Holiness, and you probably recall that we considered a lot last time, Ryle's chapter in this book, Holiness, and a must-read for the devoted Christian, the publishers put. And you can get this on Kindle, by the way, for free. And then anyone that's interested in getting a nicer print copy, the best place to get J.C. Ryle's books that are printed in hardback, really nice. They're probably about $26 per volume, but there's holiness. practical, religion, old paths, quite a number of different ones. Those are some of the main ones that I suggest. Anyway, the best place to get them is not on Amazon, but it's at Banner of Truth. Banner of Truth publishers and they make really really nice high quality hardback volumes there so Anyway, you can go anywhere from free on Kindle up to one of those so we had looked at lots wife in his chapter 10 of holiness and then Last time, for the last week's Sunday school hour, the first hour, we looked at chapter 9, which is about Lot. And the title of his chapter is Lot as a beacon, that is, a warning. And in his central passage that, well, here, I'll read it to you. I'll show you. It's on the screen here. The account of God wiping out Sodom and Gomorrah is found in Genesis chapter 19 and J.C. Ryle zeroes in when he's considering Lot on verses, well actually verse 16, the first few words, but he lingered. All right, so here's verses 15 and 16. As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city. But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him. and they brought him out and set him outside the city. So I think our dishwasher's running, but I don't know if that's, if you hear a water running, that's what it is, but at any rate. Okay, so this is the second half. Last week, we looked at the first half of chapter nine on Lot and how he lingered. And so now what I want to do is read to you the second half of that same chapter. And the reason we're live streaming this, putting it online, is so that those of you that follow online will be able to listen to the same thing that we will be doing in the Sunday school class this coming Sunday, June 5th. So we'll all be on the same page. All right. I'm going to use Kindle here. As I said, this is the book on Kindle, and it was free. I just downloaded it here. I'm just going to back up about one page, just kind of overlap a little bit of review from where we left off last time. This is Roman numeral 3. I should say one other thing as well. I found this, a lot of Ryle's writings, if you'll just Google search J.C. Ryle. A lot of his stuff is in PDF form online and you can print it out. I found this sermon This chapter actually from his book on holiness about lot there in PDF and I I printed it out and I'm gonna make handouts for the people here But you can those of you that are online if you'll just search for it, you'll find it and you can either follow along with it as I as you follow along as I'm reading or If you don't have the book and anyway, that's another thing that's handy. So Alright Here we go then with section three. Let us next consider the reasons that may account for lots lingering. This is a question of great importance and I ask most serious attention to it. To know the root of a disease is one step towards a remedy. He that's forewarned is forearmed. Who is there among the readers of this paper that feels secure and has no fear of lingering? Come and listen while I tell you a few passages of Lott's history. Do as he did, and it will be a miracle indeed if you do not get into the same state of soul at the last. One thing then I observe in Lott is this. and we emphasized this last time. He made a wrong choice in early life. There was a time when Abraham and Lot lived together. They both became rich and could live together no longer. So Abraham, the elder of the two, in the spirit of humility and courtesy, gave Lot the choice of the country when they resolved to part company. If thou, King James Version, he said, will take the left hand, I'll go to the right. Or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. That was back in Genesis 18. And what did Lot do? We're told he saw that the plains of Jordan near Sodom were rich, fertile, and well-watered. It was a good land for cattle and full of pastures. He had large flocks and herds, and it just suited his requirements. And this was the land he chose for a residence, simply because it was rich, well-watered land. It was near the town of Sodom. He cared not for that. The men of Sodom, who would be his neighbors, were wicked. It mattered not. They were sinners before God exceedingly. It made no difference to Lot. The pastor was rich. The land was good. He wanted such a country for his flocks and herds. And before that argument, all scruples and doubts, if indeed he had any, at once went down. He chose by sight and not by faith. He asked no counsel of God to preserve him from mistakes. He looked to the things of time and not of eternity. He thought of his worldly profit and not of his soul. He considered only what would help him in this life. He forgot the solemn business of the life to come. This was a bad beginning. But I observe also that Lot mixed with sinners when there was no occasion for his doing so. That's a second point to remember. He made bad choices early in life and now here he mixed with sinners when there was no occasion, there was no reason for his doing so. We're at first told that he pitched his tent towards Sodom. This, as I've already shown, was a great mistake. But the next time he's mentioned, we find him actually living in Sodom itself. The Spirit expressly says he dwelt in Sodom. His tents were left. The country was forsaken. He occupied a house in the very streets of that wicked town. We're not told the reason of this change. We're not aware that any occasion could have arisen for it. We're sure there could have been no command of God. Perhaps his wife liked the town better than the country for the sake of society. It's plain she had no grace in herself. In other words, she was not Perhaps she persuaded Lott that it was needful for the advantage of his daughters, that they might marry and get settled in life. Perhaps the daughters urged living in the town for the sake of gay company. They were evidently light-minded young women. Perhaps Lot, he's got these good phrases in here. Maybe sometime you can