The Gospel and the Vileness of sin.

I found this on the Sacred Sandwich site, and thought it was a good reminder!:

Here is..." a stark reminder of the vileness of sin in the life of every man. Too often, especially among unbelievers, we become complacent with our sinfulness because we see no evidence of negative repercussions. Because of God’s great patience and benevolence, our lives seem unaffected by our rebellious actions. In fact, in some cases, life seems even better than before. Prosperity abounds and our consciences are easily seared to the point of seeing no harm in our “inconsequential” sin.

Let us not forget, therefore, the reality of the vileness of all sin, even those so-called “lesser” sins of omission, those failures of duty and those shortcomings in spirit that even beset the believer. As the Scriptures tell us, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”—1 John 1:8-10.

In conclusion, I leave you with these eloquent words from Charles Spurgeon in response to the above text:

“The Lord will not consent to parley with you on the ground that you are not much of a sinner, and that after all your sin is not a great evil. No, he will meet you where the truth is and nowhere else; when you confess that you are unworthy of his pity, you are owning the truth, and when you feel guilty, you feel what is really fact; on this footing of truth, sad truth though it be, the Lord will meet with you through the atoning blood. It is in your vileness that sovereign grace o’er sin abounding will come to you and cleanse you, and therefore the sooner you come to the honest truth the better for you, for the sooner will you obtain joy and peace through believing in Christ. The text means just this—Treat God truthfully, and he will treat you truthfully. Make no pretensions before God, but lay bare your soul, let him see it as it is, and then he will be faithful and just to forgive you your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Mark the beauty of that expression; God will deal with you in faithfulness. His nature is mercy, and you naturally expect that if you confess your sin to a merciful God, he will deal mercifully with you and be faithful to his nature; and he will be so. But he has also given a promise that if the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and turn unto the Lord, he will have mercy upon him; depend upon it he will be faithful to his promise. The blood of Jesus Christ has made a full atonement, and God will be faithful to that atonement. He will deal with you on the grounds of the covenant of grace, of which the sacrifice of Jesus is the seal, and therein also he will be true to you…

“For my own part, I mean to come to him always as a sinner. I know I am saved, but I never hope to get one inch beyond that verse,— ‘The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth me from all sin,’ for only so can I walk in the light as he is in the light.”

Amen."

Men and women who hear the Gospel regularly, I often fear much for you. I fear lest you become so familiar with the sounds of its doctrines, that insensibly you become dead to its power. I fear lest your religion should sink down into a little vague talk about your own weakness and corruption, and a few sentimental expressions about Christ, while real practical fighting on Christ’s side is altogether neglected. Oh, beware of this state of mind! Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only. No victory—no crown! Fight and overcome!

~ J.C. Ryle

Plenty there to be challenged by!