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Swine or sheep?
-Spurgeon, "A passion for Holiness in a Believer's Life"
"Sin shall not have dominion over you." Rom. 6:14
Sin shall not have dominion over the believer,
for though he falls, he shall rise again.
The child of God, when he falls into the mire, is like
the sheep that gets up and escapes from the ditch as
quickly as possible- it is not in his nature to lie there.
The ungodly man is like the hog that rolls in
the filth and wallows in it with delight.
The mire has dominion over the swine,
but it has none over the sheep.
Every child of God weeps, mourns, and bemoans his sin, and
he hates it when, for a while, he has been overtaken by it.
Sin has an awful power, but it has no 'dominion' over
a true believer. It may cast him down, but it cannot
make us delight in it's evil.
God has so changed your nature by His grace that
when you sin, you shall be like a fish on dry land--
you shall be out of your element.
In worldly company, you shall feel like a man
who sits upon thorns or walks amid snakes.
In worldly amusements, you shall feel as if
the house shall fall upon you. You shall never
be made happy by evil, but shall groan under
it, if you ever yield to it's power.
You shall hate yourself to think you ever consented to
its solicitations. You shall be wretched and unhappy
and shall find no rest until you return unto your Lord.
You may fall into sin by surprise, but if you calmly
and deliberately go to that which is unclean, how
does the love of God dwell in you?
It is both the way TO peace, and the way OF peace
to submit one's whole self to God.
Nor is it a difficult task to a true believer,
but it is the desire of his heart,
the pleasure of his life.
Complete consecration of every faculty of mind
and body to the Lord is our soul's deepest wish!
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