RESISTING THE DEVIL

Arthur W. Pink

“Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)

This brings before us an aspect of the Truth concerning which many Christians are largely ignorant. Oftentimes they are unaware that it is “the Devil” who is attacking them and needs to be resisted. Many suppose that Satan’s assaults are confined unto tempting us to sin. Not so; in many cases his object is to oppose and hinder us in the doing of that which is good. Frequently he makes use of human beings to annoy and harass us.

For example, he will send a caller to the door, or someone to ring on the telephone, when we are engaged in prayer. He will move worldly relatives to visit us on the Sabbath-day and thus prevent our spending the time quietly with the Lord. Or, he will shape our “circumstances” to hinder our spiritual good, multiplying our duties and tasks so that we have not leisure or are too weary for study. Few of God’s children appear to know that it is their privilege and right to be victorious over Satan’s attacks. The Lord has not left His people here at the mercy of their great Enemy, helpless to overcome him. No, He has told us in His Word how we may defeat him.

To begin at the beginning: “Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.” This is a Divine command, it is a duty which the Lord has laid upon us. Our first responsibility concerning it is to give it our best attention, to fix it in our minds, to ponder its terms, to desire and determine to obey. Probably some will say, I wish that I could, but I know not how. Then our second responsibility concerning it is to acknowledge this, asking God to enlighten, begging Him to teach us how to obey it. Tell Him you want to do as He has bidden, and for Him to grant instruction and enablement thereunto.

Yet necessary and important as this is, it is not enough. Prayer was never designed by God to relieve us of our responsibilities and encourage laziness. It is not sufficient for me to pray that God will grant us a fruitful garden this summer—though I should pray about this, as about “everything”: Philippians 4:6. No, I must dig and plant, water and weed it. So it is here: the answer to my prayer for enlightenment for heeding the exhortation of James 4:7 must come to me through the Scriptures. Hence, my third responsibility is to search the Scriptures, asking the Holy Spirit to graciously guide me into the Truth. This means that I must come to the Bible with a definite object, aiming to discover just what it teaches about the Christian’s “resisting the Devil” so that he “flees” from him.

Let us begin our “search” of God’s Word on this important practical subject by looking closely at the immediate context of the command found in our text. First, we note that it is found in the second half of the verse: “Submit yourselves therefore to God; resist the Devil.” Ah, how can I expect to do the second until I have done the first? To “submit” myself unto God means that my own wisdom, will and wishes must be entirely set aside, and His Word and will rule me in all things. To submit to God means that I recognize His claims upon me, that I am His creature, His child, to be controlled by Him as One having absolute right to my complete subjection.

But let us look more closely at and ponder the first half of this verse: “Submit yourselves therefore to God.” This at once tells me that I need to look back to the previous verse, for the word “therefore” always points to a conclusion based upon and drawn from something going before. Turning back, then, to verse 6 I read, “But He giveth more grace. Wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” Ah, that is encouraging, that stimulates faith and hope. The One unto whom I am to “submit” myself is no harsh Tyrant, no merciless Despot, but the “God of all grace.” He has already given me saving grace, and “He giveth more grace” to the humble, and “more grace” is exactly what I need, if I am to successfully “resist the Devil.”

“Wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” God resisteth the proud, because the proud resist Him. The essence of pride is self-sufficiency: it is that spirit which disdains help from another, confident that I am fully able to manage for myself. Spiritually, pride is that awful conceit that I can get along without God. It is a fearful delusion begotten and fostered by the Devil. Contrariwise, “humility” is a being emptied of self-sufficiency: it is the heart realization that I am completely dependent upon God for everything. Humility, grace, and victory over the Devil are inseparably connected! But nothing is more offensive to Satan than humility, for he is a proud spirit, and his desire is to puff us up and get us to walk and act independently of God.

“Submit yourselves therefore to God.” The word “submit” signifies to place myself under another. There must be a subjection of the whole man to the whole law of God; a giving up of ourselves to be governed by Him; our thoughts, desires, actions regulated strictly by the rules laid down in His Word. Submission to God also denotes an unrepining acquiescence to the dispositions of His providence, an unmurmuring disposal of ourselves to His sovereign pleasure. Thus, there must be a complete surrender of myself and my life to God, to be ordered and disposed of by Him.

