Not For The Faint of Heart

Let no man think to kill sin with few, easy, or gentle strokes. He who hath once smitten a serpent, if he follow not on his blow until it be slain, may repent that ever he began the quarrel. And so he who undertakes to deal with sin, and pursues it not constantly to the death. 

John Owen (1616 –1683)

The great theologian hits the nail on the head when it comes to dealing with sin in a believers life. We cannot play footloose and fancy free with whatever sin still tries to have sway over us. It is a fight against the old man , a war that one must take serious , deadly serious. 

Jesus said that if your eye causes you to sin , pluck it out . If your hand , cut it off . The point Christ was driving home is sin must be taken serious. It needs to rooted out and dealt with . That is why everyday we need to be in prayer , practicing confession, repentance and trusting in God to give us strength in the battle. 

Fixing our eyes on the cross and understanding the heinous nature of our sin , should compel us to hate it , to despise it because it was the cause of the cross. We must ask God to help us see sin for what it is , a full shake of the fist in God's face. 

As a believer unconfessed sin robs us of our joy and peace in God. When David tried to conceal his sin , he was miserable . But once he was confronted, confessed and repented , God restored his joy and peace(read Psalm 51). 

If we don't take this battle serious , it will have its way with us. But as Owen says,if your going to take it on , be prepared for the old sinful nature ,the world and Satan are real enemies but greater is He that is in me than all three.Let Christ be your conqueror and be a warrior for God.


Verse Of The Day  :    May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. 
(Romans 15:13 ESV)