A MAN, very much annoyed with a Flea, caught him at last, and said, "Who are you who dare to feed on my limbs, and to cost me so much trouble in catching you?' The Flea replied, "O my dear sir, pray spare my life, and destroy me not, for I cannot possibly do you much harm." The Man, laughing, replied, "Now you shall certainly die by mine own hands, for no evil, whether it be small or large, ought to be tolerated."  (From Aesop’s Fables)

Oh, that more believers would heed this lesson: “no evil, whether it be small or large, ought to be tolerated.”  Since reading The Mortification of Sin, the words of John Owen have stuck with me,

“Sin aims always at the utmost: every time it rises up to tempt or entice, might it have its own course, it would go out to the utmost sin of that kind…And so far as the soul is made insensible to any sin, that is, as to such a sense as the gospel requires, so far it is hardened.  But sin still pressing forward; and that because it hath no bounds but utter relinquishment of God, and opposition to him.”  (From, The Mortification of Sin)

If you let a couple of fleas go in your house before you know it your entire house will be infested with fleas.  My wife and I, unfortunately, know this all too well.  Our cat ended up not only getting pregnant but also getting fleas.  Because she was pregnant we felt it best to try to quarantine her in a room and deal with the fleas later.  That was dumb.  Now we are going to have buy flea stuff for the cat and her kitties as well as tons of flea killer for our house.  We should have tried to kill the fleas before this became a problem.

Sin does this exact same thing in our lives.  “It is only a little sin,” we rationalize.  Friend, there is no such thing as a little sin.  Every sin if given opportunity will harden your heart, lead to forsaking the gospel, and relinquishing God from his throne.  Even it its seminal stages sin is an affront to God and his glory, and ought to be dealt with.   

One area that I have seen this most frequently is in the area of teenagers involved in inappropriate relationships.  We have lost numerous students, once seemingly passionate about Jesus, to boyfriends or girlfriends.  Ultimately, I know that if these students are in Christ that he will doggedly pursue them and work repentance in their heart.  Nonetheless, the pain that is caused by this is jarring. 

It starts with an “innocent” relationship.  Then mistakes are made.  Then it gets uncomfortable being around God’s Word and God’s people.  At the crossroads the student will either end the relationship with the boyfriend/girlfriend and respond in repentance or will “end” the relationship with God and run away from Him.  “Sin always aims at the utmost.”

What is the answer?  Kill the flea.  Kill the sin.  As John Owen has aptly said, “Be killing sin, or it will be killing you.”  Yes, Christ has ultimately taken away the principle of sin and its effects.  But we are still called in Scripture to actively be engaged in killing sin.  I do not fully understand it but all I know is this: Jesus has killed sin, Jesus is killing sin, and Jesus will ultimately do away with sin and he is calling us to, by his power, engage in killing sin. 

So, no matter how big or small the sin might seem to be it needs to be repented of.  Believe the gospel enough to turn from the ugliness of sin and embrace the beauty of Christ.  A couple fleas can end up costing you lots of labor and money; a “little sin” can cost you your soul. 

If you have never read John Owen’s classic work The Mortification of Sin, I would strongly suggest buying a copy for only 6.30 and reading it. 

I think I know how it happened but I have conflicting citings. D.A. Carson gives credit to McCheyne, I have it written down as John Owen.

"What a man is on his knees, in secret, before God that he is an no more".

I have an Owen quote that says

"A minister may fill his pews, his communion roll, the mouths of the public; but what that man is on his knees, in secret, before God Almighty, that he is, and no more."

Does anyone know where the McCheyne quote comes from? Carson does not cite it but attributes it to McCheyne. I have it written down as Owen--but also not cited. My guess is that McCheyne rephrased Owen's quote to make it more universal in scope. Anyone know?

This would be more appropriately titled, "What I missed in the last couple of days in Blogworld". But that's long. And compared to seeing our first child born, I missed nothing! Thanks to everyone for all of their prayers and support!

One of my favorite genres (at least I think it's a genre) is Biography. Michael Haykin gives us his Top 9 Biographies. To my dismay I have read only one! (HT: JT)

Challies, even while busy on his blog tour, gives us an answer to the question of whether or not there are errors in the Bible. If you want to follow Challies blog tour you can check out Day 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Jonathan Leeman is blogging through Bill Hybel's REVEAL. In what looks to be a 6 part series Leeman has already posted Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4. I particularly like the Excursus listed as #3; in that post he asks, "do externals count for anything"? You are also encouraged to check out Greg Hawkin's response to Willow Creek's "repentance".

John Piper has made a statement that is gripping me: "Sometimes the best mark of holiness is not griping that sin abounds but groaning and grieving. " See the context here. The staff at DG has also posted a very helpful Favorite 2007 Reading list.

Founders points us to John Owen's comments on pastoral fervency. Owen admonishes pastors to consider the importance of these 3 things: (1.) Zeal for the glory of God in Christ; (2.) Real compassion for the souls of men; (3.) An especial conscientious regard unto our duty and office, with respect unto its nature, trust, end, and reward.

Thabiti posts his 2008 Evangelism Reading List. I was a little sad that Will Metzger's Tell the Truth was not on the list, but it's a great list and he will be blessed in his 2008 reading.

More controversy from Mars Hill. Steve Camp weighs in on Mars Hill's New Year's Bash--complete with a champagne bar. As Frank Turk began discussing the issue, as always it turned towards the issue of total abstinence (See also, here). Today, Phil Johnson attempts to recenter the discussion on whether or not it is acceptable to turn the church into a discotheque.

Michael Horton has written a great article on Christless Christianity.

There has been quite a bit I have missed, but this has been a decent summary. I will hopefully get back to normal posting next week. I hope to catch up on the McCheyne Reading Plan, and at some point I hope to write an article on this whole "alcohol issue".

Josh Harris gives us the New Attitude promo. I would love to attend this event in May: