Spoiled Good

"Evil is nothing more than good spoiled."
--C.S. Lewis

Plague of Plagues

From the Plague of Plagues: the sinfulness of sin, by Ralph Venning,

Sin has made men worship either (1) a false God, which is idolatry; or (2) God falsely, which is superstition...

(1) Idolatry is man's folly. To worship no God, or that which is not a God, but an idol, is folly...

(2) Superstition is man's folly, also, as to religion. This is the younger brother to idolatry; it is of the same womb with idolatry. Superstition is not worshipping a false God, but worshipping the true God falsely, in a way not commanded by God. It teaches and practises for doctrines the devices and commandments of men; that is to say, it worships, not according to the will of God, but to the will of man. This is called the sacrifice of fools (Ecclesiastes 5.1). They mind the matter more than the manner, and are taken up with the work done, though it is not well done. They mind the outside more than the inside, yes, and worship God more because they fear him, than because they love him.

A Killer Diet, or Gluttony: a serious and ugly sin

I've been trying to pick through Richard Baxter's Christian Directory--just a little bite at a time, lest you think that I am making a big boast of intelligence! At the rate I'm going I will finish sometime in the heavenly millennium.

I skipped forward to his section on gluttony and found it to be an excellent treatment of the subject matter. He renders the nature and causes of the sin, and then expounds the greatness of the sin (in other words, we often think it a very small thing, something to even laugh about, but Baxter sobers us up by telling us how heinous it really is). This is a small excerpt that will help you to think about it differently:

Gluttony is self-murder; though it kill not suddenly, it killeth surely; like the dropsy, which killeth as it filleth, by degrees. Very many of the wisest physicians do believe that of those who overlive their childhood, there is scarce one of twenty, yea, or of a hundred that dieth, but gluttony or excess in eating or drinking is a principal cause of their death, though not the most immediate cause. It is though to kill a hundred to one of all that die at age. And it will not let them die easily and quickly, but tormenteth them first with manifold diseases while they live.

The Hard Way

Charles Bridges, in his (highly recommended and heart warming) commentary on the book of Proverbs, makes the following comment on Proverbs 13:15 "The way of transgressors is hard."

[The transgressors] dream of a flowery path; but they make to themselves a hard way; perhaps pleasing them at first, as the spell to fasten them to the end. 'Wicked men live under a hard taskmaster' (Caryl). 'I was held before conversion not with an iron chain, but with the obstinacy of my own will" (Augustine). The philosophical infidel bears the same testimony--'I began to fancy myself in a most deplorable condition, environed with the deepest darkness on every side." Voltaire, judging of course from his own heart, pronounce--"In man is more wretchedness than in all other animals put together. Man loves life, yet knows he must die." "I wish"--concludes the wretched witness for his Master--"I had never been born." The worldly infidel adds his seal to the record. Col. Gardiner declared, that in his course of wickedness, he had often envied the existence of a dog. Wretch indeed must he be, who cannot endure to commune with himself, and to whose peace it is necessary that he should rid himself of every thought of God and his soul!

Bridges continues,

In every shape and form, the service of this merciless tyrant is a hard way. Men fight their way to hell, as they do to heaven--"through much tribulation."

The Most Feared Pope

"The pope I fear the most is not the one in Rome. It is the one in me."
--Martin Luther

A Big Problem: Gluttony

"Whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do it all for the glory of God."

Screwtape, in a future Sunday evening study, will talk about how churches don't deal with "minor sins" such as gluttony. Here's a great audio if you want to tackle the subject. It was great to see the topic dissected in such a way. It helped me see the diverse sides of the issue. And it will indeed help the mortification process.

But we need to remember, gluttony is not a topic that is all that acute. Gluttony is a big problem in our culture. What's all the more problematic is that we laugh it off as minor.

The audio begins with an interesting study. He says that it was observed that fundamentalist baptists (FB) are some of the most obese of Christians in America. In a sense there is a great amount of hypocrisy in this. FB rail against the drunkard for his indulgence in drink, but they turn a blind eye to the gluttonous spirit. Come into a saloon and you are on the verge of apostasy. Step up to the all-you-can-eat-buffet for the 5th time and you are on your way to becoming a saint.

But my baptist brothers are not alone. In our opulent culture, gluttony's tendons reach far and wide (pardon the pun). Neither do I want to deride my baptist brothers. I know many who are much more righteous than I. And, I must confess, this Presbyterian struggles with a glutenous spirit (that's why I listened to the audio in the first place). I simply cannot pass a tray of sweets without paying homage to this god. So do note that, through this audio lesson, I have renewed my vow to beat my body into subjection today.

One of the choice morsels (sorry, I couldn't help myself--ha!) that Mr. Swanson points out in the audio is that we look to our idols for salvation. In the case of gluttony, food is our idol. When we have a bad day, we look to it for salvation (we often say people are "emotional eaters"). When we want comfort, instead of going to God, we eat.

Happily I can say that this isn't my problem. I'm not an emotional eater (I just eat constantly). But it was an interesting thought I thought I would pass on to you. Do listen to the audio though. If anything, you will fatten your spirit.

The Urgent Necessity of Mortifying Sin

"If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off an throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell."

Matthew 5:30

I heard today that the imagery here draws from the medical world, that of amputation. The speaker mentioned that a surgeon amputates a limb or appendage because its affliction has the potential to weaken other members. In the severing you lose a vital part of the body, but you save others in the process.

This imagery then poses for us the urgent necessity of mortifying our sin. In putting sin away, we keep ourselves from falling into further sin. Once a sin is committed, we are more apt to repeat that sin and so become more hardened in it. But that sin also serves as a doorway to other sins.

Sin is never content to be alone. Its nature is to multiply and add to its aggravation--just like an wound that is not adequately attended too. Sin is a gangrene that loves to gain victory over healthy, righteous behavior.

In substance abuse education they talk about "gateway drugs." I'm not thoroughly versed in the subject, but it goes something like this: alcohol abuse oftentimes leads to narcotics, narcotics open the door to marijuana, marijuana can become the gateway to heroin.

This progression is not limited to the area of substance abuse. The same can be true of anger (as the context of Matthew 5:30 implies). Harboring anger in the heart leads to mouthing angry words. If the issue is not put to death, then one moves in the direction of homicide.

One must remember that behind every scandalous sin there are typically a multitude of "lesser" sins. Each of these sins we often call "minor" or "insignificant." But a garden can be overrun with thorns and thistles with the sowing of just one weed.

Just as a single dandelion can destroy your yard by summer's end, a single (do I dare say) "insignificant" sin can wreak havoc if it is not plucked out. How many souls would have averted that adulterous relationship had they not allowed themselves to be idle months ago. How easily that church could have avoided falling headlong into apostasy if they had committed themselves to fervent prayer at its beginning.

Because sin's nature is to multiply and foster grosser sins it demands the most immediate attention. Like that vile weed, sin must be plucked out. Like that diseased limb, sin must be lopped off--urgently and finally.

Let us then tend to our souls condition. Look to the Word of God that you might gain the knowledge of sin. Look to your soul that you might detect its presence. Then do not be hesitant, but impale the heinous thought, word or act with the nails of the cross.