yet David was a child of God, and Saul was not. Therefore, God will pardon one and condemn the other. And who can say to God, "What are you doing?"
And again, another sin of Saul is found in 1 Samuel 15. God commanded Saul to go against Amalek and completely destroy them. Saul did follow God's command and made a great slaughter, but he kept some of the cattle and the best ones. He claimed he kept them not for his own benefit but to offer as sacrifices to God. Now, Samuel comes to him, even though Saul thought he had done what pleased God, for he stands to justify himself in verse 20. "And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites." Now Samuel comes and convinces him that he had not done what God had sent him to do; why? Because he had spared some of the cattle. Now Saul excuses himself afterward to Samuel in verse 21. "But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal." But notice what Samuel says in verse 22. "Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice; and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord hath also rejected thee from being king." These scriptures might make anyone's heart tremble and not dare to commit sins they think are smaller. One would think that after considering these scriptures, no one would ever say, "Why, godly people commit as great sins as they do: Why, David committed as great sins as I, and so others." But what if they did? They may be pardoned for their greater sins, and you may be damned eternally for your lesser ones. God will deal as a Father with His children, to spare those that are His. And that's another aspect of the different way God deals with His people.
Fourthly, the children of God, even when they sin, have the robes of the righteousness of the Son of God to cover them, even from God himself. This doesn't mean God doesn't know about their sins, for saying that would be either naive or blasphemous. Instead, it means their sins are covered in such a way that God will never look upon them to charge them with those sins. They appear before Him as spotless because they are justified through Christ's righteousness. As it says in Psalm 32:1, "Blessed is the man whose sin is forgiven, and whose iniquity is covered" (Ps. 32:1). All their spots are covered, and the Lord sees them as beautiful and lovely in His eyes. But you, on the other hand, have nothing to cover your spots except your excuses. See the different condition of a believer compared to another person. One person sins against God, and what do they have to cover their sins? Excuses, denials, or lies, and that's all. But a believer sins against God and, by faith, applies the precious robe of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, covering themselves before God. Which do you think is the better covering? Here's the difference between a child of God and you.
Fifthly, and lastly: God's children, though they sin, are still in a covenant with God. God has brought them into an everlasting covenant with Himself that will never be broken. Even though they offend, God will not charge it against them as a breach of that great covenant of grace He has made with them in His Son. This is an everlasting covenant. God has made a covenant to unite their hearts to fear His name, promising that He will never depart from them and that He will put His fear into their hearts so they will never depart from Him, despite all their weaknesses. This covenant that God has made with them must be fulfilled and must stand.
Now, what a different condition one is in from the other. Though there may be thoughts in wicked hearts to misuse these things, I mention them so you can see the great difference between the state of one and the state of the other. By this, you may be restless in your own spirits until you come to know that you are in the state of these men who are so happy, that is, that you are among the number of God's children. I don't need to provide further notes and evidence, for simply explaining the point about the different behavior of one in respect to their sin from the other will be enough to show who is in this condition and who is not, whom God will deal with in this gracious manner regarding their sin, and whom He will not.
However, men of the world will deal more harshly with those who offend. If they can catch anyone who professes religion slipping in anything, they will be more severe against them than against others because of their profession. Well, God does not do so if there is uprightness in the heart. No, you might say, it's not because of that, but because of hiding wickedness with their profession. Well, if you are sure your hearts are right in that, that your souls love the profession, and therefore it is the great grief of your souls that anyone who professes religion should dishonor it by wicked actions, then (I say) can you present your hearts before God, showing that your hearts are grieved and troubled, and not rejoice at it, that you can find any advantage against the profession, as some do? Then I confess, if the thing is vile and foul, and such a thing that you cannot in charity see that it may stand with the truth of grace, to be a mere infirmity, but a wickedness, then you may pursue it to the very end. Those who trouble the people of God with gross and vile sins and think to cover them with the profession of religion, it's just with God that they should be troubled. But if we have time, we shall speak somewhat to that at the end of all. We come now to the application of the point, with only this caution about this matter.
