Let Christ Be King in Your Heart
To follow Christ, you must put away every sin and have a clean heart, for it is impossible to serve sin and Christ at the same time.
C.H. Spurgeon emphasizes the necessity of relinquishing sin to allow Christ to reign in our hearts, arguing that one cannot serve both sin and Christ. He challenges the sincerity of those who claim to seek peace while continuing in known sin, asserting that true peace with God requires a complete separation from sinful behaviors. Spurgeon warns against the hypocrisy of expecting salvation while indulging in sin, urging listeners to make a clean break from their transgressions. He stresses that while perfection may not be attainable, the desire to forsake sin must be genuine and heartfelt. Ultimately, he calls for a radical commitment to holiness, as anything less would be an affront to Christ's lordship.
Text
It is impossible to serve sin and to serve Christ. Favourite and constitutional sins must be relinquished. I know many persons who say that they are under concern of soul whose sincerity I more than question, because they continue in known sin, and yet they complain that they cannot find peace. How can they? If you meet with a person who drinks upon the sly and is frequently half intoxicated, if you hear him say that he cannot find rest in Christ, do you wonder? Do you not feel that he is a hypocrite?... Talk about having a Savior and continue to get drunk; I marvel that you do not perish like Ananias and Sapphira. Another man is carrying on his trade in a way which is dishonest, and yet he whines amid cants about not finding peace with God. Do not his own words condemn him? What has he to do with peace? How can he continue in sin and yet be saved from sin?
Oh, sirs, be not deceived; your sins and you must part or Jesus will have nothing to do with you. Do you think so badly of my Lord as to dream that he will pander to your passions by giving you liberty to live in sin and yet go to heaven? For shame! Has Christ come to play the lackey to your lusts and let you do the work of Satan and then receive the wages of the godly? Oh no, there must be a clean sweep of the false to make room for the true; we must have no Ishbosheth* if David is to be king. Though you may not attain perfection, yet in your desires you must be perfect; you must from your heart put away every single sin, be it of what shape it may, however pleasurable or painful it may appear. Off must come the right arms, and out must go the right eyes. It were better for you to enter into life maimed and blind than that you should perish in your transgressions.
* - See 2 Samuel chs. 2 & 3
From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled "Now Then Do It," delivered September 23, 1877.
Sermon Outline
- I. The Incompatibility of Sin and Christ
- A. Serving sin and serving Christ are mutually exclusive
- B. Favourite and constitutional sins must be relinquished
- II. The Consequences of Continued Sin
- A. Lack of peace with God
- B. Hypocrisy and deception
- III. The Necessity of a Clean Sweep
- A. No room for sin in the life of a Christian
- B. A clean heart is required for Christ to be king
Key Quotes
“It is impossible to serve sin and to serve Christ.” — C.H. Spurgeon
“Oh, sirs, be not deceived; your sins and you must part or Jesus will have nothing to do with you.” — C.H. Spurgeon
“It were better for you to enter into life maimed and blind than that you should perish in your transgressions.” — C.H. Spurgeon
Application Points
- You must put away every sin to follow Christ and have a clean heart.
- Continued sin leads to hypocrisy and deception, and ultimately, perishing in your transgressions.
- Desiring to be perfect in your heart is a necessary step in following Christ.