36 : The Sinner Within
36 : The Sinner Within ->>> https://byltly.com/2tkXrw
In the foregoing verse, David says, thatthe transgression of the wicked said within his heart, \"that thereis no fear of God before his eyes;\" that is, when he sawthat the wicked went on in sin, in an allowed way of wickedness,it convinced him, that he was not afraid of those terriblejudgments, and of that wrath with which God hath threatenedsinners If he were afraid of these he could never go on sosecurely in sin, as he doth.
There are but few sinners who despair, who give up the causeand conclude with themselves, that they shall go to hell; yet thereare but few who do not go to hell. It is to be feared that men goto hell every day out of this country; yet very few of themsuffer themselves to believe, that they are in any great dangerof that punishment. They go on sinning and travelling in thedirect road to the pit; yet by one mean or other they persuadethemselves that they shall never fall into it,In my present discourse, I shall,
1. Mention some things in confirmation of the doctrine, thatsinners flatter themselves with the hope of impunity.2. Mention some of the various ways wherein sinners flatterthemselves in that hope.3. Show that sinners generally go on flattering themselves, tillpunishment actually overtakes them.I. I am to mention some things in confirmation of the doctrine,that sinners flatter themselves with the hope of future impunity.
2. It is very evident, that sinners flatter themselves thatthey shall escape punishment, by this, that otherwise they wouldbe in dreadful and continual distress. Otherwise, as long as theyare in sin, they could never live and go about so cheerfully as theynow do: Their lives would be filled with sorrow and mourning, andthey would be in continual uneasiness and distress; as much asthose that are exercised with some violent pain of body. But itis evident that it is not in fact so; it is apparent that men arecareless and secure; that they are not much concerned aboutfuture punishment, and that they cheerfully pursue their businessand recreations. Therefore they undoubtedly flatter themselves, that theyshall not be eternally miserable in hell, as they are threatenedin the word of God
Such thoughts are apt to rise in the minds of sinners, and thedevil sets in to enforce them. Such thoughts are an ease to them; thereforethey wish they were true, and that makes them the more ready to thinkthat they are indeed true. So that they are hardened in the wayof sin, by infidelity and atheistical thoughts. Psalm xiv. 1.\" The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.\"Psalm xciv. 6, 7. \"They slay the widow and the stranger, andmurder the fatherless. Yet they say, the Lord shall not see;neither shall the God of Jacob regard it,\"
Or if they should be seized with some mortal distemper, andshould draw near to the grave, before the time which they lay outin their minds for reformation, they think how earnestly theywould pray and cry to God for mercy; and as they hear God is amerciful God, who taketh no delight in the death of sinners, theyhence flatter themselves that they shall move God to have pity onthem.
There are but few who are sinners, and know themselves to besuch, who do not encourage themselves with intentions of futurerepentance and reformation; but few who do not flatter themselves,that they shall in good earnest set themselves to seek God sometime or other. Hell is full of GOOD INTENDERS who never proved tobe TRUE PERFORMERS: Acts xxiv. 25. \"Go thy way for thistime; when I have a convenient season, I will call forthee.\"
8. Some sinners flatter themselves that they are alreadyconverted. They sit down and rest in a false hope, persuading themselvesthat all their sins are pardoned; that God loves them; that theyshall go to heaven when they die; and that they need troublethemselves no more: Revelation iii. 17. \"Because thousayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need ofnothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable,and poor, and blind, and naked.\"
2. Hence we learn the reason why awakening truths ofscripture, and awakening sermons, make no more impression upon men.It is in itself a wonderful and surprising thing, that God'sdenunciations of eternal misery, and threatenings of casting sinnersinto the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone for ever andever, do not affect them, do not startle them. But the truth is,they flatter themselves, by such means as we have mentioned, thatthis dreadful misery is not for them; that they shall escape it,though multitudes of others are involved in it. They take notthese threatenings to themselves; they seem to think that they donot belong to them.
