The First Step Towards Heaven
To be truly godly, we must see our sinful nature and our need for God's mercy and salvation, which is the first step towards heaven.
Thomas Brooks emphasizes that recognizing one's own sinfulness and wretchedness is essential for true godliness. He asserts that before one can seek the mercy of God, they must first acknowledge their dire state as children of wrath and enemies of God. The realization of being near to hell is the first step towards heaven, as it compels individuals to seek the physician of souls, Jesus Christ. Without this awareness of their spiritual wounds and diseases, people will not value or desire the healing that Christ offers. Brooks calls for a deep self-examination to understand one's need for divine mercy.
Text
"It is not the healthy who need a physician,
but the sick." Matthew 9:12
If you would be truly godly, then you must see how
bad you are, how vile, how sinful, how wretched
you are. No man begins to be good until he sees
himself to be bad. Ah! You must see yourselves . . .
to be children of wrath,
to be enemies of God,
to be strangers from God,
to be afar off from God,
to be afar from heaven,
to be sin's servants,
to be Satan's bond-slaves.
The first step to mercy,
is to see your misery.
The first step towards heaven,
is to see yourselves near to hell.
You won't look after the physician of souls,
you won't prize the physician of souls,
you won't desire the physician of souls,
you won't fall in love with the physician of souls,
you won't resign yourselves to the physician of souls
--until you come to see your wounds, until you come
to feel your diseases, until you see the symptoms,
the plague-sores of divine wrath and displeasure
upon you. As the whole do not need the physician,
so they do not desire, they do not care for the
physician. Acquaint yourselves with your natural
and undone condition.
Sermon Outline
- The Necessity of Seeing Our Misery
- The Consequences of Not Seeing Our Misery
- The First Step Towards Heaven
- Seeing ourselves near to hell
- Acquainting ourselves with our natural and undone condition
Key Quotes
“It is not the healthy who need a physician, but the sick.” — Thomas Brooks
“You won't look after the physician of souls, you won't prize the physician of souls, you won't desire the physician of souls, you won't fall in love with the physician of souls, you won't resign yourselves to the physician of souls--until you come to see your wounds, until you come to feel your diseases, until you see the symptoms, the plague-sores of divine wrath and displeasure upon you.” — Thomas Brooks
Application Points
- We must acknowledge our sinful nature and our need for God's mercy and salvation.
- We must desire God's help and seek His mercy and salvation.
- We must understand that God is the physician of our souls, who heals our spiritual diseases and brings us to salvation.