Now there is a double relation or connection between the two halves of James 4:7. First and most obviously, I must “submit” to God if ever I am to successfully “resist” the Devil. How can it be otherwise? I cannot prevail over the great Enemy in my own strength, and God will not give me of His “grace” while I am resisting Him! Thus, I must cease resisting God before I can hope to resist the Devil—chiefly to make me proud, self-sufficient, independent. The prayer-less soul is a proud one, for his refusal to receive strength from God is tantamount to saying that he can get along through the day without Him. It was by pride Satan fell, and he would feign have more company, and draw us into his snare. His bait is easily swallowed, for it is natural to us. Our first parents caught readily at the suggestion “Ye shall be as gods.”

But what is meant by “resist the Devil?” First, that I am not to be terrified at him. Satan has no enforcing power: he cannot prevail over me without my consent. Second, that I am not to even listen to his suggestion: “resist” actively, saying “I will not”: take that attitude, and firmly stand your ground. Third, quote Scripture to him, a pertinent and suitable one which meets his particular suggestion. Count upon the power of God’s Word, expect it to drive him away. Fourth, plead God’s promise in the text: “resist the Devil and he will flee from you.” Yes, he will “flee,” for he is not only a conquered foe, but an arrant coward as well. “Flee from you,” yet only, “for a season”; he will return and renew the fight; and so must you.

But let us now resume our searching of God’s Word to find out what it has to teach us on this subject of resisting the Devil. We have already discovered enough to encourage us, so let us continue our quest for further light and help. This means that I must turn to a concordance and look up, slowly and carefully, every verse having in it the word “Devil” or “Satan.” This calls for patience, but if it be prayerfully exercised, God will reward it. I come now to 1 Peter 5:8 and read, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour; whom resist, steadfast in the faith.” Surely this is very graphic and impressive. If you knew that a lion had escaped from a local circus, that it was a fierce and hungry one, that it was loose and roaming the streets, and your daily duties obliged you to go abroad, how cautiously and carefully would you proceed! Ah, dear friends, my supposition is neither imaginary nor overdrawn. There is one, more powerful and cruel than any animal lion, which is abroad, seeking to devour your soul and mine. How little we really believe this! How halfhearted is the heed we give to this Divine warning!

Let us glance for a moment at the context of this verse: “Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7). Here the tried and troubled children of God are invited to roll upon the Lord the whole burden of their anxiety, being assured of His compassion for them. Yes, but that privilege and assurance of His tender care must not tempt us to be careless and reckless. Here, as every where in Scripture, the promise and the command are joined together. Note what immediately follows. First, “Be sober.” In common speech “soberness” is the opposite of drunkenness. But let us bear in mind that there are many other things besides wine and whiskey which intoxicate. “Be sober” means, Be temperate in all things, put a curb on your every desire and appetite, particularly be “sober” in your use of and expectations from the world.

“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2). If the eye of faith measures earthly things in the light of God’s Word it will be seen that they are temporary, unsatisfying, worthless. The pleasures of sin are only “for a season” (Hebrews 11:25), and a brief one at that! Remember too there must be “soberness” of mind, before there will be soberness of body. O the importance of forming right estimates of earthly and heavenly things. If I truly receive into my heart the declaration of God’s Word that “all under the sun” is but “vanity and vexation of spirit,” soberness will indeed be promoted.

Second, “be vigilant,” not careless, nor rash and presumptuous. I must be watchful, alert, wideawake. Here again I must start with the inner man: I shall never be “vigilant” about external temptations till I have learned to “gird up the loins” of my mind (1 Peter 1:13), and to “rule my own spirit” (Proverbs 16:32). Let us then seek grace to be “vigilant” over our minds and bring “into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). Let us seek to be “vigilant” over our moods, watchful lest Satan should gain an advantage. If depressed, he will seek and tempt me to despondency and despair. But I must “resist” that inclination. If light and giddy, he will tempt to fleshly mirth and hilarity, which ill-becomes a follower of Christ. But remember that I must first be “sober,” if I am to be “vigilant”!

