More often than not, I take my sin way too lightly, and either ignore it completely or take the Lord's sacrifice on the cross for granted. And then I flip curiously to this page I bookmarked many months ago, and I'm immediately brought to my knees.
"Bring your lust to the gospel--not for relief, but for further conviction of it's guilt; look on him whom you have pierced [Zech. 12:10; John 19:37], and be in bitterness. Say to you soul:
What have I done? What love, what mercy, what blood, what grace have I despised and trampled on! Is this the return I make to the Father to his love, to the Son for his blood, to the Holy Ghost for his grace? Do I thus require the Lord? Have I defiled the heart that Christ died to wash, that the blessed Spirit has chosen to dwell in? And can I keep myself out of the dust? What can I say to the dear Lord Jesus? How shall I hold up my head with any boldness before him? Do I account communion with him of so little value, that for this vile lust's sake I have scarce left him any room my heart? How shall I escape if I neglect so great salvation? In the meantime, what shall I say to Lord? Love, mercy, grace, goodness, peace, joy, consolation--I have despised them all, and esteemed them as a thing of naught, that I might harbor a lust in my heart. Have I obtained a view of God's fatherly countenance, that I might behold his face and provoke him to his face? Was my soul washed, that room might be made for new defilements? Shall I endeavor to disappoint the end of the death of Christ? Shall I daily grieve that Spirit whereby I am sealed to the day of redemption?"
Owen, John, Kelly M. Kapic, and Justin Taylor. Overcoming Sin & Temptation. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2006. 105. Print.
"Bring your lust to the gospel--not for relief, but for further conviction of it's guilt; look on him whom you have pierced [Zech. 12:10; John 19:37], and be in bitterness. Say to you soul:
What have I done? What love, what mercy, what blood, what grace have I despised and trampled on! Is this the return I make to the Father to his love, to the Son for his blood, to the Holy Ghost for his grace? Do I thus require the Lord? Have I defiled the heart that Christ died to wash, that the blessed Spirit has chosen to dwell in? And can I keep myself out of the dust? What can I say to the dear Lord Jesus? How shall I hold up my head with any boldness before him? Do I account communion with him of so little value, that for this vile lust's sake I have scarce left him any room my heart? How shall I escape if I neglect so great salvation? In the meantime, what shall I say to Lord? Love, mercy, grace, goodness, peace, joy, consolation--I have despised them all, and esteemed them as a thing of naught, that I might harbor a lust in my heart. Have I obtained a view of God's fatherly countenance, that I might behold his face and provoke him to his face? Was my soul washed, that room might be made for new defilements? Shall I endeavor to disappoint the end of the death of Christ? Shall I daily grieve that Spirit whereby I am sealed to the day of redemption?"
Owen, John, Kelly M. Kapic, and Justin Taylor. Overcoming Sin & Temptation. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2006. 105. Print.
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