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The Ramifications of the Fall by A. W. Pink

January 7, 2010 by ADMIN

I. The Condition of the Heart

A Hardened Heart

The heart is the center of our moral being, out of which flow the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23; cf. Matthew 12:35). The nature of the heart is at once indicated by its being designated a stony heart” (Ezekiel 11:19). The heart of the regenerate is also likened to “rock” (Jeremiah 23:29), and to “adamant stone” (Zechariah 7:12), which is harder than flint. Those far from righteousness are called “stouthearted” (Isaiah 46:12); and in Isaiah 48:4 God says, “Thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass.” This hardness is often ascribed to the neck (“stiff-necked”); a figure of man’s obstinacy taken from refractory oxen which will not accept the yoke.

An Absence of Spiritual Sensibility

This hardness evidences itself by a complete absence of spiritual sensibility, so that the heart is unmoved by God’s goodness, has no awe of His authority and majesty, no fear of His anger and vengeance. A presentation of the joys of heaven or the horrors of hell makes no impression on it. As the prophet of old lamented, they “put far away the evil day” (Amos 6:3), dismissing it from their thoughts as an unwelcome subject. They have no sense of guilt, no consciousness of having offended their Maker, no alarming realization of His impending wrath, but are at ease in their sins. Far from sin being a burden to them, it is their element and delight.

Untouched by Spiritual Warnings

Hardness of heart is the perverseness and obstinacy of fallen man’s nature, which makes him resolve to continue in sin no matter what be the consequences thereof. It renders him unwilling to be rebuked for his folly, and makes him refuse to be reclaimed from it, whatever methods are used in order thereunto. The Prophet Ezekiel mentioned this hardness of heart in his day, referring to those who had been forewarned by earlier judgments, and were at that very time under the most solemn rebuke of Providence. God had to say of them, “They will not hearken unto Me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted” (Ezekiel 3:7). The most touching entreaties and winsome reasoning will not move the unregenerate to accept what is absolutely necessary for their present peace and final joy. “They are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely” (Psalm 58:4,5; cf. Acts 7:57).

The hearts of the regenerate are docile and pliable, easily bent to God’s will, but the hearts of the wicked are wedded to their lusts and impervious to all appeal. There is such unyielding disposition against heavenly things that they do not respond to the most alarming threatenings and thunderings. They will neither be convinced by the most cogent arguments nor won by the most tempting inducements. They are so addicted to self-pleasing that they cannot be persuaded to take Christ’s yoke on them. Zechariah 7:11,12 states: “But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent.” They are less susceptible to receive any impressions of holiness than granite is to be engraved by the tool of the artificer. They scorn control and refuse to be admonished. They are “a stubborn and rebellious generation” (Psalm 78:8), being subject to neither the law nor the gospel. The doctrines of repentance, self-denial, and walking with God can find no entrance into their hearts.

II. Disordered Affections

The Scope of Affections

Writers disagree as to the scope of the affections. It is a moot point both theologically and psychologically whether the desires are included in the affections. In the broadest meaning, the affections may be said to be the sensitive faculty of the soul. As the understanding discerns and judges things, so the affections allure and dispose the soul to or against the objects contemplated. By the affections the soul becomes pleased or displeased with what is known by the bodily senses or contemplated by the mind, and thus it is moved to approve or reject. As distinguished from both the understanding and the affections, the will executes the final decision of the mind or the strongest desire of the affections, carrying it into action. Since the affections pertain to the sensitive side of the soul, we are more conscious of their stirrings than we are of the actions of our minds or wills. We shall employ the term in its widest latitude, including the desires, for what the appetites are to the body, the affections are to the soul.

Man’s Desires Changed

Thomas Goodwin likened the desire nature to the stomach. It is an empty void, fitted to receive from without, longing for a satisfying object. Its universal language is, “Who will show us any good?” (Psalm 4:6). Now God Himself is man’s chief good, the only One who can afford him real, lasting and full satisfaction. At the beginning He created him in His own likeness, that as the needle touched by the lodestone ever moves northward, so the soul touched with the divine image should turn the understanding, affections and will to Himself. He also placed the soul in a material body and in this world, fitting each for the other, providing everything necessary for and suited to each part of man’s complex being. The desire nature carries the soul’s impressions to the creature, originally intended as a means of enjoying God in and by them. The wonders of God’s handiwork were meant to be admired, but chiefly as displaying His wisdom. Food was to be eaten and enjoyed, but in order to deepen gratitude for the goodness of the Giver and to supply strength to serve Him. But when man apostatized, his understanding, affections and will were divorced from God, and the exercise of them became directed only by self-love.

[Our fallen parents] sought their happiness not in communion with their Maker, but in fellowship with the creature. Like their children ever since, they loved and served the creature more than the Creator. The result was disastrous: they became separated from the Holy One. That was at once evidenced by their attempt to hide from Him. Had their delight been in God as their chief good, the desire for concealment could not have possessed them. As it was with Adam and Eve, so it has been with all their descendants. Many a proverb expresses that general truth. “The stream cannot rise higher than the fountain.” “Men do not gather grapes of thorns, nor figs of thistles.” “Like begets like.” The parent stock of the human may must send forth scions [offspring] of its own nature. The hearts and lives of all the unregenerate say to the Almighty, “Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of Thy ways” (Job 21:14).

Ignoring the One Who Satisfies

The natural center of unfallen man’s soul for both its rest and delight was the One who gave him being. Therefore David said, “Return unto thy rest, O my soul” (Psalm 116:7). But sin has caused men to “draw back” from Him, “departing from the living God” (Hebrews 10:38; 3:12). God was not only to be the delightful portion of the one whom He had made in His image, but also the ultimate end of all man’s motives and actions as he aimed to glorify and please Him in all things. But man forsook “the fountain of living waters” (Jeremiah 2:13), the infinite and perpetual spring of comfort and joy. And now the inclinations and lusts of man’s nature are wholly removed from God, anything and everything being more agreeable to him than He who is the sum of all excellence. Man makes the things of time and sense his chief good and the pleasing of himself his supreme end. That is why his affections are termed “ungodly lusts” (Jude 18)—they turn man away from God. Man has no relish for His holiness, no desire for fellowship with Him, no wish to retain Him in his thoughts.