Third, “whom resist steadfast.” Resist his efforts to prejudice your heart against God, and instill into your mind evil thoughts about Him. He will try to make you doubt His love, murmur against the severity of His providences and the strictness of His commandments. Resist his enticements to draw you unto the place of temptation, remembering that God has said “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness” (Ephesians 5:11). Resist his efforts to lead you into active sinning: saying with Joseph, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God!” (Genesis 39:9).

Our resistance must be earnest and zealous. If a madman attacked and you were fighting for your very life, you would put forth every effort. So it must be here: it is your own soul he is seeking to destroy. Eve’s resistance was faint and half-hearted: she dallied with his evil solicitations. Be warned from her fall. By “earnest” I mean, Be indignant at his first suggestions—for example, to laze in bed on the Sabbath morning. Our resistance must be thorough. The approaches of Satan to the soul are gradual: he asks us to yield but a little at first. Many promise themselves they will stop after they have conceded a trifle, but when a stone at the top of the hill starts rolling down, it is hard to stop. We see this principle forcibly illustrated in the case of gamblers and drunkards. Take heed unto thyself. Our resistance must be constant and continuous: not only against his first attack, but his whole siege. The Devil is very persevering, and we must be so too.

Let these three considerations bestir unto this imperative duty of resistance. First, the Devil cannot overcome without your consent: but where there is not a powerful dissent, there is a virtual consent. Take a positive attitude against the great Enemy of souls. Second, think much of the blessedness of victory: this will more than compensate you for all the diligence and strenuous efforts you make. The pleasures of sin are only for a season, but the pleasures and gains of self-denial are eternal: read Mark 10:29, 30. Third, remember that God’s grace is promised unto the one who resists. God delivers, but we “keep ourselves” (1 John 5:18). It is via our watchfulness and prayer that God makes such resistance effectual. There is no promise that God will keep a careless and lax soul.

“Whom resist steadfast in the faith.” Probably there is a double reference here in the expression “the faith.” First, the analogy of faith, or Word of God—compare Jude 3; second, the exercise of the grace of faith. Satan is “the power of darkness” (Luke 22:53), and only the light of God can expose and expel him. Satan uses error to deceive souls, and the truth of God is needed to deliver us. We are to resist him in the faith, by believing, receiving, and acting out the Holy Scriptures. We are also to resist the Devil by the exercise of the grace of faith. Our hearts must lay hold of the precepts and promises of God. A blessed example of this has been left us by Christ: “He resisted the Devil steadfastly in the faith,” using against him naught but the Sword of the Spirit.

“Whom resist steadfast in the faith.” When we stagger through unbelief, we are powerless to stand before our great Enemy. It was through doubting God’s threat that Eve fell. But we can only successfully resist the Devil “steadfast in the faith” as there is a personal appropriation of Christ’s victory. It is written, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:11). Plead that blood before God for deliverance from Satan’s temptations. Count upon its efficacy to deliver you. Shelter beneath it when you realize that Satan is shooting his fiery darts at you.

Finally, let it be pointed out that, either we must overcome the Devil, or be overcome by him. There is no third alternative! If we are completely overcome by him, the result will be fatal. He is not merely seeking to wound us, but to “devour” (1 Peter 5:8)! And how is this to be harmonized with the eternal security of God’s people? Easily: if we be real Christians, we shall, by Divine grace, resist and overcome the Devil. But if we continue heeding his suggestions and yielding to his temptations and are thoroughly overcome by him, then no matter how much Scripture we know in our heads, or what our profession, we belong to the Devil, and are his lawful captives.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Personal Holiness

by Arthur W. Pink

"That opinion that personal holiness is unnecessary to final glorification is in direct opposition to every dictate of reason, to every declaration of Scripture.”—Augustus Toplady

By our fall in Adam we not only lost the favor of God but also the purity of our nature and therefore we need to be both reconciled to God and renewed in our inner man, for without personal holiness “ no man shall see the Lord “ (Heb. 12:14). “ As He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation (behavior); because it is written, Be ye holy for I am holy “ (1 Peter 1:15, 16), God's nature is such that unless we be sanctified there can be no intercourse between Him and us. But can persons be sinful and holy at one and the same time? Genuine Christians discover so much carnality, filth, and vileness in
themselves that they find it almost impossible to be assured they are holy. Nor is this difficulty solved, as in justification, by recognizing that though completely unholy in ourselves we are holy in Christ, for Scripture teaches that those who are sanctified by God are holy in themselves, though the evil nature has not been removed from them.

