Morning and Evening

March 11, Morning

C. H. Spurgeon · Modern retelling

"Sin . . . exceeding sinful." — Romans 7:13 · KJV

Beware of light thoughts of sin. At the time of conversion the conscience is so tender that we are afraid of the slightest sin. Young converts have a holy timidity, a godly fear of offending God. But alas, very soon the fine bloom on these first ripe fruits is rubbed off by the rough handling of the world; the sensitive plant of young piety turns, in later life, into a willow — too pliant, too easily yielding. It is sadly true that even a Christian may grow, by degrees, so callous that the sin which once startled him no longer alarms him in the least. By degrees men grow familiar with sin. The ear in which the cannon has been booming will not notice slight sounds. At first a little sin startles us, but soon we say, "Is it not a little one?" Then comes another, larger, and then another, until by degrees we begin to regard sin as only a little ill; and then follows an unholy presumption: "We have not fallen into open sin. True, we tripped a little, but we stood upright in the main. We may have spoken one unholy word, but the most of our conversation has been consistent." So we excuse sin; we throw a cloak over it; we call it by dainty names. Christian, beware how you think lightly of sin. Take heed lest you fall little by little. Sin a little thing? Is it not a poison? Who knows its deadliness? Sin a little thing? Do not the little foxes spoil the grapes? Does not the tiny coral insect build a reef that wrecks a navy? Do not little strokes fell lofty oaks? Will not continual dropping wear away stone? Sin a little thing? It girded the Redeemer's head with thorns and pierced His heart; it made Him suffer anguish, bitterness, and woe. Could you weigh the least sin in the scales of eternity, you would flee from it as from a serpent, and abhor the least appearance of evil. Look on all sin as that which crucified the Savior, and you will see it to be "exceeding sinful."

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