Seeking Satisfaction in Broken Cisterns

But what has just been pointed out (the aversion of our affections from God) is only the negative phase. The positive is the conversion of the affections to other things. Thus God charged Israel, “My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water” nor give them any satisfaction (Jeremiah 2:13). All the concern of the natural man is how to live at ease; not how to honor and enjoy God. He observes “lying vanities” and forsakes his own mercy (Jonah 2:8). All his expectations are disappointments, empty vanities. Man is deceived by a vain prospect, and the outcome is vexation of Spirit, because of frustration. As the love of God shed abroad in the hearts of the redeemed does not seek its own good (1 Corinthians 13:5), so self-love does nothing but that: ‘They all look to their own way, every one for his gain” (Isaiah 56:11).

Not only are the desires of the unregenerate turned away from God to the creature, they are greedy and excessive. Thus we read of “inordinate affections” (Colossians 3:5), which indicate both excess and irregularity, a spirit of gluttony and unmitigated craving for things contrary to God, a “lust after evil things”(1 Corinthians 10:6). We see here two sins: intemperance and “pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:12). The body is esteemed above the soul, for all the efforts of the natural man are directed to making provision to fulfill the lusts of the flesh; his immortal spirit is little thought of and still less cared for. When things go well for him, he says, “Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry” (Luke 12:19). His thoughts do not rise to a higher and future life, He is more concerned with the clothing and adorning of the outward man than with the cultivation of a meek and quiet spirit, which is of great value in the sight of God (1 Peter 3:4). Earth is preferred before heaven, things of time before eternity. Though death and the grave may put an end to all he has here much sooner than he imagines, yet his heart is so set on his possessions that he will not be diverted from them.

The Affections, rather than Reason Now Rules

Thus it is that the affections, which at the beginning were the servants of reason, now occupy the throne. That which is the glory of human nature—elevating it above the beasts of the field—is turned here and there by the rude rabble of our passions. God placed in man an instinct for happiness, so that he could find it in Himself; but now that instinct gropes in the dust and snatches at every vanity. The counsels and contrivances of the mind are engaged in the accomplishment of man’s carnal desires. Not only have his affections no relish for spiritual things, but they are strongly prejudiced against them, for they run counter to the gratifying of his corrupt nature. His desires are set on more wealth, more worldly honor and power, more fleshly merriment; and because the gospel contains no promise of such things, it is despised. Because it inculcates holiness, mortifying of the flesh, separation from the world, resisting the devil, the gospel is most unwelcome to him. To turn the affections away from those material and temporal things that they have made their chief good, and to turn them to unseen spiritual and eternal things, alienates the carnal mind against the gospel. It offers nothing attractive to the natural man in place of those idols on which his heart centers. To renounce his own righteousness and be dependent on that of another is equally distasteful to his pride.

The affections are alienated from and opposed to not only the holy requirements of the gospel, but also its mystery. That mystery is what the Scriptures term the hidden wisdom of God, which the natural man not only fails to admire and adore, but regards with contempt. He looks on all of its declarations as empty and unintelligible notions. This prejudice has prevailed among the wise and learned of this world in all ages. The wisdom of God seems foolishness to all that are puffed up by pride in their own intelligence, and what seems foolishness to them is despised and scorned. That which is related to faith rather than reason is unpalatable. Not to trust in their own understanding but in the Lord is most difficult for those of towering intellect. To set aside their own ideas, forsake their thoughts (Isaiah 55:7) and become as “little children,” and to be told they shall never enter the kingdom of heaven unless they do all this, is most abhorrent to them. Part of man’s depravity consists in his readiness to embrace anti-God prejudices and to tenaciously adhere to them, with total lack of power to extricate himself from them.

Man Now Regulated by His Senses

The disordered state of the affections is seen in the fact that the actions of the natural man are regulated far more by his senses than by his reason. His conduct consists principally in responding to the clamoring of his desires rather than to the dictates of reason. The tendencies of children swiftly turn to any corrupting diversion, but are slow to respond to any improving exercise. They can scarcely be restrained from the one; they have to be compelled to do the other. That the affections are turned away from God is made clear every time His will crosses our desires. This disease appears too in the objects on which the different affections are placed. Instead of love being set on God, it is centered on the world and on idols. Instead of hatred being directed against sin, it is opposed to holiness. Instead of joy finding its delight in spiritual things, it wastes itself on things that soon pall. Instead of fear being actuated by the displeasure of the Lord, it dreads more the frowns of our fellowmen. If there is grief, it is for the thwarting of our pleasures and hopes, rather than over our waywardness. If there is pity, it is exercised on self rather than on the sufferings of others.

Sin is found in the Affections of the Heart

The very first stirring of our lusts is itself evil. The passions or lusts are those natural and unrestrained motives of the creature for the advancement of its nature, inclining to those things which promote its good, and avoiding those that are harmful. They are to the soul what wings are to the bird and sails to the ship. Desire, always in pursuit of satisfaction, must be regulated by right reason. But reason has been dethroned and man’s passions and inclinations are lawless; therefore their earliest stirrings after forbidden objects are essentially evil. This was, as Matthew 5 shows, denied by the rabbis, who restricted sin to open and outward transgression. But our Lord declared that unwarrantable anger against another was incipient murder, that to look on a woman with lust was a breach of the seventh commandment, that impure thoughts and wanton imaginations were nothing less than adultery. Hence Scripture speaks of “deceitful lusts” (Ephesians 4:22), “foolish and hurtful lusts” (1 Tim 6:9), “worldly lusts” (Titus 2:12), “fleshly lusts, which war against the soul” (1 Pet 2:11), “ungodly lusts” (Jude 18).

The Sinfulness of Such Desires

In Romans 7:7, the term is actually rendered sin: “I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, ‘Thou shalt not covet.’” Here, then, sin and lust are used interchangeably: any inward nonconformity to the law is sinful. Paul was made aware of that fact when the commandment was applied to him in power—as the sun shining on refuse draws forth its stench. Men may deny that the very desire for forbidden objects is culpable, but Scripture affirms that even imaginations are the evil buds of wickedness, for they are contrary to that rectitude of heart that the law requires. Note how that terrible list of things which Christ enumerated as issuing from the heart of fallen man is headed with “evil thoughts” (Matthew 15:19).