have a chance to describe someone as light-minded. Perhaps Lot liked it himself in order to make more of his flocks and herds. Men never want, they never lack reasons to confirm what they want, confirm their wills. But one thing's very clear. Lot dwelt in the midst of Sodom without good cause. When a child of God does these two things which I've named, make bad decisions early in life, mix with sinners when there's no good reason to do so, we never need be surprised if we hear by and by unfavorable accounts about his soul. We never need wonder if he becomes deaf to the warning voice of affliction as Lott was, and turns out a lingerer in the day of trial and danger as Lott did. Make a wrong choice in life. and unscriptural choice, settle yourself down unnecessarily in the midst of worldly people, and I know no sure way to damage your own spirituality and to go backward about your eternal concerns." And I'll say it again, and I'm going to keep saying it. I've seen young person after young person after young person go down the tubes spiritually, having grown up And the church heard the gospel regularly, and they make bad choices, and they mix it up with wicked people, all because they want to, well, it's for worldly reasons. They don't walk by faith. They don't look out for their soul. They walk by sight, what will benefit them in this life. This is the way to make the pulse of your soul beat feebly and languidly. This is the way to make the edge of your feeling about sin become blunt and dull. This is the way to dim the eyes of your spiritual discernment till you can scarcely distinguish good from evil. stumble as you walk. This is the way to bring a moral palsy on your feet and limbs and make you go tottering and trembling along the road to Zion as if the grasshopper was a burden. This is the way to sell the past to your worst enemy. This is the way to give an opening to the devil, right? To give the devil vantage ground in the battle, to tie your arms in fighting, to fetter your legs in running, to dry up the sources of your strength, to cripple your energies, to cut off your own hair like Samson, give yourself into the hands of the Philistines, to put out your own eyes, grind at the mill, and become a slave. I call on every reader of this paper to mark well what I'm saying. Settle these things down in your mind and don't forget them. Remember them in the morning. Recall them to memory at night. Let them sink down deeply into your heart. If ever you would be safe from lingering, beware of needless mingling with worldly people. Beware of Lot's choice. If you would not settle down into a dry, dull, sleepy, lazy, barren, heavy, carnal, stupid, torpid state of soul, beware of Lot's choice. Remember this in choosing a dwelling place or residence. It's not enough that the house is comfortable. the situation good, the air fine, the neighborhood pleasant, the rent or price small, the living cheap. There's other things yet to be considered. You must think of your immortal soul. Will the house you think of help you towards heaven or hell? Is the gospel preached within an easy distance? Or you might say, is there a sound church there? Is Christ crucified within the reach of your door? Is there a real man of God near who will watch over your soul? I charge you, if you love life, not to overlook this. Beware of Lot's choice. Remember this in choosing a calling. So here's another application here. I'm trying to mark that down and I lost my place. I've got a head here. Here we go. Remember this in choosing a calling, a place or profession in life. It's not enough that the salary is high, the wage is good, the work light, easy, the advantages numerous, the prospects of getting on most favorable. Think of your soul, your immortal soul. Will it be prospered or drawn back? And here's a critical point. Will you have your Sundays free and be able to have one day in the week for your spiritual business? I beseech you by the mercies of God to take heed what you do. Make no rash decision. Look at the place in every light, the light of God as well as the light of the world. Gold may be bought too dear. Beware of Lot's choice. Remember this in choosing a husband or a wife. I'm having great trouble marking these. Maybe I'll just mark one word and call it good. Remember this in choosing a husband or wife if you're unmarried. It's not enough that your eye is pleased, that your tastes are met, that your mind find congeniality, that there is amiability and affection, that there is a comfortable home for life, There needs be something more than this. There is a life yet to come. And he's talking about eternal life, our soul. Think of your soul, your immortal soul. Will it be helped upwards to heaven or dragged downwards by the union you are planning? Will it be made more heavenly or more earthly? drawn nearer to Christ or to the world? Will its religion grow in vigor or will it decay? I pray you, by all your hopes of glory, your hope of heaven, allow this to enter into your calculations. Think, as old Baxter, he was a Puritan, as old Baxter said, and think. Think and think again before you commit yourself. Be not unequally yoked. Matrimony is nowhere named among the means of conversion. Remember Lot's choice. You see what he means by that statement? Matrimony, marriage is nowhere in the Bible named as a means of salvation, as a means of conversion. Now, lest you think that there's not people today that think that marriage can be the means of salvation, I can tell you that on numerous occasions I have had people who were, and I think of one gal in particular, who, but she's not the only one that I've run into in this case. Her husband died, and she called me one day and said, well, I'm sorry, Pastor, but I can't be in church right now. I plan to come back, but I can't come right now. I said, why not? Well, because I'm in a relationship with a man, and he's not a Christian, and I know how these things go. I just out and out asked her, so are you living with him? Are you sleeping with him? Well, yeah, he moved in here, and so I said, well, that sin. Now, here's the amazing thing. People like this, they actually think that they can call a pastor. Maybe there's pastors that do that. I don't know. But tell them, oh, well, it's okay. The Lord knows, you know, He's forgiving and so on. But what I said to her