"Watch and
pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is
willing, but the flesh is weak. Matthew 26:40-41
Let no man pretend to fear sin that does not fear temptation also! These two are too closely united to be separated. He does not truly hate the fruit who delights in the root.
"If we do not abide in prayer, we will abide in temptation. Let this be one aspect of our daily intercession:
'God, preserve my soul, and keep my heart and all its ways so that I will not be entangled.' When this is true in our lives, a passing temptation will not overcome us. We will remain free while others lie in bondage."
"Without absolutes revealed from without by God Himself, we are left rudderless in a sea of conflicting ideas about manners, justice and right and wrong, issuing from a multitude of self-opinionated thinkers."
Do you mortify? Do you make it your daily work? Be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work;
be killing sin or it will be killing you
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.
The vigor and power and comfort of our spiritual life depends on our mortification of deeds of the flesh.
A minister may fill his pews, his communion roll, the mouths of the public, but
what that minister is on his knees in secret before God Almighty, that he is and no more.
See in the meantime that your faith brings forth obedience, and God in due time will cause it to bring forth peace.
"How can we possibly believe the promises concerning Heaven, immortality, and glory, when we do not believe the promises concerning our present life? And how can we be trusted when we say we believe these promises but make no effort to experience them ourselves? It is just here that men deceive themselves. It is not that they do not want the Gospel privileges of joy, peace and assurance, but they are not prepared to repent of their evil attitudes and careless life-styles. Some have even attempted to reconcile these things and ruined their souls. But without the diligent exercise of the grace of obedience, we shall never enjoy the graces of joy, peace and assurance."
"If we would talk less and pray more about them, things would be better than they are in the world: at least, we should be better enabled to bear them."
".. reckon yourselves to
be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should
obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as
instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God
as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of
righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you,
for you are not under law but under grace." Romans 6:11-14
See also
Temptation,
Sin,
His strength
in my weakness,
Victory in Christ
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