Sunday Inspiration |

"Once more I beseech my readers to dismiss from their minds the common idea, that men and women need nothing but pardon and absolution, in order to be prepared to meet God. It is a strong delusion, and one against which I desire with all my heart to place you on your guard. It is not enough, as many a poor ignorant Christian supposes on his death-bed, if God 'pardons our sins and takes us to rest.' I say again emphatically, it is not enough. The love of sin must be taken from us, as well as the guilt of sin removed; the desire of pleasing God must be implanted in us, as well as the fear of God's judgment taken away; a love to holiness must be engrafted, as well as a dread of punishment removed. Heaven itself would be no heaven to us if we entered it without a new heart. An eternal Sabbath and the society of saints and angels could give us no happiness in heaven, unless the love of Sabbaths and of the holy company had been first shed abroad in our hearts upon earth. 

Whether men will hear or forbear, the man who enters heaven must have the sanctification of the Spirit, as well as the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. To use the words of Owen, 'When God designed the great and glorious work of recovering fallen man and saving sinners, He appointed in His infinite wisdom two great means. The one was the giving of His Son for them; and the was way made for the manifestation of the glory of the whole blessed Trinity."

J.C. Ryle, The Holy Ghost