Why do so-called Christians forsake the pure wine of Gospel joy for the adulterated poison, which the whore of the world smilingly holds out to them in her golden chalice? Is it because the message of the Gospel, which once sparkled in the preached Word and furnished comfort to mourners, has now grown stale? Or has that stream of spiritual joy which has run through the lives of saints for so many generations, without mingling with the world's polluted pleasures, at last fallen into them and lost its divine nature? No, the Gospel stays the same; and the joy it brings is as refreshing and restoring as it has always been. It will be lovely as long as God and Christ continue to be life, for it flows and is fed from their heart.
The problem is not in Scripture; it lies in those who say they hold to it. Those who insist they obey this Gospel are not like holy men and women of earlier times. The world has grown callous and men's priorities and affections have chilled and become cold. Our palate in no longer chaste; it no longer prefers the heavenly foods served in the Gospel. The cheer is as lively as ever but the guests are deadened by constant contact with the world. We have grown debauched in our judgments and corrupt in our principles; no wonder that our joys are carnal.
Error is a whore that lures the heart away from Christ and His spiritual joys. Once the mind is confused by error and begins to malign the truth, it affects the heart, poisoning it with carnal affections. And carnal affections only keep company with gross and carnal joys. Here, then, is the root of the misery of our times.
Satan has played his game cunningly among us in that he has often changed his instruments into angels of light and made gullible souls think they might find more grace and power in this artificial light than in the revelation God provides.”
Quoted material from, ”The Christian in Complete Armour Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare” by Gurnall and James S Bell. http://www.moodypublishers.com/pub_productDetail.aspx?id=41823&pid=53617
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