The Sinfulness Of Sin - Preach The Word

The Sinfulness Of SinRalph Venningmartyrs (1 Peter 4.I5). Which, I pray you, is better? to suffer for God or for theDevil? To be suffering saints, or sinners?7. Sufferings for God, Christ and righteousness add to our glory, but sinning onlyadds to our torment (Matthew 5.10,11,12, and 2 Corinthians 4.17). Light afflictionswork an exceeding weight of glory; but sin works an exceeding weight of wrath andtorment (Romans 2.5). It accumulates heap upon heap, load upon load, to makeup a treasury of wrath.Which then is the greater evil--I speak as to wise men, judge ye what I say--lightaffliction or heavy sin? Which is better, treasures of glory or treasures of wrath? Or,which is all the same, to suffer or to sin?Hitherto I have proved that sin is worse than affliction. It may be said, however,that if we do not suffer unto death, it is no great suffering; skin for skin, all that aman hath will he give for his life. But if to die is dreadful, it is worse to sin, as Ishall now prove.(2) Sin is worse than deathWe have a saying, Choose the lesser of two evils. Now to die is cheaper and moreeasy than to sin. God's loving kindness is better than life, that is, we would dobetter to part with the latter than the former. In the same way sin is worse thandeath: it would be better for us to undergo the latter than to commit the former;better submit to death than commit a sin, as I hinted before from Matthew 10.28.Let us compare them. Sin is more deadly than death. Now the separation of souland body, that dissolution of the frame of nature and of the union between souland body is regarded as a great evil, as is apparent from man's unwillingness todie. Man would rather live in sickness and pain, and would be in deaths often,rather than die once. And it is not only an evil in man's apprehension, but it isreally so to human nature, for it is called an enemy (1 Corinthians 15.26). It is truethat death is a friend to grace, but it is equally true that death is an enemy tonature. There are four ways in which death is evil, and an enemy to man, and in allof them sin is more an enemy to man than is death.1. Death is separating. It separates the nearest and dearest relations, even thatwhich God has joined together, man and wife, soul and body. It separates us frompossessions and ordinances, as I showed before. Thus death is a great evil andenemy. True! But sin is worse, for it brought death and all the evils that come bydeath. Sin separates man, while alive, from God, who is the light and life of ourlives. Death does not separate from the love of God, which sin does (Romans8.38,39; Isaiah 59.2).2. Death is terrifying. It is the king of terrors (Job 18.14). It is very grim, a verysour and harsh thing. It is ghastly and frightful, for men are not only unwilling, butafraid to die. Yet all the terror that is in death is put there by sin. Sin is the sting ofdeath (1 Corinthians 15.56), without which, though it kills, it cannot curse or hurtany man. Thus sin is more terrible than death, for without sin either there wouldhave been no death, or for certain no terror in death. When the sting is taken away101