Caution: Be careful not to deceive your hearts about this matter. If a man has two children, one is godly, and the other is wicked; if they can gain an advantage over the more godly one, they will be harsher to him than to the other. And if they have two servants, one godly and the other wicked, the wicked one will be treated better than the godly one if they can find even the slightest fault against them. However, no matter how you treat children or servants when you catch them in a fault, and the wicked find more favor from you, God deals differently. His children will find favor from Him. Just let them be careful not to turn their hands to wickedness or their hearts to folly because of this.
Application
In the first place, from everything that has been said about this difference, we can clearly address the foolish, worldly excuses people make for their sins. This was the main reason I chose this subject: it is what hardens people in their sin, because they think, "Everyone has their sins." Based on what has been said, one would think this excuse should never be heard again among anyone who claims to know the Scripture. It should never come out of your mouths if you understand anything of Scripture. What? Will you, a wicked and vile person, justify your wickedness by saying that even the best have their sins? You, who continue in a constant path of ungodliness, will you argue that everyone has their sins? You cannot be provoked without swearing and defying God. You, who have a heart that does not savor anything of God and have never experienced the work of the Holy Ghost on your soul, do you say that everyone has their sins? God will find out a difference in sin. Revelation 1:14 says of Christ that "his eyes were like a flame of fire" (Rev. 1:14). O! Christ has fiery eyes that will pierce through you and see a great difference between one person's sin and another's. You think it is enough to argue that the best have their faults. Let me reason with you a little about this—the best, you say, have their faults; I agree, but the worst have some good in them, materially good. Why can't this be as good a reason as yours? There are some who are saved and yet committed sin as well as you; I say there are some in Hell who have done as much good, perhaps, as you ever have. Why is not the reasoning on one side as good as the other? You tell me that you sin sometimes, and so did David and Peter. I will tell you of Saul, Ahab, and Herod. You think that David and Peter committed as great sins as you—well, Saul, Ahab, Herod, and maybe Judas have done as much good as you ever have, and yet they are in Hell. Saul, whom I spoke of before, sinned, yet it was not greater than yours; yet he did many good things, saying, "I have obeyed the Commandment of the Lord." And Ahab, when the Prophet reproved him, went and humbled himself in sackcloth for his sin. When have you ever done so for your sin? And Herod heard John the Baptist gladly and reformed many things. Surely the argument will hold just as well that those in Hell have done as much good as you have, as some in Heaven have committed as great sins as you have. O! It's not enough for you that others sin; they may be saved, and yet you may be eternally destroyed. This will not be a valid excuse to a man's conscience if it is enlightened when he is on his sickbed and deathbed. Though now you can dismiss your conscience with the thought that everyone has their sin, when you are on your sickbed and deathbed, if God enlightens your conscience, O, it will not be a sufficient answer for you when you see you are going before the great God to receive the sentence of your eternal doom. Then you will have such misgivings in your conscience: O! But what if it turns out that my sins are of a different nature from the sins of the godly? If it proves so, I am undone, I am cut off forever.
Therefore, in the second place, what you have heard from this point should teach you to be very careful in examining your sins and working to find out the nature of your sins. As we read in the Law, they were isolated when there was just a suspicion that their disease was leprosy. They were to be isolated for seven days upon mere suspicion. Oh, that God would give you a heart to isolate yourself, meaning to think deeply in your private meditations about the nature of your sin. It is common for those who are godly, the Children of God, to be afraid (upon committing any sin) that their sin is not the sin of God's Children. You will hear them say, "Lord, did any of God's Children ever do this? Is this such an evil that can belong to a Child of God? Is it possible that someone with so many blessings, such enlightenment, and such workings of the Spirit as I have, can have true grace and yet fall into such and such a sin again?" One who is a Child of God is afraid of every sin, lest it be of a nature that cannot coexist with true grace. You are ready to think that anything may coexist with true grace and the state of grace, but one who knows what sin is will be afraid of everything. Most people are so confident that they justify themselves in any way of wickedness: "We all have our infirmities," and that's the end of it, as if there were no difference between one and another. Oh, that God would cause this point to ring in your ears when your conscience tells you of your sin, that there is a great deal of difference between one and the other. The truth is, until you have found this out through examination, that you can with comfort, as in the presence of God, say that though you have infirmities and sins, yet upon examining your heart and using the rules given in His Word, you see hope that your sin is no other but the spot of God's Children. And if it is so, then the...
