Sometimes we despair of our sinful state, but God will finish His work in us. Puritan Richard Sibbes assure us of this in Glorious Freedom. The following thoughts are stolen from Refreshment for the Soul, compiled and edited by David B. MacKinnon.
Longing for revival
I remember attending Catholic school and going to confession once a week before communion. It always seemed like the same things every single week, and I wasn’t so sure the priest couldn’t remember me.
But if he did, what would he say? “You again with same old stuff; what’s the matter with you?”
Then there was the problem of the balance of my sins. How many of them were mortal compared to venial? Could I end up in hell by committing a mortal sin in my head in between being absolved by the priest through confession and penance? But I guess that’s the subject for a different post.
But even when we get the gospel right, we Christians are often beset by our sins and pray for personal revival. Our sins sometimes bury our joy.
Sibbes’ Bible verses
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Phil 1:6
The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands. Psalm 138:8
Who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Cor 1:8
Sibbes’ encouragement
Richard Sibbes tells us that our desires to advance are good and that God has put them there. But we must be content (and not discouraged) by progressing “little by little, through many stations.” He says it’s our duty to meekness and to be subject to God’s wisdom (and grace), and not to complain that we’re not as perfect we’d like to be.
We should magnify God’s mercy. Further, we shouldn’t be discouraged by a seeming interruption in our spiritual growth. God makes us grow by our failings, and causes a greater hatred of sin in our hearts. We grow more humble in our love for God.
“No one grows so much as those who have their growth stopped for a time.” And: “God will go through the work He has begun and will turn everything to good.”
He reminds us that when God looks upon His children, He sees them as they will be in the “perfect stature of Christ.” Sibbes also notes that there’s no creature in the world as changeable as the Christian. We were made in God’s image, but fell. After this we changed to a state of grace. And after that, we experience grace in varying degrees until we die.
But one day there will be an end to this constant change. When the Lord returns we will be glorified to a sinless state. And this is another reason why we cry, “Lord, come quickly!”
God will finish His work.
Maranatha!
Further reading
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