<strong>The</strong> <strong><strong>Sin</strong>fulness</strong> <strong>Of</strong> <strong>Sin</strong>Ralph VenningAll this and much more may be said of and against sin. Having laid thisgroundwork, then, I shall now build upon it, and proceed to the application andusefulness of the doctrine of sin's sinfulness.96
<strong>The</strong> <strong><strong>Sin</strong>fulness</strong> <strong>Of</strong> <strong>Sin</strong>Ralph VenningSection Three: THE APPLICATION AND USEFULNESS OFTHE DOCTRINE OF SIN'S SINFULNESSI. IN GENERAL, SIN IS THE WORST OF EVILS; THE EVIL OF EVIL, AND INDEED THEONLY EVILNothing is so evil as sin; nothing is evil but sin. As the sufferings of this presenttime are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us, soneither the sufferings of this life nor of that to come are worthy to be compared asevil with the evil of sin. No evil is displeasing to God or destructive to man but theevil of sin. <strong>Sin</strong> is worse than affliction, than death, than Devil, than Hell. Affliction isnot so afflictive, death is not so deadly, the Devil not so devilish, Hell not so hellishas sin is. This will help to fill up the charge against its sinfulness, especially as it iscontrary to and against the good of man.<strong>The</strong> four evils I have just named are truly terrible, and from all of them everyone isready to say, Good Lord, deliver us! Yet none of these, nor all of them together,are as bad as sin. <strong>The</strong>refore our prayers should be more to be delivered from sin,and if God hear no prayer else, yet as to this we should say, We beseech <strong>The</strong>e tohear us, good Lord!(1) It is worse than any evil affliction<strong>The</strong>re are afflictions of several kinds, and they are all called evils. 'Is there any evil(of any kind whatever) in the city and I have not done it?' (Amos 3.6), says theLord. You see that God will own himself the author of that evil, but not of sin, forthat is a bastard begotten and bred by another. <strong>The</strong> evils of plagues and afflictionsare brought by God, though deserved by sin. And now indeed no affliction seems tobe joyous for the present (Hebrews 12.1); although they are not to be desired yetthey may be endured. <strong>Sin</strong> on the contrary is neither to be desired nor endured. Anysin is worse than any suffering, one sin than all suffering, and the least sin than thegreatest suffering.What then? Is sin worse than to be whipped, to be burnt or to be sawn asunder?Yes, by a great deal! It is clear from what our Saviour says: 'Fear not them thatcan kill but fear him that can damn' (Matthew 10.28). That is, it is better to bekilled than to be damned. You may more easily suffer from man than sin againstGod. One may suffer and not sin, but it is impossible to sin and not to suffer. <strong>The</strong>ywho avoid suffering by sinning, sin themselves into worse suffering.This seems to be clear enough. Yet the truth is so seldom properly applied until it isbelieved, and seldom believed until it is fully proved. I shall therefore demonstratemore fully that sin is worse than suffering. In general, this is so because sin is allevil, only evil, and always evil, which no affliction is or can be. In my flesh, saysthe Apostle, no good dwells, not even the least, and this is ever present with me.Now it cannot be said of afflictions that there is no good in them, or that they arealways present with us. <strong>The</strong>re are some lucida intervalla (bright intervals), somespells of sunshine in winter. We may say, 'It was good that I was afflicted' (Psalm119. 71), 'It is good to bear the yoke in one's youth' (Lamentations 3.27). But one97
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