The
only sin which may be indulged
(Fuller)
It has long appeared to me that worldliness will, in
all probability, prove the eternal overthrow of more
professing Christians, than almost any other sin.
This because it is almost the only sin which
may
be indulged, and a profession of religion at the same
time kept up. If a man is a drunkard, a fornicator, an
adulterer, or a liar; if he robs his neighbor, oppresses
the poor, or deals unjustly--he must give up his
pretensions to religion--or his pious friends will
give him up.
But he may love the world and the things of the
world--and at the same time retain his profession!
If the depravity of the human heart is not subdued
by the grace of God, worldliness will operate.
"Do not love the world or the things that belong to the
world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father
is not in him. Because everything that belongs to the
world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and
the pride in one's lifestyle--is not from the Father,
but is from the world. And the world with its lust is
passing away, but the one who does God's will
remains forever." (1 John 2:15-17)