The third use is for comfort to all those who have many weaknesses and feel burdened by them. You have flaws, and do you notice how your soul reacts to them, as you have heard before? Take comfort in knowing that there is no reason to destroy your foundation every time you notice a failure in yourself. This would be wrong to Jesus Christ and to the covenant of grace. If you have examined yourself and found the work of grace, don't tear down your foundation with every failure, thinking, "Surely all that I have done is worthless, it's all nothing, it's all just hypocrisy." It's appropriate for you to examine yourself and be humbled by your sin; let your sin be a reason for your humility, but not for your discouragement or for destroying your foundation. Don't say, "Well, I will eventually perish by the hands of Saul; God will eventually cast me off, such a wretched creature as I am." Be careful of that. Those who are familiar with the way of the Gospel know how to be deeply humbled by their sin, yet not discouraged by it.
Furthermore, just as you shouldn't destroy the foundation, you also shouldn't be afraid to come into God's presence. Yes, you have failed, but you must come into God's presence. Just be careful not to come boldly and disrespectfully, like many who misuse God's grace and think that because of Christ, they can approach with arrogance. No, the grace of Christ doesn't stop humility; it actually encourages true, evangelical humility. So, after being humbled for your sin, you can then come with a holy boldness into God's presence. Don't think you should avoid God's presence because you have sinned and offended Him. Like a loving father, it would be a dishonor to him if, after every mistake his child made, the child would be so scared and trembling that they wouldn't dare to come into the room where he is. Do you think this would be a commendation for a father? If you ask what this child has done, it might be something minor; perhaps he stayed a little longer than his father wanted in some task, or didn't manage a task exactly as his father required. And because of this, he dared not come into his presence. Surely, we would conclude that this man didn't have the heart of a father in him. Now, if you would conclude this about men, then why would you put this dishonor on God himself, who has the heart of a father? If there is any compassion in fathers towards their children, it is not even a drop compared to the infinite ocean that is in God. Therefore, don't let every failure make you afraid to come into God's presence. Come to Him as a father, being humbled before Him, and applying the righteousness of His Son.
And then further, let the thought of this be a comfort to you (when you have sinned against God, if you are the kind of person we have been talking about) in remembering the covenant that God has made with you. Bless God for the covenant He has made with you in Christ and the difference He has made between you and others in this matter. Magnify His free grace in the covenant of grace, for it is from there that your sin will not be a deadly sin, and God will not treat you as He does the wicked. Certainly, this is not because of the nature of your sin, for it may be as serious as the sins of others, but what makes the difference is the free grace of God in Christ. Oh, blessed be God for the covenant of grace that has made the difference. I remember reading about Luther; he said that when he was a monk, even though he was conscientious, whenever he sinned against God, his conscience would trouble him so much that he thought he was utterly rejected by God, until God made him understand His covenant of grace in Christ. Then he thought he heard a voice speaking to him, "Oh Martin, do not despair, for you shall, as long as you live here in the flesh, sin against God; only do you strongly oppose your sin and resist your sin, and then know that you are not under the law, but under grace" (Rom. 6:14). It is from this that there is this difference, therefore bless God that He ever revealed this covenant of grace to your soul.
And then likewise, let this comfort you; let it be a means to set your heart even more against sin, to be careful of sin: O be careful not to abuse this grace of God. Here will be the sign of whether all this comfort belongs to you or not: If the more you hear it, the more your heart loathes sin, and you are more afraid of sin because of this, you work harder to cleanse your flesh and spirit from all its pollutions. Can you say this in the presence of God: "Lord, when I hear of these things, of that blessed grace of yours in the Gospel, what a difference you are pleased to make between one and the other; why, Lord, it breaks my heart, and it makes me more afraid of sin than anything in the world"? Then you may freely apply the comfort that is here, out of this Scripture.
And lastly, let me speak to those to whom this consolation belongs. You need to be careful to preserve this consolation, because without great care, it will be hard to keep. By this, I mean you need to ensure that you keep your conscience as clean as possible, so you can clearly discern the difference in how God deals with one person compared to another.
