Sinfulness of sin - Venning - XIII - Section 4 concluded

Required reading
Sinfulness of sin by Ralph Venning (available from Amazon or free on the internet, here for example). Finish the book by reading about sins of commission and the Conclusion

My summary
Today Venning makes his final points about sinning in deeds by speaking of sins of commission.

Venning warns us to:
(a) Watch against that which may be most properly called your own sin, that to which you are most inclined;
(b) Take heed of the sins which men and women are guilty of, as relatives;
(c) Take heed of the sins of the age, country, and places where you live;
(d) Take heed of the sins that attend your callings, occupations and trades;
(e) Beware of such sins as the world calls little sins, peccadilloes;
(f) Take heed of what men call secret sins;
(g) Take heed of the occasions and even the appearances of this evil, sin;
(h) Take heed of being in any way or in any degree guilty of other men's sin.

What grabbed me
Great practical exhortations here at the end of the book.  I found helpful the warnings to the young: 'Are you young? Then avoid the sins common to this age; 'flee youthful lusts' (2 Timothy 2.22) or the lusts of youth. There are some lusts almost peculiar to youth: (i) ambition, vainglory and pride (1 Peter 5.5), which is most evident in their odd, fantastic dress and eccentric manners, as that text implies, and especially in not submitting to the elders. (ii) the gratifying of the sensual appetite and carnal inclination. They are much for the lust of the eye and of the flesh too, as well as for the pride of life. Ecclesiastes tells us that they are much set upon pleasure, the young man's favourite (11.9 and 12.1). The prodigal, who was the younger brother, in this way wasted his estate, his time and himself; he spent all on back and belly, on riotous living. It was a young man whom Solomon saw going away to her house (Proverbs 7.7) which leads to hell. (iii) Another lust of youth is self-conceit, too much proneness to be wise in their own eyes. They think old men fools, but old men know that they are fools. Their conceit puffs them up and makes them incapable of instruction and very unteachable-Rehoboam and his young counsellors will save us the labour of giving other examples (1 Kings 12). It is for this reason that the Apostle would have Titus exhort young men to be discreet or sober minded. Flee then all these and any other youthful lusts. Make the most haste you can from them; do not only creep or go or run or ride, but flee.'

Excellent advice for a church youth group. 

And for the 'old', Venning says: 'Are you old? Hear then, you old men (Joel 1.2). What shall we hear?, you will say. Take heed of the sins and lusts of old age (Titus 2.2). When men are dying and have one foot in the grave, when they are about to give up the ghost, yet, like the thief on the cross, they will be sinning. Take heed of Solomon's old-age sin, a kind of dotage which suffered him to apostatize (1 Kings 11.3). Be sound in the faith (Titus 2.2). Take heed of the peevishness of old age; be patient, says the text. Take heed of the covetousness of old age; be charitable, says the text. Be fruitful in your old age, that your latter end may be better than your beginning, and the better because, it may be, your beginning was bad. Seek that your last days may be your best days, and so you may die in a good old age, which may be best done when you die good in old age, and are such as St. Paul the aged who had finished his course. It is a crown and glory to be an old good disciple, as Mnason was (Acts 21.16).'

Next week's reading
Begin Reformed Doctrine of Predestination by Loraine Boettner (Available free here) by reading Chapter 1 (Introduction) and Chapter 2 (Statement of the doctrine).

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.