| Home Page | Grace Baptist Church View related sermons Click here |
TEXT: Romans 8:28
SUBJECT: Divine Cordial #11
Tonight, the Lord willing, we’ll finish our study of Thomas Watson’s great book, A Divine Cordial. The goals of the book are to help us understand God’s Providence and to trust the Lord who does "all things well".
For the last few weeks, we’ve looked at how the worst things work for good for the godly. The bad things he names are affliction, temptation, desertion, and…sin. Last time, we saw how the sins of other people do us good. Now we come to our own sins. According to Thomas Watson, your own sins are good for you.
Of course, this is easy to misunderstand or to take advantage of. So, the Puritan is at pains to clarify. He says
"This must be understood carefully, when I say
the sins of the godly work for good—not that
there is the least good in sin. Sin is like poison
that corrupts the blood, infects the heart, and
without a sovereign antidote brings death.
Such is the venomous nature of sin, it is
Deadly and damning. Sin is worse than hell,
Yet God, by His mighty, overruling power,
Makes sin, in the end, turn to the good of His
People…
But let none abuse this doctrine. I do not
Say that sin works for good for the impenitent
Person. No, it works for his damnation…
I know you will not draw a wrong conclusion
From this, either to make light of sin, or to
Make bold with sin…
If any of God’s people should be tampering
With sin, because God can turn it to good,
Though the Lord does not damn them, He
May send them to hell in this life. He may put
Them into such bitter agonies and soul-
Convulsions, as may fill them with horror,
And make them draw nigh to despair.
Let this be a flaming sword, to keep them
From coming near the forbidden tree…
Again I say, Think not lightly of sin!"
I don’t have to keep hammering away on this one, do I? Sin itself is not good. But God is wise, powerful, and loving enough to use even sin to do us good.
How, then does your sin "Work together for your good"? Watson has three points. But, being a good Puritan, he has to divide the third point into six sub-points! Here they are:
YOUR SINS WORK FOR GOOD BECAUSE THEY MAKE YOU WEARY OF THIS WORLD.
One of the hardest things for a believer to accept is that he’s a pilgrim—the world is not his home. He was born here, he’s lived here his whole life, any glimpse of his true home is only that—a glimpse. Yet God wants you to be Homesick. Not because He hates the world, but because He has a better place for you.
One way He makes the world a weary place for you is by allowing you to sin and to suffer the consequences. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to live in a world without sin? Where others wouldn’t do you wrong—and more to the point—where you wouldn’t do yourself wrong!
There is such a world. But it’s not the one we’re living in now! We won’t be fit for that world until we become sick and tired of this one. And sin makes us feel that way. Here’s the quote,
"Sin makes us weary of this life. That sin is in
the godly is sad, but that it is a burden is good.
St. Paul’s afflictions were but play to him in
Comparison to his sin. He rejoiced in
Tribulation (II Corinthians 7:4), but how he
Wept over his sins (Romans 7:24). A believer
Carries his sins as a prisoner his chains;
Oh how he longs for the day of release! In
This way, sin works for his good".
If your sin makes you love heaven more than earth, it must "work together for your good". That’s Number One.
YOUR SINS WORK FOR GOOD BECAUSE THEY MAKE YOU LOVE CHRIST MORE.
Nobody loves a doctor more than someone who’s sick. Take the most bigoted man. He rails at doctors for golfing, for hording money, for not taking a personal interest in their patients, and so on. But when he’s sick—really sick—he forgets his prejudices and becomes very glad there’s a doctor in the house! His sickness makes him love the men who can cure him.
The same is true of sin. The man who thinks he’s pretty goo has little interest in a Savior. But let him feel the ravaging pain of sin, and he’ll think a lot more of Christ. Our Lord said,
"He who is well does not need a Physician,
but he who is sick. I did not come to
call the righteous, but sinners
to repentance".
Watson adds,
"Corruption makes us prize Christ more.
He who feels his sin, as a sick man feels
How welcome is Christ the Physician
To him! He who feels himself stung by
Sing, how precious The Brazen Serpent
Is to him! When Paul cried out of a body
Of death, how thankful he was for Christ!"
If sin—though bad itself—makes you love Christ, His Person, His death, His resurrection, and Gospel, then even it "works together for your good". That’s Number Two.
YOUR SINS WORK FOR GOOD BECAUSE THEY MAKE YOU MORE SERIOUS FOR HOLINESS.
On this point, Watson has a lot to say. There are six duties—he says—that are stirred up by sin. They are,
"A child of God, being conscious of sin,
takes the light of the Word, and searches
into his heart. He desires to know the worst
of himself…There is benefit in the knowledge
of our corruptions. It is good to know our
sins that we may not flatter ourselves…
It is good to find out our sins, lest they
Find us out…"
"Sin is left in a godly man, as a hunch upon
his back, to keep him from being proud…
When a godly man beholds his face in
The mirror of Scripture, he sees the blemishes
Of infidelity and hypocrisy. They make his
Pride fall; they are humbling spots."
"Sin puts a child of God to self-judging.
He passes sentence upon himself".
"Spiritual self fights with carnal self.
There is a spiritual duel fought every
Day. A believer will not let sin have
Possession. If he cannot keep sin out
He will keep it down. Though he cannot
Overcome, yet he is overcoming…"
"He knows sin is a traitor and so he carefully
observes himself. A subtle heart needs a
watchful eye. The heart is like a castle under
attack. This makes the child of God into
a sentinel, always awake and alert".
"Sin puts the soul upon self-reforming.
A child of God not only finds out sin,
He drives out sin."
I think Watson is a bit repetitious on this one. But what he says is true and helpful. Sin makes the believer doubt himself (which is good), strive for holiness (which is better), and look to Christ for His grace (which is best of all). If sin does all these things for the believer, then it too, must "Work together for good".
SUMMARY AND CLOSE
It’s not easy to summarize a three month study in two minutes, but let me try:
"Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him".
| Home Page |
Sermons provided by www.GraceBaptist.ws |