Quotes on Reproof, Correction and Hatred of Sin

Christianity does not consist in any partial amendment of our lives, any particular moral virtues, but in an entire change of our natural temper, a life wholly devoted to God. – William Law

Lev 19:17 You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.

One leak will sink a ship: and one sin will destroy a sinner.” ~ John Bunyan

He that hides one rebel in his house is a traitor to the crown, He that indulges one sin is a traitorous hypocrite. ~ Thomas Watson - Doctrine of Repentance

Sin and the child of God are incompatible. They may occasionally meet; they cannot live together in harmony ~ John R. W. Stott

You’ll never be able to speak against sin if you’re entertained by it. ~ John Muncee

True repentance will entirely change you; the bias of your souls will be changed, then you will delight in God, in Christ, in His Law, and in His people. ~ George Whitefield

By delay of repentance, sin strengthens, and the heart hardens. The longer ice freezeth, the harder it is to be broken. ~ Thomas Watson

True repentance shows itself in a thorough breaking off from sin. The life of a repentant person is altered. The course of their daily conduct is entirely changed. A new King reigns within their heart. They put off the old man. What God commands they now desire to practice; and what God forbids they now desire to avoid. They strive in all ways to keep clear of sin, to fight with sin, to war with sin, to get the victory over sin. They cease to do evil. They learn to do well. They break off sharply from bad ways and bad companions. They labor, however feebly, to live a new life. When a person does this, you have the fourth step in true repentance. ~ J.C. Ryle

1 Cor 9:27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. NKJV

A true revival means nothing less than a Revolution casting out the spirit of worldliness making God’s love triumph in the heart. ~ Andrew Murray

God’s patience is no excuse for a man to sin. ~ Don P

“The more grace we have, the less we shall think of ourselves, for grace, like light, reveals our impurity.” – Charles Spurgeon

“They are joined to their idols—let them alone!” Hosea 4:17

“The conclusion is: it is not what thoughts are in your hearts, or what passes through them, but it is what lodging you give to them that makes the difference, that proves your repentance. Many good thoughts and motions may pass as strangers through a bad man’s heart. And, likewise, multitudes of vain thoughts may make a thoroughfare of a believer’s heart, disturbing him in good duties, knocking on his heart to interrupt him. These may break in upon the heart of a good man, but they will not be allowed to stay there, they will not be fostered or harbored there.” ~ Thomas Goodwin – Vanity of Thoughts

God sometimes leaves men to themselves—their furious passions are unchained, and they are given up, without restraint, to the lusts of their own evil hearts! A more dreadful judgment than this, cannot be inflicted on this side of hell. Matthew Henry writes, “People go on in sin until the Lord says, ‘Let them alone!’ Then they receive no more warnings—and feel no more convictions. Satan takes full possession of them—and they ripen for destruction! It is a sad and sore judgment for any man—to be let alone in sin! Those who are not disturbed in their sin—will be destroyed for their sin! May we be kept from this dreadful state; for the wrath of God, like a strong tempest—will soon hurry all impenitent sinners into eternal ruin!” ~ John Newton, “The imminent danger and the only sure resource of this nation”

Any concept of grace that makes us feel more comfortable sinning is not biblical grace. God’s grace never encourages us to live in sin; on the contrary, it empowers us to say no to sin and yes to truth. ~ Randy Alcorn

“Let no man ever persuade you that any religion deserves to be called the Gospel, in which repentance toward God has not a most prominent place. That is no Gospel in which repentance is not a principal thing. It is the Gospel of man – not of God. It comes from earth – not from heaven. It is not the Gospel at all – it is rank antinomianism and nothing else. So long as you hug your sins, and cleave to your sins, and will have your sins – your sins are not forgiven. So long as you do not repent of sin, the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is no Gospel to your soul. Christ is a Savior from sin – not a Savior for man in sin. If a man will have his sins, the day will come when that merciful Savior will say to him, “Depart from Me, you worker of iniquity! Depart into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Matt. 25:41.)~ J.C. Ryle

Sin is not to be ignored, nor minimized. It is the most patent fact in life, the darkest experience in the history of the race. It is the root of all the world’s tragedies. It is that which makes “conscience a thousand swords,” “the torture of an inward hell,” “the worm that doth begnaw the soul.” ~ James M. Campbell

When we consider how dearly our sins cost Christ; how should we shed the blood of our sins, which shed Christ’s blood? - Thomas Watson

“It is the truest magnanimity and heroic courage in our spiritual warfare to tremble at the least iniquity. A Christian is never fitter to ‘endure hardships as a faithful soldier’ than when his conscience is most tender. To be such a coward as not to dare to break any one of God’s commandments is to be the valiantest person in the world, for such a one will choose the greatest evil of suffering before the least of sinning;” – Rev John Gibbon – How May We Be So Spiritual as to Check Sin the First Rising of It

Until we taste the bitterness of our own misery—we will never relish the sweetness of God’s mercy. Until we see how foul our sins have made us—we will never pay our tribute of praise to Christ for washing us.