3. Let every sinner examine himself, whether he do not flatterhimself in some of those ways which have been mentioned. What isit in your own minds which makes you think it is safe for you todelay turning to God What is it that encourages you to run sucha venture as you do by delaying this necessary work Is it thatyou hope there is no such state as heaven or hell, and have asuspicion that there is no God Is It this that makes you secure Or is it that you are not much afraid but that you shall haveopportunity enough a great while hence to mind such things Is itan intention of a future seeking a more convenient season Andare you persuaded that God will hearken to you then, after youshall have so long turned a deaf ear to his commands andgracious Are you encouraged to commit sin, because you hope torepent of it Are you encouraged by the mercy of God to be his enemiesAnd do you resolve still to provoke him to anger, because youthink he is easily pacified
You are not only told in the scriptures, that sinners aregenerally thus allured to hell, but your own reason may convinceyou that it is so. For doubtless other sinners have as muchground to hope to escape punishment as you; and it is evident,that they generally do hope to escape. Men under the gospelalmost universally think they shall not go to hell: If it were otherwise,they could have no peace or comfort in the world. Yet whatmultitudes have we reason to conclude go down from under thepreaching of the gospel to the pit of destruction! Now, this issurely enough to convince any sober, prudent person of the follyof such flattery, and of the folly of every one that doth not immediatelyset about his great work with his might. If you could have accessto the damned, you would hear many of them curse themselves, forthus flattering themselves while they lived in this world; andyou would have the same doctrine preached to you by theirwailings and yellings which is now preached to you from thepulpit.
Do you expect you shall be saved, however you neglectyourselves, because you were born of godly parents hear what Christsaith, Matthew iii. 9. ''Think not to say within yourselves, wehave Abraham to our father.\" Do you flatter yourselves thatyou shall obtain mercy, though others do not, because you intendhereafter to seek it more earnestly than others Yet you deceiveyourselves, if you think that you intend better than many ofthose others, or better than many who are now in hell onceintended.
How do we get from sinner to whore in our perception of Bible women (Note: this offensive term is used only to highlight the false dichotomy applied to Bible women, not to imply that any women should bear this label).
Christian rites for reconciliation and healing are intimately related to one another in that individuals and communities are healed and made whole through divine action In ecclesial rites, this divine response is in cooperation with prayer and ritual that operate within understandings of health and salvation for the whole person, inclusive of spiritual, physical, emotional, mental, and social healing. The historical rites and rituals of the church have undergone tremendous changes throughout history, reflecting differences in what it is that was desired and prayed for, and whether the ritual work was to reincorporate a member back into the church or into health and wholeness. The various ritual processes emerged from the intersection of these theological intentions with scripture and scriptural interpretation, with cultural patterns established or emerging, with geographical availability of physical elements and climate possibilities, and with other religious systems as well as from political and population shifts linked to all of these aspects.
On the other hand most of the Latins hold that these three were one and the same. Protestant critics, however, believe there were two, if not three, distinct persons. It is impossible to demonstrate the identity of the three; but those commentators undoubtedly go too far who assert, as does Westcott (on John 11:1), \"that the identity of Mary with Mary Magdalene is a mere conjecture supported by no direct evidence, and opposed to the general tenour of the gospels.\" It is the identification of Mary of Bethany with the \"sinner\" of Luke 7:37, which is most combatted by Protestants. It almost seems as if this reluctance to identify the \"sinner\" with the sister of Martha were due to a failure to grasp the full significance of the forgiveness of sin. The harmonizing tendencies of so many modern critics, too, are responsible for much of the existing confusion.
The first fact, mentioned in the Gospel relating to the question under discussion is the anointing of Christ's feet by a woman, a \"sinner\" in the city (Luke 7:37-50). This belongs to the Galilean ministry, it precedes the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand and the third Passover. Immediately afterwards St. Luke describes a missionary circuit in Galilee and tells us of the women who ministered to Christ, among them being \"Mary who is called Magdalen, out of whom seven devils were gone forth\" (Luke 8:2); but he does not tell us that she is to be identified with the \"sinner\" of the previous chapter. In 10:38-42, he tells us of Christ's visit to Martha and Mary \"in a certain town\"; it is impossible to identify this town, but it is clear from 9:53, that Christ had definitively left Galilee, and it is quite possible that this \"town\" was Bethany. This seems confirmed by the preceding parable of the good Samaritan, which must almost certainly have been spoken on the road between Jericho and Jerusalem. But here again we note that there is no suggestion of an identification of the three persons (the \"sinner\", Mary Magdalen, and Mary of Bethany), and if we had only St. Luke to guide us we should certainly have no grounds for so identifying them. St. John, however, clearly identifies Mary of Bethany with the woman who anointed Christ's feet (12; cf. Matthew 26 and Mark 14). It is remarkable that already in 11:2, St. John has spoken of Mary as \"she that anointed the Lord's feet\", he aleipsasa; It is commonly said that he refers to the subsequent anointing which he himself describes in 12:3-8; but it may be questioned whether he would have used he aleipsasa if another woman, and she a \"sinner\" in the city, had done the same. It is conceivable that St. John, just because he is writing so long after the event and at a time when Mary was dead, wishes to point out to us that she was really the same as the \"sinner.\" In the same way St. Luke may have veiled her identity precisely because he did not wish to defame one who was yet living; he certainly does something similar in the case of St. Matthew whose identity with Levi the publican (5:7) he conceals. 59ce067264