Spurgeon: March AM
* 03/11/AM
"Sin . . . exceeding sinful."
--Romans 7:13
Beware of light thoughts of sin. At the time of conversion,
the conscience is so tender, that we are afraid of the slightest
sin. Young converts have a holy timidity, a godly fear lest they
should offend against God. But alas! very soon the fine bloom
upon these first ripe fruits is removed by the rough handling of
the surrounding world: the sensitive plant of young piety turns
into a willow in after life, too pliant, too easily yielding. It
is sadly true, that even a Christian may grow by degrees so
callous, that the sin which once startled him does not alarm him
in the least. By degrees men get familiar with sin. The ear in
which the cannon has been booming will not notice slight sounds.
At first a little sin startles us; but soon we say, "Is it not a
little one?" Then there comes another, larger, and then another,
until by degrees we begin to regard sin as but a little ill; and
then follows an unholy presumption: "We have not fallen into
open sin. True, we tripped a little, but we stood upright in the
main. We may have uttered one unholy word, but as for the most
of our conversation, it has been consistent." So we palliate
sin; we throw a cloak over it; we call it by dainty names.
Christian, beware how thou thinkest lightly of sin. Take heed
lest thou fall by little and little. Sin, a little thing? Is
it not a poison? Who knows its deadliness? Sin, a little thing?
Do not the little foxes spoil the grapes? Doth not the tiny
coral insect build a rock which wrecks a navy? Do not little
strokes fell lofty oaks? Will not continual droppings wear away
stones? Sin, a little thing? It girded the Redeemer's head with
thorns, and pierced His heart! It made Him suffer anguish,
bitterness, and woe. Could you weigh the least sin in the scales
of eternity, you would fly from it as from a serpent, and abhor
the least appearance of evil. Look upon all sin as that which
crucified the Saviour, and you will see it to be "exceeding
sinful."