None but “ the pure in heart “ will ever “ see God “ (Matt 5:8). There must be that renovation of soul whereby our minds, affections and wills are brought into harmony with God. There must be that impartial compliance with the revealed will of God and abstinence from evil which issues from faith and love. There must be that directing of all our actions to the glory of God, by Jesus Christ, according to the Gospel. There must be a spirit of holiness working within the believer's heart so as to sanctify his outward actions if they are to be acceptable unto Him in whom “there is no darkness” True, there is perfect holiness in Christ for the believer, but there must also be a holy nature received from him. There are some who appear to delight in the imputed obedience of Christ who make little or no concern about personal holiness. They have much to say about being arrayed in “ the garments of salvation and covered with the robe of righteousness “ (Isa 61:10), who give no evidence that they “ are clothed with humility “ (1 Pet 5:5) or that they have “ put on... bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering, forebearing one another and forgiving one another” (Col 3:12).

How many there are today who suppose that if they have trusted in Christ all is sure to be well with them at the last even though they are not personally holy. Under the pretense of honoring faith, Satan, as an angel of light, has deceived and is now deceiving multitudes of souls. When their “faith” is examined and tested, what is it worth? Nothing at all so far as insuring an entrance into Heaven is concerned: it is a powerless, lifeless, fruitless thing. The faith of God's elect is unto “ the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness “ (Titus 1:1). It is a faith which purifieth the heart (Acts 15:9), and it grieves over all impurity. It is a faith which produces an unquestioning obedience (Heb 11:8). They therefore do but delude themselves who suppose they are daily drawing nearer to Heaven while they are following those courses which lead only to Hell. He who thinks to come to the enjoyment of God without being personally holy, makes Him out to be an unholy God, and puts the highest indignity upon Him. The genuiness of saving faith is only proved as it bears the blossoms of experimental godliness and the fruits of true piety.

In Christ God has set before His people that standard of moral excellence which He requires them to aim and strive after. In His life we behold a glorious representation in our own nature of the walk of obedience which He demands of us. Christ conformed Himself to us by His abasing incarnation, how reasonable therefore it is that we should conform ourselves to Him in the way of obedience and sanctification. “ Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus “ (Phil 2:5). He came as near to us as was possible for Him to do, how reasonable then is it that we should endeavor to come as near as it is possible for us to do. “ Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me “ (Matt 11:29). If “ even Christ pleased not Himself “ (Rom 15:3), how reasonable is it that we should be required to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him (Matt 16:24), for without so doing we cannot be His disciples (Luke 14:27). If we are to be conformed to Christ in glory how necessary that we first be conformed to Him in holiness: “ he that saith he abideth in Him ought himself so to walk even as He walked “ (1 John 2:6). “ Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity “ (2 Tim 2:19): let him either put on the life of Christ or drop the name of Christ.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

John MacArthur On Predestination

_______________________________________________________________________________________

The Certainty of Perseverance

by William Gurnall

From Paul’s words in Ephesians 6:13, “Having done all, to stand,” follow these distinct points:

1. He that will be Christ’s soldier must persevere.
2. There can be no perseverance without true grace in the heart.
3. Where true grace is, that soul shall persevere, or thus: true grace can never be vanquished.

