“Living
godly in this present world and "looking for that blessed hope" are
joined together Titus 2:12-13.
The Christian can
say, "I know from the Word that the repentant, believing sinner will be
saved; my conscience shows me that I repent and believe. And although I am
unworthy, I can firmly hope that I shall be saved." And as forcefully as
the Christian agrees with God's truth and repents, so his hope will be-- strong
or weak. If his assent to the truth of the promise is weak, or his evidence of
faith and repentance is uncertain, his hope that is born of these will inherit
its parents' infirmities.
Living godly in
this present world and "looking for that blessed hope" are joined
together Titus 2:12-13.
Thus a soul void
of godliness must be destitute of all true hope, and the godly person who is
careless in his holy walk will soon find his hope faltering.
All sin brings
trembling fears and shakings of heart to the person who tampers with it. But
sins which are deliberately committed are to the Christian's hope as poison is
to his body, which eventually drinks it up. Sins produce a lifeless Christian
and make thoughts of God dreadful to him: "I remembered God, and was
troubled. Psalm 77:3. They make the man afraid to look on the God of judgment.
After all, does the servant want his master to come home and find him drunk?
What Calvin's
friends tried to persuade him to give up his night studies, he asked if they
wanted his Lord to come and find him idle. God forbid that death should find
you lying in the puddle of some sin unconfessed and unrepented of! Can your
hope then carry you to eternity with joy? Can a bird fly with a broken wing?
Faith and a good conscience are the two wings of hope. If you have wounded your
conscience by sin, renew your repentance so that you may act in faith for the
forgiveness of it and redeem your hope.”
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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