Outward acts are most scandalous among men—but inward lusts are most atrocious before God!
Reader! if you would know the heart of your sin—then you must know the sins of your heart! “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are the things that defile a man!” Matthew 15:19-20. These streams of defilement which appear in your life—do but show what a fountain of wickedness there is in your heart! Even the “thought of foolishness is sin!” There is no sin so little—as not to kindle an eternal fire!
“When sin has conceived—it brings forth death!”
Sin’s first-born is death—and its last-born is hell. ~ William Secker “The Consistent Christian

Grace and mercy are only amazing in light of sin and hell. Apart from these there is no grace or mercy recognized or desired.
The greater the view of our sin, so much greater will be our sense of Grace and Mercy, and the more our love to Christ.
Luke 7:47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” NKJV
If you would desire a man be comforted, do not seek by human means to aid and comfort him in his unrest, or encourage him to uplift his mood. Point him all the more to see his sins until he is aware how desperate his condition is and hopeless, that it must drive him from himself to Christ, who alone can give him lasting comfort. Who would ever love an invisible God except one who has felt the gut wrenching guilt and bone shaking fear of being caught and judgment to come; then had it relieved by the forgiveness of the One whose Sacrifice paid it for Him. ~ Don P

“The best means to mortify sin, is to meditate on the death and sufferings of Christ.”

The daily sight of a bleeding, groaning, dying Savior—is the only thing which will subdue and mortify darling sins!

O friends! Never leave looking up to a crucified Christ, until virtue flows from Him to the crucifying of those special besetting sins which do most obstruct and hinder the growth and increase of holiness. ~ Thomas Brooks – Holiness

“Those who are found not living as [Christ] taught should know that they are not really Christians, even if His teachings are on their lips, for He said that not those who merely profess but those who also do the works will be saved.” ~ Justin Martyr (A.D. 103-165).

To conclude, it is convincing preaching which must do the soul good. A nipping reproof prepares for comfort—as a nipping frost prepares for the sweet flowers of spring. ~Thomas Watson – “The Godly Man’s Picture Drawn with a Scripture Pencil

To abstain from sin when one can no longer sin, is to be forsaken by sin, not to forsake it.” ~ St. Augustine

“Christ will be master of the heart, and sin must be mortified. If your life is unholy, then your heart is unchanged, and you are an unsaved person. The Savior will sanctify His people, renew them, give them a hatred of sin, and a love of holiness. The grace that does not make a man better than others is a worthless counterfeit. Christ saves His people, not IN their sins, but FROM their sins. Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.” ~ Spurgeon

“Reprieved lusts but at last obtain their full pardon; yea, recover their favour with the soul.” ~ William Gurnall - The Christian In Complete Armour, Vol I, Part First

“If the professed convert distinctly and deliberately declares that he knows the Lord’s will, but does not mean to attend to it, you are not to pamper his presumptions, but it is your duty to assure him that he is not saved. Do not suppose that the Gospel is magnified or God-glorified by going to the world…and telling them that they may be saved at this moment by simply ‘accepting Christ’ as their Savior, while they are wedded to their idols, and their hearts are still in love with sin. If I do so, I tell them a lie, pervert the Gospel, insult Christ, and turn the grace of God into lasciviousness.”^~Charles Spurgeon - Today’s Evangelism, pp. 25-26.

Perhaps the smallness of the sin is urged as a reason why you may commit it: “It is but a little sin—a small matter—a trifle!”
But, if you commit this little sin—you will offend a great God! Is there any little hell to torment little sinners in? No! The least sinners in hell are full of misery! There is great wrath treasured up for those whom the world regard as little sinners.

The less the sin—the less the inducement you should have to commit it. Will you provoke God for a trifle? Will you destroy your peace, wound your conscience, and grieve the Spirit—all for nothing? What madness is this! ~ John Flavel, “Keeping the Heart”

Just get one small error into your minds, get one small evil into your thoughts, commit one small act of sin in your life- permit these things to be dandled, and fondled, favored, petted, and treated with respect, and you cannot tell whereunto they may grow.