Affections As the “First Stirrings” of Sinful Nature

“For when we were in the flesh [i.e., while Christians were in their unregenerate state], the motions of sins [literally, the affections of sin, or the beginnings of our passions] which were [aggravated] by the law, did work in our members [the faculties of the soul as well as of the body] to bring forth fruit unto death” (Romans 7:5). Those “affections of sin” are the filthy streams that issue from the polluted fountain of our hearts. They are the first stirrings of our fallen nature, which precede the overt acts of transgression. They are the unlawful movements of our desire prior to the studied and deliberate thoughts of the mind after sin. “But sin [indwelling corruption], taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence” or “evil lustings” (Romans 7:8). Note that word “wrought in me”—there was a polluted disposition or evil propensity at work, distinct from the deeds that it produced. Indwelling sin is a powerful principle, constantly exercising a bad influence, stimulating unholy affections, stirring to avarice, enmity, malice and countless other evils.

Temptation Allures our Fallen Nature

The poplar idea that now pervades is that nothing is sin except an open and outward transgression. Such a concept falls far short of the searching and humbling teaching of Holy Writ. It affirms that the source of all temptation lies within fallen man himself. The depravity of his own heart induces him to listen to the devil or be influenced by the profligacy of others. If this were not so, no external solicitations to wrongdoing would have any force, for there would be nothing within man for them to excite, nothing to which those solicitations correspond or over which they could exert any power. An evil example would be rejected with abhorrence if we were pure within. There must be an unsatisfied lust to which temptation from without appeals. Where there is no desire for food, a well-spread table does not allure. If there is no love of acquisition, gold cannot attract the heart. In every instance, the force of temptation lies in some propensity of our fallen nature.

James 1:14-15 traces the origin of all our sinning: “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished bringeth forth death.” Those words show that sin encroaches on the spirit by degrees; they describe the several stages before it is consummated in the outward act. They reveal that the procreating cause of all sin lies in the lusts of every man’s soul; he has within himself both the food and fuel for it.

Our Lusts (Desires) Are the Root of Our Sin

Goodwin noted: “You can never come to see how deeply and how abominably corrupt creatures you are, until God opens your eyes to see your lusts.” The old man is “corrupt according to the deceitful lusts” (Ephesians 4:22). Lust is both the womb and the root of all wickedness on earth. The apostle to God’s people spoke of “having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). “The corruption,” that wasting destroying blight which is on all mankind “which is in the world,” is like poison in the cup, like dry rot in wood, like an epidemic in the air-inherent, ineradicable. It taints every part of man’s being, physical, mental and moral; it affects all his relations of life, whether in the family, society or the state.

Our Lusts Draw Us Away into Sin

“Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust.” When men are tempted they usually try to place the onus on God, the devil, or their fellowmen; actually the blame rests entirely on them. First, their affections are removed from what is good and they are incited to wrongful conduct by their corrupt indignations, attracted to the bait which Satan or the world dangles before them. “Lust” here signifies a yearning for, or longing to obtain something. And it is so strong that it draws the soul after a forbidden object. The Greek word for “drawn away” means forcibly impelled. The impetuous violence of the desire that covets some sensual or worldly thing demands gratification. This is nothing but a hankering after what God has not granted, rising from discontent with our present condition or position. Even though that longing is a fleeting and involuntary one, perhaps against our best judgment, nevertheless it is sinful and, when allowed, produces yet deeper guilt. “It bringeth forth sin” by a decree of the will. What was previously contemplated is now actually perpetuated. “And sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death”: We pay its wages and reap what was planted, damnation being the ultimate outcome. This is the progress of sin within us, and these are its degrees of enormity.

III. Corrupted Conscience

Even the Conscience Was Affected

If there is one faculty of man’s soul that might be thought to have retained the original image of God on it, it is surely the conscience. Such a view has indeed been widely held. Not a few of the most renowned philosophers and monilists have contended that conscience is nothing less than the divine voice itself speaking in the innermost part of our being. Without minimizing the great importance and value of this internal monitor, either in its office or in its operations, it must be emphatically decreed that such theorists err that even this faculty has not escaped from the common ruin of our entire beings. This is evident from the plain teaching of God’s Word. Scripture speaks of a “weak conscience” (I Corinthians 8:12), of men “having their conscience seared with a hot iron” (I Tim 4:2). It says that their “conscience is defiled” (Titus 1:15), that they have “an evil conscience” (Hebrews. 10:22). Let us examine the point more closely.

The Conscience is Hindered

Conscience is only able to work according to the light it has; and since the natural man cannot discern spiritual things (1 Corinthians. 2:14), it is useless in respect to them. How feeble is its light! It is more like the glimmer of a candle than the rays of the sun—merely sufficient to make the darkness visible. Owing to the darkened condition of the understanding, the conscience is fearfully ignorant. When it does discover that which is adverse, it indicates it feebly and ineffectually. Instead of directing the senses, it mostly confuses. How true this is in the case of the uncivilized. Conscience gives them a sense of guilt and then puts them to practicing the most abominable and often inhuman rites. It has induced them to invent and propagate the most impious misrepresentations of Deity. As a salve to their conscience, they often make the very objects of their worship the precedents and patrons of their favorite vices. The fact is that conscience is so sadly defective that it is unable to perform its duty until God enlightens, awakens, and renews it.

The Conscience is Defective

Its operations are equally faulty. Not only is conscience defective in vision but its voice is very weak. How strongly it ought to upbraid us for our shocking ingratitude to our great Benefactor! How loudly it should remonstrate against the stupid neglect of our spiritual interests and eternal welfare. Yet it does neither the one nor the other. Though it offers some checks on outward and gross sins, it makes no resistance to the subtler secret workings of indwelling corruption. If it prompts to the performance of duty, it ignores the most important and spiritual part of that duty. It may be uneasy if we fail to spend the usual amount of time each day in private prayer, but it is little concerned about our reverence, humility, faith and fervor in prayer. Those in Malachi’s day were guilty of offering God defective sacrifices, yet the conscience never troubled them about it (Malachi 1:7-8). Conscience may be scrupulous in carrying out the precepts of men or our personal inclinations, yet utterly neglect those things which the Lord has commanded; like the Pharisees who would not eat food while their hands remained ceremonially unwashed, yet disregarded what God had commanded (Mark 7:6-9).