The Christian is born a conqueror, the gates of hell shall not prevail against him. He that is born of God, overcometh the world (1 John 5:4). Mark from whence the victory is dated, even from his birth: there is victory sown in his new nature, even that seed of God which will keep him from being swallowed up by sin or Satan. As Christ rose, never to die more, so does He raise souls from the grave of sin, never to come under the power of spiritual death more. These holy ones of God cannot see corruption. Hence, he that believes is said in the present tense to have eternal life. As the law, that came four hundred years after, could not make void the promise to Abraham, so nothing that intervenes can hinder the accomplishment of that promise of eternal life, which was given and passed to Christ in their behalf before the foundation of the world. If a saint could any way miscarry, and fall short of this eternal life, it must be from one of these three causes: 1. Because God may forsake the Christian, and withdraw His grace or help from him; or 2. Because the believer may forsake God; or, lastly, because Satan may pluck him out of the hands of God. A fourth I know not. Now none of these can be.

1. God can never forsake a Christian. Some unadvised speeches have dropped from tempted souls, discovering some fears of God’s casting them off; but they have eaten their words with shame, as we see in Job and David. Oh what admirable security has the great God given to His children in this particular!

a. In promises. “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb 13:5). He assures us there never did or can so much as arise a repenting thought in His heart concerning the purposes of His love and special grace toward His children; (Rom 11:29) “The gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” Whom He loves, He loves to the end.

b. God, to give further weight and credit to our unbelieving and misgiving hearts, seals His promise with an oath; see Isaiah 54:8, 9, “With everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of Noah unto Me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee.” He goes on and tells them, “The mountains shall depart” (meaning at the end of the world, when the whole frame of the heavens and earth shall be dissolved), “but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed” (v 10). Now, lest any should think this was some charter belonging to the Jews alone, we find it (v 17), settled on every servant of God as his portion: “This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord , and their righteousness is of Me, saith the Lord.” And surely, God that is so careful to make His children's inheritance sure to them, will give them little thanks who busy their wits to invalidate and weaken His conveyances, yea, disprove His will; if they had taken a bribe, they could not plead Satan’s cause better.

c. In the actual fulfilling of these promises (which He has made to believers) to Christ their advocate. As God before the world began, gave a promise of eternal life to Christ for them, so now has He given actual possession of that glorious place to Christ (as their advocate) where that eternal life shall be enjoyed by them; for as He came upon our errand from heaven, so thither He returned again to take and hold possession of that inheritance which God had of old promised. And now, what ground of fear can there be in the believer’s heart concerning God’s love standing firm to him, when he sees the whole covenant performed already to Christ for him, whom God has not only called to, sanctified for, and upheld in the great work He was to finish for us, but also justified in His resurrection and jail delivery, and received Him into heaven, there to sit on the right hand of the Majesty on high, by which He has not only possession for us, but full power to give to all believers.

2. A second occasion of fear to the believer that he shall not persevere may be taken from himself. He has many sad fears and tremblings of heart, that he shall at last forsake God: the journey is long, and his grace weak. Oh, says he, is it not possible that this little grace should fail, and I fall short at last of glory? Now there is such provision made in the covenant as scatters this cloud also.

a. The Spirit of God is given on purpose to prevent this. Christ left His mother with John, but His saints with His Spirit, to instruct and keep them, that they should not lose themselves in their journey to heaven. Oh how sweet is that place, (Eze 36:27) “I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them.” He does not say they shall have His Spirit if they will walk in His statutes; no, His Spirit shall cause them to do it. But maybe you are afraid you may grieve Him, and so He in anger leave you, and you perish for want of His help. The Spirit of God is indeed sensible of unkindness, and upon a saint’s sin, may withdraw in regard of present assistance, but never in re g a rd of His care. The Spirit withdrew from Samson, and he fell into the Philistines’ hands; this makes him cry to God, and the Spirit puts forth His strength in him again. So here, the office of the Spirit is to abide for ever with the saints; (John 14:16) “He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever.”

b. It is one main business of the intercession of Christ to obtain of God perseverance for weak grace. “I have prayed,” says Christ to Peter, “that thy faith fail not.” But was not that a particular privilege granted to him, which may be denied to another? O sirs, do we think that Christ’s love looks as quint? Does He pray for one child more than another? Such fears and jealousies foolish children are ready to make up; and there f o re Christ prevents them, by bidding Peter, in the very next words, “When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren” (Luke 22:32); that is, when you feel the efficacy of My prayer for your faith, carry the good news to them, that their hearts may be strengthened also: and what strengthening had it been to them, if Christ prayed not for them as well as for Peter? Does Christ pray for us? Yea, does He not live to pray for us? Oh, how can children of so many prayers, nay, of such prayers, perish? Say not, your weak faith shall perish, till you hear that Christ has left praying, or meets with a repulse.