They are small in their infancy: they will be giants when they come to their full growth. You little know how near your soul may be to destruction, when you wantonly indulge in the smallest act of sin!

Dread sin; though it be never so small, dread it. You cannot see all that is in it. It is the mother of ten thousand mischiefs. The mother of mischief, they say, is as small as a midge’s egg; and certainly, the smallest sin has ten thousand mischiefs sleeping within its bowels. ~ Spurgeon, “Little Sins”

“Fight the Lord’s battles.” -1 Samuel 18:17.

The Christian’s battle is first of all with sin.
Seek grace to fight that battle in your own heart.

Endeavor by divine grace to overcome those propensities
which continually push you towards iniquity.

Take all your lusts as they bestir themselves to
the foot of the cross, and let the blood of Jesus
fall upon those vipers and they must die.

The blood of Christ shall spill the blood of sin.
The death of Christ shall be the death of iniquity,
the cross of Christ shall be the crucifixion of transgression.

Labor with yourselves to drive
the Canaanites out of your hearts.
Spare none, let no petty lust escape.

Put down pride and sloth, and lust, and unbelief
and you have now a battle before you which may
fill your hands, and more than fill them.

Oh! cry unto God your strength, and look unto the hills from where comes your help, and then fight on again,and as each sin is overcome, each evil habit broken off,each lust denied, go on to the rooting up of another,and the destruction of more of them, until all being subdued,body, soul and spirit shall be consecrated to Christ as a living sacrifice, purified by his Holy Spirit. ~ Spurgeon’s sermon, “WAR! WAR! WAR!”

“YOU THAT LOVE THE LORD, HATE EVIL.”

It is evident that our conversion is sound
when we loathe and hate sin from the heart.

A man may know his hatred of evil to be true, first,
if it is universal- he that hates sin truly, hates all sin.

Secondly, true hatred of sin is fixed-
there is no appeasing it but by abolishing the thing hated.

Thirdly, true hatred of sin is a more rooted affection than anger-
anger may be appeased, but hatred of sin remains and sets itself
against the whole kind.

Fourthly, if our hatred of sin is true, we hate all evil,
in ourselves foremost, and secondarily in others-
he that hates a toad, would hate it most in his own bosom.
Many, like Judah, are severe in censuring others (Genesis 38:24),
but partial to themselves.

Fifthly, he that hates sin truly, hates the greatest sin in
the greatest measure; he hates all evil in a just proportion.

Sixthly, our hatred to sin is right if we can endure admonition and reproof for sin, and not be enraged- therefore, those that swell against reproof do not appear to hate sin. ~ Richard Sibbes commentary, Psalm 97:10

Self-examination is clearly the most important and most neglected of all religious exercises.

If we are in Christ, all that heaven knows of unimaginable bliss, of inconceivable glory, of unutterable ecstasy, shall be ours most richly to enjoy.

But if death shall find us without Christ, horrors surpassing thought, terrors beyond the dreams of despair, and tortures above the guess of misery, must be our doleful, desperate doom.

Christ does not allow even the most insignificant spider of lust to spin its cobweb on the walls of his temple.

All heinous sins and private sins, youthful sins and manhood’s sins, sins of omission and of commission, of word and of deed, of thought and of imagination, sins against God or against man-
all will combine like a nest of serpents in the desert to frighten the newborn child of heaven; and he will desire to see the head of every one of them broken beneath the heel of the destroyer of evil, Jesus, the seed of the woman.

Do not believe yourself to be truly awakened unless you abhor sin in all its stages, from the embryo to the ripe fruit, and in all its shades, from the commonly allowed lust down to the open and detested crime. ~ Spurgeon, “THE SAINT AND HIS SAVIOR”

When people get success and prosperity in a way of sin. They thirst after sin, and God grants them the desire of their hearts. This is a sign of total and final defection; for, says, the Lord, “Backsliders in heart shall be filled with their own ways.” Perhaps, you think all is right, because God in his providence does not check you in your sinful ways. But assure yourselves, there cannot be a sadder mark of his wrath and vengeance; for then he seems to be saying, “They are joined to their idols, let them alone. Let him that is filthy, be filthy still.” ~ Ebenezer Erskine - The Backslider Characterized; Or, The Evil And Danger Of Defection Described

“Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him? Do not I fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 23:24

Let me not only speak to scandalous sinners, who seem to have ‘damnation’ written upon their foreheads—but to secret sinners.