The Conscience is Partial

Conscience is woefully partial disregarding favorite sins and excusing those that most besiege us. All such attempts to excuse our faults are founded on ignorance of God, of ourselves, of our duty. Otherwise conscience would bring in the verdict of guilty. Conscience often joins with our lusts to encourage a wicked deed. Saul’s conscience told him not to offer sacrifice till Samuel came, yet to please the people and prevent them from deserting him he did so. And when that servant of God reproved him, the king tried to justify his offense by saying that the Philistines were gathered together against Israel, and that he dared not attack them before calling on God: “I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering” (1 Samuel 13:8-12). Conscience will strain to find some consideration with which to appease itself and approve of the evil act. Even when rebuking certain sins, it will find motives and discover inducements to them. Thus, when Herod was about to commit the dastardly murder of John the Baptist, which was against his convictions, his conscience came to his aid and urged him forward by impressing on him that he must not violate the oath which he had taken before others (Mark 6:26).

Conscience often ignores great sins while condoning lesser ones, as Saul was hard upon the Israelites for a breach of the ceremonial law (1 Samuel 14:33) but made no scruple of killing eighty-five of the Lord’s priests. Conscience will even devise arguments that favor the most outrageous acts. Thus it is not only like a corrupt lawyer pleading an evil cause, but also like a corrupt judge justifying the wicked. Those who clamored for the crucifixion of Christ did so under the pretext of its being orderly and necessary: “We have a law and by our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God” (John 19:7). Little wonder that the Lord says of men that they “call evil good, and good evil … put darkness for light and light for darkness” (Isaiah 5:20). Conscience never moves the natural man to perform duties out of gratitude and thankfulness to God. It never convicts him of the heavy guilt of Adam’s offense that is lying upon his soul, nor of lack of faith in Christ. It allows sinners to sleep in peace in their awful unbelief. But theirs is not a sound and solid peace, for there is no ground for it; rather it is the false security of ignorance. Says God of them, “They consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness” (Hosea 7:2).

The Conscience is not Effectual

The accusations of conscience are ineffectual, for they produce no good fruit, yielding neither meekness, humility nor genuine repentance, but rather a dread of God as a harsh Judge or hatred of Him as an inexorable enemy. Not only are its accusations ineffectual, but often they are quite erroneous. Because of the darkness upon the understanding, the moral perception of the natural man greatly errs. As Thomas Boston said of the corrupt conscience, “So it is often found like a mad and furious horse, which violently runs down himself, his rider, and all that come in his way.” A fearful example of that appears in our Lord’s prediction in John 16:2 which received repeated fulfillment in the Acts: “They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.” In like manner, Saul of Tarsus after his conversion acknowledged: “I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth” (Acts 26:9). The unrenewed conscience is a most unreliable guide.

Even when the conscience of the unregenerate is awakened by the immediate hand of God and is struck with deep and painful conviction of sin, far from its moving the soul to seek the mercy of God through the Mediator, it fills him with futility and dismay. Formerly this man may have gone to great pains to stifle the accusations of his inward judge, but now he cannot. Instead, conscience rages and roars, putting the whole man in dreadful consternation, as he is terrified by a sense of the wrath of a holy God and the fiery indignation which shall devour His adversaries. This fills him with such horror and despair that instead of turning to the Lord he tries to flee from Him. Thus it was in the case of Judas who, when he was made to realize the awful gravity of his vile deed, went out and hanged himself. That the guilt of sin within the natural man causes him to turn from rather than to Christ was demonstrated by the Pharisees in John 8:9. They, “being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one.

IV. Disabled Will

The Will is a “servant” to the mind and affections

The will is not the lord but the servant of the other faculties executing the strongest conviction of the mind or the most imperious command of our lusts, for there can be but one dominating influence in the will at one and the same time. Originally the excellence of man’s will consisted in following the guidance of right reason and submitting to the influence of proper authority. But in Eden man’s will rejected the former and rebelled against the latter, and in consequence of the fall his will has ever since been under the control of an understanding which prefers darkness to light and of affections which crave evil rather than good. Thus the fleeting pleasures of sense and the puny interests of time excite our wishes, while the lasting delights of godliness and the riches of immortality receive little or no attention. The will of the natural man is biased by his corruption, for his inclinations gravitate in the opposite direction from his duty; therefore he is in complete bondage to sin, impelled by his lusts. The unregenerate are not merely unwilling to seek after holiness; they inveterately hate it.

The Will is in Rebellion against God

Since the will turned traitor to God and entered the service of Satan, it has been completely paralyzed toward good. Said the Savior, “No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him” (John 6:44). And why is it that man cannot come to Christ by his own natural powers? Not only because has he no inclination to do so, but the Savior repels him; His yoke is unwelcome, His scepter repulsive. If such is the case, then how can man be said to act voluntarily? Because he freely chooses the evil, and that because “the soul of the wicked desireth evil” (Proverbs 21:10), always carrying out that desire except when prevented by divine restraint. The will of man is uniformly rebellious against God. When Providence thwarts his desires, instead of bowing in humble resignation, he frets with disquietude and acts like a wild bull in a net. Only the Son can make him “free” (John 8:36). For “where His Spirit is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17).

Here, then, are the ramifications of human depravity. The fall has blinded man’s mind, hardened his heart, disordered his affections, corrupted his conscience, disabled his will, so that there is “no soundness” in him (Isaiah 1:6), “no good thing” in him (Romans 7: 18).

Taken from A. W. Pink, The Doctrine of Human Depravity.

Copyright Jim Ehrhard, 1999. You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author; (2) any modifications are clearly marked; (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction; and (4) you do not make more than 100 copies without permission. If you would like to post this material to your web site or make any use other than as defined above, please contact Teaching Resources International

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Dead—In Sins and Trespasses by Jim Ehrhard

January 7, 2010 by ADMIN

“And you He made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as were the others.”

