Such guilty, filthy, and polluted souls!

(Thomas Brooks, "The Crown and Glory of Christianity, or, HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness", 1662)

"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

What a sad roster of vile people! These monstrous sinners and prodigious sins were enough to have brought another flood upon the world; or to have provoked the Lord to rain hell out of heaven upon them-as once he did upon Sodom and Gomorrah; or to have caused the ground to open and swallow them up-as once it did Korah, Dathan, and Abiram! 

And yet behold some of these are changed and sanctified! "And that is what some of you were! But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." verse 11.

Oh, the infinite goodness!

Oh, the infinite grace!

Oh, the infinite wisdom and power of God-which has pardoned, washed, sanctified, and cleansed such guilty, filthy, and polluted souls! The worst of sinners should never despair of being made saints-considering what notorious sinners have been made holy. There is no heart so wicked, ut grace can make it holy.

Well! sinners, remember this-it is possible that those . . .
  proud hearts of yours may be humbled;
  hard hearts of yours may be softened; 
  impure hearts of yours may be sanctified;
  blind minds of yours may be enlightened;
  stubborn wills of yours may be tamed;
  disordered affections of yours may be regulated;
  defiled consciences of yours may be awakened and purged;
  vile and polluted natures of yours may be changed and purified.