If man had kept the righteousness which God originally created in him, Christ's pain would have been spared, for it was man's lost holiness He came to recover. Neither God's glory nor man's happiness could be attained until this holiness was restored. As God is glorious in the holiness of His own nature and works, so He is glorified by the holiness of His people's hearts.
When man's carnal nature bows to the influence of sin, can he give God glory and defy Him at the same time? If God's purpose had been merely to forgive man but not to restore his holiness, He would have been sin's minister, and man would have unrestrained freedom to dishonor God.
Man's happiness rests in his likeness to God and his enjoyment of Him. But he must be like God before God can take pleasure in him. Further, God must take full contentment in man before He lets before He lets him enjoy Him - so then Christ undertakes the miracle of making His people holy: 'Be ye holy; for I am holy' (1Pet. 1:16)
God's purpose for man, then, underscores the unrighteousness of a saint and hands down a more serious verdict upon his sin than upon the sin of others because it has committed against such a mighty work of His Spirit. A sin in the temple was more grave than that same sin committed by a Jew in his house, because the temple was a consecrated place. Because the saint is a consecrated person, then, his unholy act profane God's temple. The sin of natural man is theft because he robs God of the glory due to Him; but the sin of a saint is sacrilege because he robs God of the sacredness which his profession of faith has vowed to Him.
Surely it is better not to repent at all than to repent of our repentance. Scripture says it is better for us not to vow and dedicate ourselves to Him than later to scheme so we can sidestep that promise (Ecc. 5:5). To do this, the person must tell the world a baneful lie - that he has found some weakness or iniquity in God which changed his mind about following Him.
The more unatural a sin is , the more horrible it is. For example, it is not natural for a mother to kill the child in her womb. Yet by your unholy walk you are killing the babe of grace in your soul. Herod has been branded a bloody criminal because he would have butchered Christ when He was a newborn on earth; so can you continually attempt the murder of Christ newly formend in your heart and expect to escape God's anger? (The Christian in Complete Armour)
In today's age, most think the subject of God's holiness, and man's holiness, are "old fashioned" or "outdated". Here we can see that even in 1655, when this book was first written, that this subject is very relevant today. God does not wink at sin, and unrighteousness. It is not something to be taken lightly. God requires holiness, plain and simple, it isn't easy or fun, in fact, I would venture to say it cannot be done without the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit.
Yes true christians sin, but it is not a continual lifestyle, Christians are human, the only differance between them and the world is power of the Holy Spirit to live a godly life in Christ Jesus. But most so-called christians say "hath God said", they negotiate the gospel or restrict holiness to mere feeling or social works. God forbid. It is the power in the Lord Jesus Christ to live in holiness, godliness, righteousness, yes, even when thing arent' going our way. God requires it no matter what. Holiness is a command, not a request.
Not too many days.....you better be living holy.
God help us.
Bro. Zac