Ephesians 2:1-3

No other chapter in the Bible describes our salvation as completely as does Ephesians 2. In this chapter, Paul reminds us what we have been saved from (vv. 1-3), how we have been saved (vv. 4-9), and why we have been saved (vv. 10-22). It is important to remember that Paul is not speaking here to non-believers but to Christians. His words serve as a constant reminder to all believers that salvation is completely a work of God. There is nothing in us that would make us choose Him. Indeed, Paul emphasizes that we are unable to make such a choice.

It is essential that we understand this doctrine of total depravity. To lessen our sinfulness is to lessen God’s glory in providing salvation. To suggest that we have an ability to choose God is to make man a partner with God in justification—something the Scriptures do not permit.

This doctrine is all essential to understanding salvation. Our understanding of it not only affects our view of salvation, but also every aspect of the Christian life. D. Martin Lloyd-Jones once stated the same: “I am convinced that our failure to properly understand all God has done in salvation greatly affects our lives as believers in every way.”

How so? Consider three examples. First, our understanding of our sinfulness affects our service for the Lord. Those who recognize the greatness of the debt from which God has released them stand continually ready to do whatever He desires. Those who see their sin as less are often tempted to question why God does not do more for them since they have served Him so much or so long. Consider, for example, the comparison that Jesus makes between Simon the Pharisee and the sinful woman in Luke 7:36-50. Jesus makes it clear to Simon that the woman loves Him more because she was forgiven more (vs. 47). Those who recognize the depths of their sin have a deeper love for the Lord than those who do not recognize how much Jesus has forgiven them.

In the passage at hand, Paul provides for us a three-fold description of the sinner. We might summarize and analyze his description with three words—we were dead, disobedient, and doomed. Let’s look at each.

Dead

In verse 1, Paul provides his description of our condition spiritually. This description differs radically from the way most evangelicals today describe man. Rather than speaking of man as sick or dying, Paul bluntly asserts that man in sin is “dead.” It is essential that we understand man’s condition properly—a wrong diagnosis of the problem only results in inadequate cures. The common diagnosis today of man as sick or dying fails acknowledge the seriousness, indeed the hopelessness, of man’ condition apart from a sovereign work of God. To minimize the seriousness of our situation is to minimize the glory of God in salvation.

Consider for a moment the common description of salvation—Man is sick even unto death. There is only one medicine that will cure the man if he would but take it. The medicine is in the bottle; it will cure him forever. But…all depends on the man. Will he take the medicine and live or will he fail to take it and die? Such is the man-centered approach to evangelism. A better illustration is that the man has died. The disease has taken his life-breath away. All hope is lost. Then, into the room of the dead man, walks Jesus. With one touch, the man is restored to life! Here the focus is on what Jesus has done, not on what man has done.

Likewise, consider another commonly used illustration—a man is drowning in the ocean. He is going down for the “third time.” At just that moment, a boat arrives and a life preserver is tossed to the drowning man. He can be saved…if only he would reach out and take hold of the preserver. Again, notice who is ultimately responsible for salvation—it is the man who makes the decision that determines his salvation. Instead, consider a more biblical illustration—the body of a man is washed up onto the shore. People rush to his side, but quickly they realize that he is dead. A few futile attempts are made to revive him, but all are in vain—he is dead; nothing more can be done for him. Then a man named Jesus comes walking down the beach. He walks over to the man, takes his hand, and says, “Arise.” To the amazement of all around, the man rises. Again, the focus is on Jesus and what He has done.

But why have I taken so long to describe these pictures? Because these two illustrations sound so right, but they do not provide a biblical picture of man’s predicament. People without Christ are not just lost and in need of someone to show them the right direction, confused and in need of understand, or unhappy and in need of cheering. If so, then education and persuasion would be sufficient. But if man is truly dead in sins and trespasses, then only a work of God can bring him back to life. This is why salvation must be of God alone—man can do nothing to earn his salvation, not even to “assist” God or even cooperate with Him. Dead men cannot do anything for themselves! Only once we understand how seriously desperate man’s condition is will we recognize how much salvation is a work of God alone.

But what does it mean for man to be dead? When we speak of man as dead spiritually, we are referring to his inability to respond to spiritual things. Just as a physically dead man does not respond to physical stimuli, so a spiritually dead man does not respond to spiritual stimuli. This is why the things of God do not move the natural man—he is spiritually dead. He does not need instruction, persuasion, or even a good example to follow. He needs life which God alone can give.

Finally, we must recognize that although all are dead spiritually, all are “not in the same state of decay.” Some are outwardly more sinful than others. In short, some corpses stink more than others, but they are all dead. Thus it is with man. He is not sick or drowning and in need of help. He is dead in sins and trespasses and in need of life. That is why the apostle reminds us, “But God…even while we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ” (Eph. 2:4-5). He has raised us. He has given us life. He has saved us. To God alone be the glory for the salvation He has given us!

Disobedient

While the word “dead” describes man’s condition, the word “disobedience” describes the evidences and effects of that condition. Three words in particular describe that condition.

First, Paul uses the word “trespasses” in verses one and five. This word indicates the illegal crossing of a boundary. It also contains the idea of going down a forbidden path or even the wrong road. Thus, Proverbs 14:12 reminds us: “There is a way that seems right to man, but the end thereof is death.” One evidence of man’s spiritual death is that he travels down the wrong road—he chooses the broad way that leads unto destruction rather than the narrow way that leads unto life. Not only this, but he continually crosses the boundary line of God’s law.

Second, the apostle also speaks of “sins” as evidence of man’s spiritual death. The word “sins” indicates a “missing the mark.” What is that mark? Romans 3:23 tells us, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” God’s glory, his perfections, and His holiness are that mark. Most men do not consider themselves sinners because they change the “mark” and lower the crossbar to the standards of men rather than measuring themselves by the standards of God. Compared to other men, they consider their moral lifestyle to be quite good. But compared to the measure of God’s holiness, they completely miss the mark. They fall far short of God’s righteous standard.

Third, in verse 3, Paul speaks of conducting ourselves according to the “lusts and desires” of the flesh. Another evidence of man’s spiritual death is that his God-given desires are out of control rather than under the control of God. There is nothing sinful about desires for food, sleep, or even sexual relations—provided the under the control of our Creator and within the bounds of His law. For example, a desire for food is not sinful, but gluttony is. Neither is the desire for sleep—but sloth and laziness are. Thus we see that our desires are out of control and are according to the desires of the flesh rather than according to what pleases God.

