Works (Vol 1) - Sibbes - XXI - Church's visitation Sermons I

Required reading
The Works Volume 1 by Richard Sibbes (Available from Amazon or free here) - Commence the discourse entitled 'The church's visitation' by reading Sermon I.

My summary
Today we commence 'The Church's Visitation' which forms a treatise of 1 Peter 4:17-19 in four separate but related discourses.

This week's Sibbes teaches us:
(i) that God's church is his house;
(ii) that this house will need purging (it will gather soil);
(iii) when God sees the exigent of it, that it must be so, he will be sure to visit and judge his own house;
(iv) that there is a certain time when he will judge, which those that are wise may easily gather as he gives fair warning;
(v) God begins with his own church and people to correct them, to take away excuse against them, to make them best and to make them relish his goodness.

What grabbed me
A terrible, yet true, point was made about the sin of Christians: 'The sins of the godly more heinous than others. The sins of God's house admit of a greater aggravation than the sins of others ; for, (1) they are committed against more light ; (2) against more benefits and favours ; (3) their sins in a manner are sacrilege. What ! to make ' the temple of God a den of thieves,' to defile their bodies and souls, that are bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ, is this a small matter ? Again, (4) their sins are idolatry; for they are not only the house of God, but the spouse of God. Now, for a spouse to be false and adulterous, this is greater than fornication, because the bond is nearer ; so the nearer any come to God in profession, the higher is the aggravation of their sin, and as their sin grows, so must their punishment grow answerable and proportionable. They, therefore that know God's will most of all others, must look for most stripes if they do it not, Luke xii. 47, 48.'

Lord have mercy upon me and keep me from sin.

Next week's reading
Continue the discourse entitled 'The church's visitation' by reading sermons II and III.

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