The Christian in Complete Armour - Gurnall - XIX - Direction Third concluded

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

My summary

Gurnall examines the second argument Paul gives for putting on the armour of God: 'And having done all, to stand.'

Gurnall says that we see here

(i) the necessity of perseverance — having done all;

(ii) the necessity of divine armour to persevere till we have done all;

(iii) the certainty of persevering and overcoming at last, if clad with this armour;

(iv) the blessed result of the saints' perseverance, propounded as that which will abundantly recompense all their pain and patience in the war—having done all, to stand.

What grabbed me

I loved this illustration about the need to act: 'A great captain once smote one of his soldiers for railing at his enemy, saying, that he called him not to rail on him, but to fight against him and kill him. It is not crying out upon the devil, and declaiming against sin in prayer or discourse, but fighting and mortifying it, that God looks chiefly upon. Such a one else doth but beat the air. There are no marks to be seen on his flesh and unmortified lusts that he hath fought. Paul was in earnest. He left a witness upon his body, made black and blue with strokes of mortification.'

Christians are doers, not simply talkers.

Next week's reading
Read Direction Fourth.

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