One Dead Fly
The sermon emphasizes the importance of dealing with sin in our lives, as one sin can have eternal consequences and damn a person forever.
Thomas Brooks emphasizes the danger of harboring even a single sin, likening it to a dead fly that spoils a box of precious ointment. He warns that no hypocrite is completely free from the love of sin, as they often cling to secret lusts that can lead to spiritual death. Brooks illustrates that just as one disease can be fatal, one sin can condemn a soul, making it essential to address any sin in our lives to avoid spiritual leprosy. He urges listeners to recognize that allowing even one sin can lead to eternal damnation, just as one hole in a ship can sink it.
Text
No hypocrite is totally divorced from the love and liking
of every known sin. There is still some secret lust, which
as a sweet morsel he rolls under his tongue, and will not
spit it out. Every hypocrite lives under the dominion and
reign of one base lust or another--and will do what he
can to save the life of his sin--though it be with the loss
of his soul. A hypocrite always reserves one nest-egg or
another in his heart or life, for Satan to sit and brood on.
O sirs! Satan can hold a man fast enough by one sin,
as the fowler can hold the bird fast enough by one claw.
Satan knows, that one sin lived in and allowed, will as
certainly damn a man as many sins; just as one disease,
one ulcerous part, may as certainly kill a man as many.
One dead fly will mar the whole box of precious ointment.
One jarring string will bring the sweetest music out of tune.
If the leper in the law had the spot of leprosy in any one
part of his body, he was accounted a leper; although all
the rest of his body was sound and whole, Lev. 14. Just
so, he who has the spot of the leprosy of sin allowed in
any one part of his soul, he is a spiritual leper in the eye
of God; he is unclean, though in other parts he may not
be unclean.
If a swine does but wallow in one miry or dirty hole--it
is filthy; and certainly, that soul which does but wallow
in any one sin--he is filthy in the eye of God.
O sirs! remember that . . .
as one hole in a ship will sink it, and
as one stab at the heart will kill a man, and
as one glass of poison will poison a man, and
as one act of treason will make a man a traitor,
so one sin lived in and allowed, will damn a man forever!
One millstone will sink a man to the bottom of the sea as
well as a hundred. Just so, one sin lived in and indulged,
will sink a man to the bottom of hell as well as a hundred.
Sermon Outline
- I. The Hypocrite's Secret Sin
- A. Every hypocrite has a secret lust they refuse to give up
- B. This sin is a stronghold in their life
- C. They will do whatever it takes to keep it
- II. The Power of One Sin
- A. One sin can hold a person captive like a bird in a fowler's snare
- B. One sin can damn a person just as surely as many
- C. One sin can mar the whole of a person's life like a dead fly in a box of ointment
- III. The Consequences of Sin
- A. One sin can make a person a spiritual leper in God's eyes
- B. One sin can make a person filthy in God's eyes
- C. One sin can sink a person to the bottom of hell
Key Quotes
“One dead fly will mar the whole box of precious ointment.” — Thomas Brooks
“One jarring string will bring the sweetest music out of tune.” — Thomas Brooks
“One sin lived in and allowed, will damn a man forever!” — Thomas Brooks
Application Points
- We must deal with sin in our lives, no matter how small it may seem, because it can have eternal consequences.
- One sin can hold a person captive and prevent them from living a life pleasing to God.
- We must be careful not to allow one sin to become a stronghold in our lives, as it can sink us to the bottom of hell.