Additionally, these two words remind us that sin is not merely the outward act, but also the inward “lusting.” Thus, Jesus reminds us in Matthew 5 that lustful and murderous thoughts are judged as sinful just as are the actual deeds. The Evidence of our sinfulness is not only in our actions but also in the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Many who do not consider themselves as “sinners” because they live basically moral lives have failed to consider that God’s definition of sin extends to the heart attitude. The evidence of our spiritual deadness is found, not only in what we do, but also in our lusts and desires that are clearly contrary to the will of God.

Doomed

“Dead in trespasses and sins” shows us what our condition is. Our “disobedience” provides the evidence that we are indeed dead spiritually. The word “doomed” indicates our destiny apart from the work of God in salvation. Paul calls us “by nature, children of wrath.” By this, he emphasizes the hopeless condition into which each of us is born. Unless God in His mercy intervenes, we are all doomed to an eternal hell.

Most today want to avoid the idea of God’s wrath. Yet the Bible is replete with references to the wrath of God. In the Old Testament, God’s wrath is mentioned over 600 times. It continues to be a dominant theme in the New Testament. Through Christ, we are “saved from the wrath to come.” In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked that “this cup” would pass from Him. The cup that He referred to was the cup of God’s wrath spoken of in the Old Testament. Jesus knew that, on the cross, He would drink that cup that was rightly deserved by all mankind.

We must be especially careful here. Today many attempt to place the focus on God’s love and ignore God’s wrath. But whenever we “waterdown” the reality of the wrath of God, we “waterdown” the love of God. God’s love is greatly magnified when we see the greatness of the wrath from which He has saved us. Salvation is deliverance from that wrath. Jesus, on the cross, satisfied the wrath of God and drank the cup completely for us. But apart from that deliverance, we remain in spiritual death, living according to the disobedient desires of our flesh, doomed under the wrath of God which will one day be poured out upon us.

What God Did

“But God….” Verse 4 begins Paul’s emphasis on a God-centered, rather than a man-centered salvation. What God did made the difference, not what man does! He made us alive; He raised us up; He caused us to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And He did so, not because of anything in us, but because of His “great love wherein He loved us,” because He is “rich in mercy,” because He wanted to show “the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness in Christ Jesus” for all ages. Salvation is a work of God alone who alone deserves to be praised.

To have an adequate view of salvation, we must understand our condition—we must realize the hopelessness and impossibility of our doing anything to save ourselves. We were dead—He made us alive!

Yet this does not rule out any call for repentance. The same apostle who wrote Ephesians told the Athenians that God “commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). We must do the same. But we must remember that, when people respond to Christ, they cannot claim any credit for their new life—dead men cannot bring themselves back to life…. But God can!

Jesus’ healing of the man with the withered hand forms an interesting parallel to salvation. Jesus says to him, “Stretch forth thine hand.” But he can’t—but he must—and, as he does, his hand is made whole. Such is the mystery of salvation and evangelism—we must call dead men to repent. They can’t—they must—and, as they do, they are made whole. Perhaps the best illustration is Lazarus dead in the tomb. Jesus calls, “Lazarus, come forth.” He can’t—he must—he does. Could Lazarus claim any credit for coming forth? Would he tell listeners years later that he heard Jesus and his choice to get up and walk out made the difference? Never—throughout all eternity, he would proclaim, “He did it all, all to Him I owe, Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.”

Copyright Jim Ehrhard, 1999. You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author; (2) any modifications are clearly marked; (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction; and (4) you do not make more than 100 copies without permission. If you would like to post this material to your web site or make any use other than as defined above, please contact Teaching Resources International

Posted in Jim Ehrhard |

From Our Hearts by Jim & Debbie Ehrhard

January 7, 2010 by ADMIN

In the last issue of Teaching Resources, we dealt with the theme of sin in the lives of non-believers. In this current issue, we have included articles on the issue of the indwelling sin in the lives of believers. There is little question that believers have an on-going battle with the reality of sin in their lives. Understanding what the Scriptures teach about this reality provides three helps.

First, it becomes an encouragement to those who think their experience is unique. They assume that they alone struggle with sin. This struggle may even cause some to question their salvation. Instead, believers need to be encouraged that such a struggle is evidence that they are believers. The unregenerate man does not struggle with sin—only the regenerate is grieved by its lingering presence.

Second, the Scriptures provide instructions for Christians which will result in an increasing victory over the power of indwelling sin. Such admonitions as “mortify the sinful desires” and “set your affections on things above” are “means” by God in the process of our sanctification.

Finally, proper teaching on this subject avoids using grace as an excuse for sin and avoids moving back into a righteousness established through our own works. Correct teaching places emphasis on God’s grace as the means for overcoming the power of indwelling sin.

Each of the articles selected for this issue is intended for these purposes. Spurgeon’s article on “The Doctrines of Grace Do Not Lead to Sin” does battle with arguments that teaching grace gives license to sin. His second article explains how believers are free from the dominion of sin. The articles by Owen and Baxter show how sin deceives us and give suggestions as to set a guard over our minds. Thomas Watson reminds us how God is able to turn even our sinfulness in to good and A. W. Pink shows how God’s Word is profitable in our battle with sin.

Also included is an edited letter from John Newton that provides sound pastoral encouragements. Finally, the issue closes with a warning from the pen of Thomas Watson on the dangers of only being pretenders.

We hope these articles are an encouragement to you in the Lord. Please continue to keep us in your prayers over the summer months. Much of Jim’s time will be spend setting up our web site and writing and preparing for fall classes. May you continue to grow in Him and in holiness before Him.

