Precious Remedies - Device #2

(This is a series based on Thomas Brooks’ Precious Remedies against Satan’s Devices.)

The second device Satan uses to entice the souls of men is to make sin look like virtue. Pride, he says, is just self-esteem. Covetousness is just being a good manager of one’s finances. Drunkenness is just good fellowship. And those who can’t practice self-control are simply immature or enjoying being young.

For this device too Brooks offers four remedies. First, keep in mind that sin is no less filthy just because it has been made to look nice. The devil himself appears as an angel of light but when he does he is no less the devil.

Second, we should consider that the more sin is made to look honorable the more dangerous it is to our souls. To make sin seem righteous is the order of the day in some circles. We can call darkness light if we want but stumbling around in the darkness will eventually cause one to fall into a pit.

Third, keep in mind that even if you don’t see sin for what it is now it will soon become apparent. “When you lie upon a dying bed, and stand before a judgment seat, sin shall be unmasked, and its dress and robes shall then be taken off, and then it shall appear more vile, filthy and terrible than hell itself.” Try to see sin now as it will appear in eternity!

Fourth, the same sins that Satan tries to rename and redecorate are the ones which cost the blood of Jesus Christ. “’Never let go out of your minds the thoughts of the crucified Christ.’ Let these be meat and drink unto you; let them be your sweetness and consolation, your honey and your desire, your reading and your meditation, your life, death and resurrection.”