3. Let us see whether Satan be able to pluck the Christian away. Abundant provision is made against his assaults. The saint is wrapped up in the everlasting arms of Almighty Power; and what can a cursed devil do against God, who laid those chains on him which he cannot shake off? When he is able to pluck that dart of divine fury out of his own conscience which God has fastened there, then let him think of such an enterprise as this. How can he overcome you, that cannot tempt you but in God’s appointed time? And if God set Satan his time to assault the Christian whom He loves so dearly, surely it shall be when he shall be repulsed with greatest shame. Away then with that doctrine which says, One may be a saint today, and none tomorrow; now a Peter, anon a Judas. O how unsavory is this! It is a principle that at once crosses the main design of God in the gospel covenant, reflects sadly on the honor of Christ, and wounds the saint’s comfort to the heart . This truth calls for a word or two of caution. Though there is no fear of a saint’s falling from grace, yet there is great danger of others falling from the top of this comfortable doctrine into a careless security, and presumptuous boldness: that which is a restorative to the saint’s grace, proves an incentive to the lust of a wicked man. What Paul said of the law, we may truly of the gospel: sin, taking occasion from the grace of the gospel, and the sweet promises thereof, deceives the carnal heart, and works in him all manner of wickedness. Indeed sin seldom grows so rank anywhere, as in those who water its roots, with the gospel. Two ways this doctrine may be abused:

1. Beware of falling into a neglect of duty upon the score: “If a Christian, you cannot fall away from grace.” To neglect duty upon such a persuasion, is contrary to Christ’s practice, and counsel or command.

a. His practice—Though Christ never doubted of His Father’s love, nor questioned the happy issue of all His temptations, agonies, and sufferings; yet He prays, and prays again “more earnestly” (Luke 22:44).

b. His counsel or command—He told Peter that Satan had begged leave to have him to sift him. But withal He comforts him (who was to be put hardest to it) with this, “I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.” Surely our Savior, by this provision made for him and the rest, means to save them a labor that they need not watch and pray? No such thing; after this (v 40), He calls them up to duty, “Pray, that ye enter not into temptation.” Christ’s praying for them was to strengthen their faith, when they should themselves pray for the same mercy; it was not to nourish their sloth, that they needed not to pray. Christ’s prayers in heaven for His saints are all heard already, but the return of them is reserved to be enclosed in the answer God sends to their own prayers. A Christian cannot in faith expect to receive the mercies Christ prays for in heaven, so long as he lives in the neglect of his duty on earth.

2. Take heed of abusing this doctrine into a liberty to sin. Shall we sin because grace abounds? Grow loose because we have God fast bound in His promise? God forbid! None but a devil would teach us this logic. It was a great height of sin those wretched Jews came to, who could carouse and quaff while death looked in upon them at the windows. “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” They discovered their atheism therein. But what a prodigious stature in sin must that man be grown to, that can, under the protection of a promise, draw this encouragement to sin from the everlasting love of God! Let us eat and drink, for we are sure to be saved.

Grace cannot dwell in that heart which draws so cursed a conclusion from the promises of God’s grace: the saints have not so learned Christ. The inference Paul makes from the sweet privileges we enjoy in the covenant of grace, is not to wallow in sin; but having these promises, to cleanse ourselves from all the filthiness of flesh and spirit (2 Cor 7:1). It is the nature of faith to purify the heart. Now the more certain report faith brings of God’s love from the promise, the more it purifies the heart, because love, by which faith works, is thereby more inflamed to God; and if once this affection takes fire, the room becomes too hot for sin to stay there.
____________________________________________________________________