And therefore, be careful first of any sins against your understanding; has God ever given you the comfort to your soul, that even though you have many failings, He looks upon you differently than He does upon the wicked? I say, be careful ever after of any sin against your conscience: Be careful of repeating the same sin again and again—Be careful of staying in sin for a long time: And be careful of becoming hardened in sin: For if you ever fall into sin against your understanding, against your conscience, you will hardly be able to see any difference between your sin and the sin of the wicked: And therefore, watch yourself in this matter: Oh, let those who are godly be careful not to bring themselves, in their own perception, into as lamentable a condition as the wicked are, to have as much horror of conscience in their own feeling as the wicked and ungodly have. Oh, how great a pity it is that those between whom and the wicked, God has made such a great difference, yet through their negligence, they bring themselves into as great a horror as the wicked and ungodly are in!
And lastly, to prevent misunderstanding, let those who claim to belong to God, saying they are His children and part of the covenant of grace, and who speak much of free grace, yet live wicked and scandalous lives, know that their blemishes are the worst of all. They not only have the marks of wicked people but even bear the marks of devils. If any blemish is loathsome, cursed, and abominable, it is the blemish of a man or woman who professes the Gospel yet lives a scandalous, wicked, and ungodly life. Especially, there are some whose blemishes are so severe that the very thought of them makes one's heart tremble. These are the ones who blame their sin on God Himself. They take the liberty to sin and say they can do nothing without Him, allowing wickedness and thinking that if God gave them more grace, they would do better. Until then, they claim they cannot improve, and thus they place the blame on God. Oh, what a blemish this is, that you would cast your sin upon the infinitely pure God! It's very notable in this text: "They have corrupted themselves; their spot is not the spot of God's children" (Deut. 32:5). Do not think to blame God, as if Moses were saying, "Do not think to cast your sin upon God, for you have corrupted yourselves, and your spot is not the spot of God's children."
And then there are others who take liberty in sin; they think that all their sin is erased by the blood of Jesus Christ, and therefore they may indulge in it. Even though they dare not say that they can, this is the language of their hearts and lives. Many in these latter days have spoken much about the Covenant of free grace, yet they have turned the blood of Christ, which God appointed to cleanse us from our iniquities, into an excuse for defiling their souls with sin. Oh, what a horrible stain this is, that you would make the blood of Christ the cause of it, as far as you can! That must be an abominable defilement when you draw filthiness from the blood of Christ and from the grace of God in the Gospel. Oh, this is the most dreadful stain of all stains whatsoever! May the Lord rebuke your wicked and cursed heart that would draw wickedness from hearing the Doctrine of free grace. Is there not reason to speak these things?
For do you not see some who speak more of free grace than ever before, yet are more loose than ever before? Oh, these are indeed spots in our feasts and in our conversations and communion; they are stains on a Christian profession, such men and women as these are. For your spots do not only defile your own soul but also the name of God and the profession of Jesus Christ. You do what you can to defile the very blood of Christ and the Covenant of grace. In the Epistle of Jude, verse 4, it says, "They were long ago marked out for this condemnation: ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality" (Jude 4). There are two black marks of a reprobate: We have no absolute signs of a reprobate, but these are the two darkest. One is when God gives a man up to his heart's desire in wicked ways, and the other is to turn the grace of God into wantonness. How vile are those spots, likewise, that men now, through the knowledge they claim to have of the Covenant of grace, feel no kind of work of conscience upon them for their sin? Now their consciences do not trouble them at all for their sin; there's no sense at all upon them for that reason, and all because of grace (as they say). Well, that spot must be an irrecoverable spot if there's no sense of it at all. And if it comes to that, now you can take liberty to sin freely and have no conscience at all about this sin of yours, I say, your spot is a most dreadful spot, and it is to be feared an irrecoverable spot; all the mercy of God that serves to help ease others when they have committed their sins does but plead against you to aggravate your sin.
I will conclude everything with a text from Jeremiah 23 that shows the difference in the sins of those who are closer to God in their profession, if they are wicked and ungodly. In verses 13 and 14, the Prophet says, "I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray." In verse 14, "I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem a horrible thing." What is merely folly in the prophets of Samaria becomes a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem. The closer we are to God in our profession, the more terrible our sins are if we use religion to disguise our wickedness. If we try to cover our wickedness with a profession of religion, what is merely folly in others becomes horrible in us. Consider what has been said, and may the Lord give you understanding.
The End.