“Cursed is he who makes an idol and puts it in a secret place.” Deuteronomy 27:15. Some of the Jews would not be seen openly bowing
to an idol—but they would put it in their closet or some other secret place and there worship it.

There are many in like manner who will not sin on the balcony, or be like Absalom and sin in the sight of all Israel, 2 Samuel 16:22.
But they shut up their windows, and commit their sin in secret. They have a private back door to hell—which nobody knows of!

Perhaps they live in secret adultery, or secret envy and malice, or secret neglect of duty. God knows that they are living in secret sins. What an aggravation of sin is this! These desperate, heaven-daring sinners, though they see the flaming sword of God’s justice before them, resolvedly venture on in sin! Thomas Watson, “The Mischief of Sin“

“I have been watching!” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 7:11

“Your Word is completely pure, and Your servant loves it.” Psalms 119:140

Do we love the holiness of the Word? The Word is preached—to beat down sin, and advance holiness.
Do we love it for its spirituality and purity? Many love the Preached Word only for its eloquence and notion. They come to a sermon as to a performance (Ezek. 33:31,32) or as to a garden to pick flowers; but not to have their lusts subdued or their hearts purified. These are like a foolish woman who paints her face—but neglects her health!

Do we love the convictions of the Word? Do we love the Word when it comes home to our conscience and shoots its arrows of reproof at our sins? It is the minister’s duty sometimes to reprove. He who can speak smooth words in the pulpit—but does not know how to reprove, is like a sword with a fine handle, but without an edge! (Titus 2:15) “Rebuke them sharply!”
Dip the nail in oil—reprove in love—but strike the nail home!

Now Christian, when the Word touches on your sin and says, “You are the man!” do you love the reproof?
Can you bless God that “the sword of the Spirit” has divided between you and your lusts? This is indeed a sign of grace, and shows that you are a lover of the Word.

A corrupt heart loves the comforts of the Word—but not the reproofs: (Amos 5:10) “You hate the one who reproves… and despise him who tells the truth!”

“Their eyes flash with fire!” Like venomous creatures that at the least touch, spit poison! (Acts 7:54) “When they heard these things, they were enraged in their hearts and gnashed their teeth at him!” When Stephen touched their sins, they were furious and could not endure it.

How shall we know that we love the reproofs of the Word?

When we desire to sit under a heart-searching ministry.
Who cares for medicines that will not work? A godly man does not choose to sit under a ministry that will not work upon his conscience.

When we pray that the Word may meet with our sins. If there is any traitorous lust in our heart—we would have it found out, and executed. We do not want sin covered; but cured! We can open our heart to the sword of the Word and say, “Lord, smite this sin!”

When we are thankful for a reproof. (Psalm 141:5) “Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it.” David was glad for a reproof.

Suppose a man were in the mouth of a lion, and another should shoot the lion and save the man; would he not be thankful? So, when we are in the mouth of sin, as of a lion, and the minister by a reproof shoots this sin to death—shall we not be thankful?

A gracious soul rejoices, when the sharp lance of the Word has pierced his abscess of sin! He wears a reproof like a jewel on his ear: (Proverbs 25:12) “Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man’s rebuke to a listening ear.”

If our common life is not a common course of . . .
humility,
self denial,
renunciation of the world,
poverty of spirit,
and heavenly affection,
we do not live the lives of Christians!

But yet though it is thus plain that this, and this alone, is Christianity: a uniform, open, and visible practice of all these virtues. Yet it is as plain, that there is little or nothing of this to be found, even among the better sort of people.

You see them often at Church, and pleased with fine preachers. But look into their lives, and you see them just the same sort of people as others are, who make no pretenses to devotion. They have . . .
the same taste of the world, the same worldly cares, and fears, and joys; the same turn of mind, equally vain in their desires.

You see . . . the same fondness for state and equipage, the same pride and vanity of dress, the same self love and indulgence, the same foolish friendships, and groundless hatreds, the same levity of mind, and trifling spirit, the same fondness for diversions, the same idle dispositions, and vain ways of spending their time as the rest of the world,who make no pretenses to Christianity. ~ William Law, “A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life”

True Christians Do Not Continue to Sin

Quotes on How to Mortify Sin

Reproof in Preaching – do we love reproof or sin?

Quotes in Jesus and His Disciples

Quotes on Predestination