Part 79 HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness
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Part 80 HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness
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[4.] Fourthly, You have but a little holiness; witness your easy, your ready, and your frequent fallings before temptations and motions to sin. O sirs, when the temptation does but touch and take; when you are no sooner tempted but you are conquered; no sooner assaulted but you are vanquished; certainly holiness is at a very low ebb in your souls. That garrison, without all question, is very weak—which is taken at the first assault; and that soldier is but slightly armed, that is run through at the first thrust. Just so, that Christian has but little spiritual strength in him, who is worsted and vanquished upon the first appearance of a temptation. When men's understandings are easily corrupted with error, or theirjudgments with levity, or their wills with frowardness, or their affections with disorderedness, or their consciences with unrighteousness—it is a very great argument that there is but little holiness within. O sirs, men eminent in holiness, in their ordinary course, have been always eminent in the resisting and withstanding of temptations, as is evident in Joseph, Job, Daniel, the three Hebrew children, etc. [Gen. 39; Job 1; Dan. 3 and 6.]
Austin thanks the Lord that his heart and the temptation did not meet together. The devil tempting Bonaventure, told him that he was a reprobate, and therefore persuaded him to drink in the present pleasures of this life, for, says Satan, you are excluded from the future joys with God in heaven; to whom he answered, "No, not so, Satan, for if I must not enjoy God after this life, I will labor to enjoy him as much as I can while I live." When one of the martyrs was offered riches and honors if he would recant, he gave this excellent answer, "Do but offer me something that is better than my Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall see what I will say to you." And the young convert when he was tempted, answered, "I am not the man that I was!" When Valens the emperor offered large preferments to Basil, and told him what a great man he would make him, he answered, "Offer these things to children, and not to Christians." When Bernard was tempted, "Tell me not, Satan," said he, "what I have been—but what I am, and will be—through grace." And so when Beza was tempted in the like case, he answered, "Whatever I was, I am now in Christ a new creature, and that is it which troubles you, Satan; I might have continued in my sins long enough before you would have vexed at it—but now I see you do envy me the grace of my Savior." And when Augustine was sadly reviled by the Donatists for the wickedness of his youth, he answered, "The more desperate my disease was—just so much the more, I admire the physician."
Thus men eminently holy have stood their ground in the face of all temptations and motions to sin. But, alas in these times how easily, how readily, and how frequently do multitudes fall before every temptation! As soon as Achan had but cast his eye upon the Babylonish garment and shekels of silver and wedge of gold—his fingers itched to be handling of them, Josh. 7:21. Just so, many in these days, as soon as they do but see the way to honor or preferment, or a great place, or a high office, etc., oh, how do their fingers itch, how do their souls long after these things! and though they savor and smell ever so strong of Babylon or of Rome—yet have them they must. Such people may do well to remember, that Achan's Babylonish garment was but a shroud to shroud him, and his golden wedge was but a wedge to cleave him, and his shekels of silver were but shekels to hold him the faster, both under the wrath of God and man.
Such as can turn with every wind, and close with every worship, and bow to every idol that man sets up—have either no holiness, or else but very little holiness, in their hearts. Such as easily and readily fall before temptations from within or without, have never attained to any great measures of holiness. But,
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