January 26, 2017

The Christian in Complete Armour - Gurnall - XVIII - Direction Third continued

Required reading
The Christian in Complete Armour by William Gurnall (Available from Amazon or free here) - Read First Argument of Second General Part of Direction Third.

My summary
Gurnall examines the first argument Paul gives for putting on the armour of God: 'It behoves every one to arm and prepare himself for the evil day of affliction and death, which unavoidably he must conflict with.'

This point has three branches:

(i) the day of affliction and death is an evil day;
(ii) this evil day is unavoidable;
(iii) it behoves every one to provide for this evil day.

In his application of the doctrine, Gurnall particularly exhorts four groups of people:
(i) those that are so far from providing for the evil day that they will not suffer any thoughts of that day to stay with them;
(ii) those who if they think of the evil day yet do so only as so far off that it is to little purpose;
(iii) those who think often of this evil day yet continue in their old trade of sin;
(iv) those who rest in an unarmed condition.

What grabbed me
I was helped by the encouragement to die to this world: 'Labour to die to this life, and the enjoyments of it, every day more and more. Death is not so strong to him whose natural strength has been wasted by long pining sickness, as it is to him that lies but a few days, and has strength of nature to make great resistance. Truly thus it is here. That Christian whose love to this life and the contents of it, hath been for many years consuming and dying, will with more facility part with them than he whose love is stronger to them. All Christians are not mortified in the same degree to the world. Paul tells us he died daily. He was ever sending more and more of his heart out of the world, so that by that time he came to die, all his affections were packed up and gone, which made him the more ready to follow:19 'I am ready to be offered up,' II Tim. 4:6. If it be but a tooth to pull out, the faster it stands the more pain we have to draw it. O loosen the roots of thy affections from the world, and the tree will fall more easily.'

It's hard to leave what you love.

Next week's reading
Read Second Argument of Second 
General Part of Direction Third.

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




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