If you will not have death unto sin, you shall have sin unto death. There is no alternative. If you do not die to sin, you shall die for sin. If you do not slay sin, sin will slay you.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the necessity of overcoming sin to avoid spiritual death.
Charles Spurgeon's quote presents a stark dichotomy between life and death in relation to sin. It suggests that one must actively confront and overcome sin in their life; failing to do so will lead not only to spiritual decay but ultimately to despair and destruction. The imagery of dying to sin represents a transformative process where one chooses to renounce wrongdoing, while the assertion that sin will slay you highlights the perils of allowing sin to dominate one's life. Thus, the quote serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of moral vigilance and self-discipline in the pursuit of a virtuous life.
In practice
In a sermon about personal growth, one might use this quote to illustrate the necessity of overcoming sinful habits.
Amusement should be used to do us good “like a medicine”: it must never be used as the food of the man...Many have had all holy thoughts and gracious resolutions stamped out by perpetual trifling. Pleasure so called is the murderer of thought. This is the age of excessive amusement: everybody craves for it, like a babe for its rattle.
When you see no present advantage, walk by faith and not by sight. Do God the honor to trust Him when it comes to matters of loss for the sake of principle.
It is far easier to fight with sin in public than to pray against it in private.
You will never glory in God till first of all God has killed your glorying in yourself.
After faith comes repentance, or, rather, repentance is faith's twin brother and is born at the same time.
["All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant."] The original Hebrew word that has been translated "paths" means "well-worn roads' or "wheel tracks," such ruts as wagons make when they go down our green roads in wet weather and sink in up to the axles. God's ways are at times like heavy wagon tracks that cut deep into our souls, yet all of them are merciful.
I mean, honestly, we have to be clear that the life for many Afghan women is not that much different than it was a hundred years ago, 200 years ago. The country has lived with so much violence and conflict that many people, men and women, just want it to be over.
Everything must be free to be written and published without restraint.
You either have commercial pressure or ideological pressure. I prefer commercial pressure; otherwise, you can be at the mercy of one or two idiots.
I do not oppose the insane asylum - but I abhor and condemn the cutthroat system that robs man of his reason, drives him to insanity and makes the lunatic asylum an indispensable adjunct to every civilized community.
Few can believe that suffering, especially by others, is in vain. Anything that is disagreeable must surely have beneficial economic effects.
The true hypocrite is the one who ceases to perceive his deception, the one who lies with sincerity.
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