Recognize Sin
Knowing the occasions of our sin and how it shows itself is crucial to stopping it and living a life like God.
Mary Wilder Tileston emphasizes the importance of letting go of negative emotions such as bitterness, wrath, anger, and evil-speaking, and encourages a transformation towards a spirit filled with brightness, a temper like a fragrant wind, and a heart quickened to know and run on God's errands. She highlights the significance of recognizing the occasions and manifestations of sin in our lives to guard against it and stop it, pointing out that seemingly small things like being faulted, slighted, or contradicted contribute to our daily trials and shape our likeness to God and our eternity.
Text
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil-speaking, be put away from you, with all malice.
--EPHESIANS 4:31
THE wider vision of the mind;
The spirit bright with sun;
The temper like a fragrant wind,
Chilling and grieving none;
The quickened heart to know God's will,
And on His errands run.
--SUSAN COOLIDGE
IT is of the very greatest moment to know the occa.sions of our sin, and the way in which it shows itself. To know the occasions, puts us on our guard; to know how our sin shows itself, gives us the means of stopping it. Thus, as to these occasions; one is made angry, if he is found fault with roughly, or even at all, or slighted, or spoken slightly of, or laughed at, or kept waiting, or treated rudely, or hurt even un.intentionally, or if his will is crossed, or he is con.tradicted, or interrupted, or not attended to, or another be preferred to him, or if he cannot succeed in what he has to do. These sound little things when we speak of them in the presence of God, and in the sight of eternity. But these and such like little things make up our daily trials, our habits of mind, our life; our likeness or unlikeness to God, who made us in His own image; our eternity.
--E. B. PUSEY
Sermon Outline
- Recognizing the Occasions of Sin
- Knowing How Sin Shows Itself
- Recognizing the means of stopping sin
- Understanding the importance of self-awareness
Key Quotes
“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil-speaking, be put away from you, with all malice.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
“The temper like a fragrant wind, / Chilling and grieving none;” — Mary Wilder Tileston
Application Points
- We must be aware of the small things that can lead to sin and take steps to prevent them.
- Recognizing the means of stopping sin requires self-awareness and a willingness to change.
- Living a life like God means being mindful of our thoughts, words, and actions.