By His Grace, Jim & Debbie

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A Reproof to Such as Are Only Pretenders by Thomas Watson

January 7, 2010 by ADMIN

Here is a sharp rebuke to such as are “glittering dross” Christians, who only make a show of godliness, like Michal, who put “an image in the bed,” and so deceived Saul’s messengers (1 Sam. 19:16). These our Savior calls “whited sepulchres” (Matt. 23:27)—their beauty is all paint! In ancient times, a third part of the inhabitants of this island [England] were called Picts, which signifies “painted.” It is to be feared that they still retain their old name. How many are painted only with the vermilion of a profession, whose seeming luster dazzles the eyes of beholders, but within there is nothing but putrefaction! Hypocrites are like the swan, which has white feathers, but a black skin; or like the lily, which has a fair color, but a bad scent. “Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead” (Rev. 3:1). These the apostle Jude compares to “clouds without water” (Jude 12). They claim to be full of the Spirit, but they are empty clouds; their goodness is but a religious cheat.

Question: But why do persons content themselves with a show of godliness?

Answer: This helps to keep up their fame: “honor me now before the people” (1 Sam. 15:30). Men are ambitious of credit, and wish to gain repute in the world, therefore they will dress themselves in the garb and mode of religion, so that others may write them down for saints. But alas, what is one the better for having others commend him, and his conscience condemn him? What good will it do a man when he is in hell that others think he has gone to heaven? Oh, beware of this! Counterfeit piety is double iniquity.

1. To have only a show of godliness is a God-enraging sin.

The man who is a pretender to saintship, but whose heart tells him he has nothing but the name, carries Christ in his Bible but not in his heart. Some politic design spurs him on in the ways of God; he makes religion a lackey to his carnal interest. What is this but to abuse God to his face, and to serve the devil in Christ’s livery? Hypocrisy makes the fury rise up in God’s face; therefore he calls such persons “the generation of his wrath” (Isa. 10:6). God will send them to hell to do penance for their hypocrisy.

2. To make only a show of godliness is self-delusion.

Ajax in his frenzy took sheep for men, but it is a worse mistake to take a show of grace for grace. This is to cheat yourself: “deceiving your own souls” (James 1:22). He who has counterfeit gold instead of true, wrongs himself most. The hypocrite deceives others while he lives, but deceives himself when he dies.

3. To have only a name, and make a show of godliness, is odious to God and man.

The hypocrite is born under a sad planet; he is abhorred by all. Wicked men hate him because he makes a show, and God hates him because he only makes a show. The wicked hate him because he has so much as a mask of godliness, and God hates him because he has no more. “Thou hast almost persuaded me to be a Christian” (Acts 26:28). The wicked hate the hypocrite because he is almost a Christian, and God hates him because he is only almost one.

  1. To be only comets and make a show of piety is a vain thing Hypocrites lose all they have done.

Their dissembling tears drop beside God’s bottle; their prayers and fasts prove abortive. “When ye fasted and mourned, did ye at all fast “into me, even to me?” (Zech. 7:5). As God will not recompense a slothful servant, neither will he recompense a treacherous one. All the hypocrites’ reward is in this life:

“They have their reward” (Matt. 6:5). A poor reward, the empty breath of men. The hypocrite may make his receipt and write, “Received in full payment.” Augustus Caesar had great triumphs granted him, but the senate would not allow him to be consul, or sit in the senate house. Hypocrites may have the praise of men, but though these triumphs are granted them, they shall never have the privilege of sitting in the senate house of heaven. What acceptance can he look for from God, whose heart tells him he is no better than a mountebank in divinity?

5. To have only a pretence of godliness will yield no comfort at death.

Will painted gold enrich a man? Will painted wine refresh him who is thirsty? Will the paint of godliness stand you in any stead? How were the foolish virgins better for their “blazing lamps,” when they had no oil? What is the lamp of profession without the oil of grace? He who has only a painted holiness shall have a painted happiness.

6. You who have nothing but a specious pretext and mask of piety expose yourself to Satan’s scorn.

You shall be brought forth at the last day, as was Samson, to make the devil sport (7udges 16:25). He will say, “What has become of your vows, tears, confessions? Has all your religion come to this? Did you so often defy the devil, and have you now come to dwell with me? Could you meet with no weapon to kill you, but what was made of gospel metal? Could you not suck poison anywhere but out of ordinances? Could you find no way to hell, but by seeming godly?” What a vexation this will be, to have the devil thus reproach a man! It is sad to be crowed over in this life. Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, when she saw she was reserved by the enemy for a triumph, put asps to her breasts, and died, so that she might avoid the infamy. What, then, will it be to have the devil triumph over a man at the last day!

Let us therefore take heed of this kind of pageantry or devout stage play. That which may make us fear our hearts the more is when we see tall cedars in the church worm-eaten with hypocrisy. Balaam, a prophet, Jehu, a king, Judas, an apostate—all of them stand to this day on record as hypocrites.

Question: When is a man under the dominion and power of hypocrisy?

Answer: There are two signs of its predominance:

  1. A squint eye, when one serves God for sinister ends.
  2. A good eye, when there is some sin dear to a man, which he cannot part with. These two are as clear signs of a hypocrite as any I know.

Oh, let us take David’s candle and lantern, and search for this leaven, and burn it before the Lord.

Christian, if you mourn for hypocrisy, yet find this sin so potent that you cannot get the mastery of it, go to Christ. Beg of him that he would exercise his kingly office in your soul, that he would subdue this sin, and put it under the yoke. Beg of Christ to exercise his spiritual surgery upon you. Desire him to lance your heart and cut out the rotten flesh, and that he would apply the medicine of his blood to heal you of your hypocrisy. Say that prayer of David often: “Let my heart be sound in thy statutes” (Psa. 119:80). “Lord, let me be anything rather than a hypocrite.” [Having] two hearts will exclude from one heaven.

From The Godly Man’s Picture. All formatting and updated language by Jim Ehrhard.

The current formatting and editing is copyrighted by Jim Ehrhard, 1999. You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author; (2) any modifications are clearly marked; (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction; and (4) you do not make more than 100 copies without permission. If you would like to post this material to your web site or make any use other than as defined above, please contact Teaching Resources International

Posted in Thomas Watson |

Encouragements in Dealing with Indwelling Sin by John Newton

January 7, 2010 by ADMIN

Confidence in our pilot

Temptations may be compared to the wind, which, when it has ceased raging from one point, after a short calm, frequently renews its violence from another quarter. The Lord silenced Satan’s former assaults against you, but he is permitted to try you again in another way. Be of good courage, Madam: wait upon the Lord, and the present storm shall likewise subside in good time. You have an infallible Pilot, and are embarked in a boat against which the winds and waves cannot prevail. You may be tossed about, and think yourself in apparent jeopardy, but sink you shall not, except the promises and faithfulness of God can fail.

Our own strength is insufficient

Adam was thus furnished at the beginning with strength to stand; yet, mutability being essential to a creature, he quickly fell and lost all. We, who are by nature sinners, are not left to so hazardous an experiment. He has Himself engaged to keep us, and treasured up all fulness of grace for our support, in a Head who cannot fail. Our gracious Savior will communicate all needful supplies to His members, yet in such a manner that they shall feel their need and weakness, and have nothing to boast of from first to last, but His wisdom, compassion, and care. We are in no worse circumstances than the apostle Paul, who, though eminent and exemplary in the Christian life, found, and freely confessed, that he had no sufficiency in himself to think a good thought. Nor did he wish it otherwise; he even gloried in his infirmities, that the power of Christ might rest upon him.

Unbelief, and a thousand evils, are still in our hearts: though their reign and dominion is at an end, they are not slain or eradicated; their effects will be felt more or less sensibly, as the Lord is pleased more or less to afford or abate His gracious influence. When they are kept down, we are no better in ourselves, for they are not kept down by us. But we are very prone to think better of ourselves at such a time, and therefore He is pleased to permit us at seasons to feel a difference that we may never forget how weak and how vile we are. We cannot absolutely conquer these evils, but it becomes us to be humbled for them; and we are to fight, and strive, and pray against them. Our great duty is to be at His footstool, and to cry to Him who has promised to perform all things for us.

Warfare implies a struggle

Why are we called soldiers, but because we are called to a warfare? And how could we fight, if there were no enemies to resist? The Lord’s soldiers are not merely for show, to make an empty parade in a uniform, and to brandish their arms when none but friends and spectators are around them. No, we must stand upon the field of battle. We must face the fiery darts; we must wrestle (which is the closest and most arduous kind of fighting) with our foes. Nor can we well expect wholly to escape wounds: but the leaves of the tree of life are provided for their healing. The Captain of our salvation is at hand, and leads us on with an assurance, which might make even a coward bold—that in the end we shall be more than conquerors through Him who has loved us.

Christians do struggle with sin

I am ready to think that some of the sentiments in your letters are not properly yours, such as you yourself have derived from the Scriptures, but rather borrowed from authors or preachers, whose judgments your humility has led you to prefer to your own. At least I am sure the Scripture does not authorize the conclusion that distresses you, that, if you were a child of God, you should not feel such changes and oppositions. Were I to define a Christian, or rather to describe him at large, I know no text I would choose sooner as a ground for the subject than Galatians 5:17.

A Christian has noble aims, which distinguish him from the bulk of mankind. His leading principles, motives, and desires are all supernatural and divine. Could he do as he would, there is not a spirit before the throne should excel him in holiness, love, and obedience. He would tread in the very footsteps of his Savior, fill up every moment in His service, and employ every breath in His praise. This he would do, but alas—he cannot. Against this desire of the spirit, there is a contrary desire and working of a corrupt nature, which meets him at every turn. He has a beautiful copy set before him. He is enamoured with it, and though he does not expect to equal it, he writes carefully after it, and longs to attain to the nearest possible imitation. But indwelling sin and Satan continually jog his hand and spoil his strokes.

A Christian’s view of self

You cannot, Madam, form a right judgment of yourself, except you make due allowance for those things which are not peculiar to yourself, but common to all who have spiritual perception and are indeed the inseparable appendages of this mortal state. If it were not so, why should the most spiritual and gracious people be so ready to confess themselves vile and worthless?

One eminent branch of our holiness is a sense of shame and humiliation for those evils which are only known to ourselves, and to Him who searches our hearts, joined with an acquiescence in Jesus who is appointed of God-wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. I will venture to assure you, that though you will possess a more stable peace, in proportion as the Lord enables you to live more simply upon the blood, righteousness, and grace of the Mediator, you will never grow into a better opinion of yourself than you have at present. The nearer you are brought to Him, the quicker sense you will have of your continual need of Him, and thereby your admiration of His power, love, and compassion will increase likewise from year to year.

Our struggles are often affected by our temperaments

I would observe farther, that our spiritual exercises are not a little influenced by our constitutional temperament. As you are only an ideal correspondent, I can but conjecture about you upon this head. If your frame is delicate, and your nervous system very sensible and tender, I should probably ascribe some of your apprehensions to this cause.

It is an abstruse subject, and I will not enter into it. But according to the observations I have made, persons of this habit seem to live more upon the confines of the invisible world, if I may so speak, and to be more susceptive of impressions from it, than others. That complaint which, for want of a better name, we call lowness of spirits, may probably afford the enemy some peculiar advantages and occasions of distressing you. The mind then perceives objects as through a tinctured medium, which gives them a dark and discouraging appearance; and I believe Satan has more influence and address than we are aware of in managing the glass. And when this is not the case at all times, it may be so occasionally, from sickness, or other circumstances. You tell me that you have lately been ill, which, together with your present situation, and the prospect of your approaching hour, may probably have such an effect as I have hinted. You may be charging yourself with guilt for what springs from indisposition, in which you are merely passive, and which may be no more properly sinful than the headache or any of the thousand natural shocks the flesh is heir to.

The Lord is in control of all

The enemy can take no advantage but what the Lord permits him; and He will permit him none but what He designs to overrule for your greater advantage in the end. He delights in your prosperity; and you should not be in heaviness for an hour, were there not a need-be for it. Notwithstanding your fears, I have a good hope, that He who you say has helped you in six troubles, will appear for you in the seventh; that you will not die, but live and declare the works of the Lord, and come forth to testify to His praise, that He has turned your mourning into joy.

I am, &c.,

John Newton, June 1777

Edited from a letter by John Newton to a lady struggling with the power of indwelling sin in her life.

The current formatting and editing is copyrighted by Jim Ehrhard, 1999. You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author; (2) any modifications are clearly marked; (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction; and (4) you do not make more than 100 copies without permission. If you would like to post this material to your web site or make any use other than as defined above, please contact Teaching Resources International

Posted in John Newton |

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