is that, well, you need to repent. You need to break off that sinful relationship and stop sinning. And here's my point. Here was her answer. She said, but I think I can lead him to Christ. And as I said, that's not the only time this has happened. I think I can lead him to Christ. So basically what she was saying, well, you know, marriage is, they weren't even married yet, but marriage is a means of conversion, you know. I can tell you right now, as I told her, that, well, you walk in this sin and you don't repent, you have no reason whatsoever to believe that you're even a Christian. Well, she's got mad and hung up, and that was the end of that. So, remember Lot's choice. Matrimony is nowhere named among the means of conversion. To a young person, I'd say, if you're interested in, let's say, it can go either way, a young man interested in a gal or the other way around, and you find, I'd say, well, okay, that person says that they're a Christian, you claim to be a Christian, are you What church? What fruit is there that would demonstrate that that person that you're interested in, that their claim to be a Christian is valid? For example, are they a member of a sound church? I don't know. No, he or she, they don't go to church anywhere. They're not really part of a church and so forth. Well, I can tell you right now that pattern is not going to change. If you're going to end up marrying into a situation that is not going to bring you up upward toward heaven, it's going to bring you downward toward the world. All right, well here's another point. Remember this. Mark that one too. Remember this. If you are ever offered a situation, that means a job, on a railway. Now, this is interesting. Of course, in his day, in Ryle's day, back in the 1800s in England, the railroad trains, you know, everywhere. It's a major means of transportation. So that's what he's talking about. And so he would say, you know, run into a lot of people who may be his church members or people that claim to be Christians, and they have an opportunity to go to work for the railroad, okay? If you're ever offered a situation on a railway, it's not enough to have good pay and regular employment, the confidence of the directors, your bosses, and the best chance of rising to a higher post. These things are very well in their way. They're good things in and of themselves, but they're not everything. How will your soul fare, how will your spiritual life do if you serve a railway company that runs Sunday trains? What day in the week then will you have for God and eternity, right? Remember the Sabbath day, remember the Lord's day to keep it holy. What opportunities will you have for hearing the gospel preached? I solemnly warn you to consider this. It will profit you nothing to fill your purse if you bring leanness and poverty on your soul. Beware of selling your Sabbath for the sake of a good place, a good position. Remember Esau's mess of pottage and beware of Lot's choice. Some reader now may perhaps think, A believer, a real Christian, need not fear. He's a sheep of Christ. He will never perish. He cannot come to much harm. It cannot be that such small matters can be of great importance. Well, you may think so, but I warn you, if you neglect these matters, your soul will never prosper. We'll come back to this. Let me mark that position right there, because I want to show you a verse here. Now, this is a familiar verse, but a lot of people, I think, don't really zero in on the whole thing here, okay? It's in Hebrews 10, and down in, say, verse 25, something like that, right? Let's look at verse 23 here. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day, Christ's return, day of judgment, drawing near." Okay, so now we've seen those verses probably many times before, but look at this, don't neglect to meet together, as is the habit of some. Even then, Paul was running into this in the early church, right? We need to meet together, and generally we do that on the Lord's Day as a church. body gathers together, and those of you that, well, if you're listening to this Sunday School class, those of you that follow online and so forth, and you participate in that sense in the online worship service, the Sunday service, and in the Sunday School class, If you had, I know most all of you, and I know that if you had a sound church, a genuine church, right, by you, that you would plug in and you would be there. It's not an easy matter to find that. But you, I talk to most of you, emails and texts, and so back and forth. Every week we have that, and I know that you encourage me I hope that we encourage you then as well, you see. But even in that mode online, we meet together, all right? Not neglecting to meet together is a habit of some. Because why? Well, we need to stir up one another. Come on, press on, don't get discouraged. The day of Christ's return is approaching. We need to be encouraging one another. So the person who doesn't consider those things who doesn't observe the Lord's Day and so on, for example, and have input into other believers' lives, then, well, this is one another stuff, right? Stir up one another to love and good works. Don't neglect to meet together. It's dangerous. And it becomes more dangerous He indicates this, and all the more as you see the day drawing near, all the more. Why? Well, one reason is, and if you've been following our midweek revelation study, because the world is getting more and more and more wicked. It's the attacks and so forth, the enemy's activities increase even more as Christ's day approaches. So all the more, you know, as your wickedness increases, it's even more important for us then to meet together. So, all right then, let's go back here. Now, as he says, Well, you may think so, and let's think what? What does he think? Well, you know, I don't need to fear. I'm a sheep of Christ. I'll never perish. I can't lose your salvation, which is true, right? Well, Ryle says, you may think so, but I warn you, if you neglect these matters, your soul will never prosper. A true believer will certainly not be cast away, although he may linger. And I think we saw last time, you know, in 2 Peter, where Peter mentions Lot. Lot was not a happy man. He was not, he was a believer, but his soul was vexed within him. He saw the wickedness around him. He was not a thriving Christian. His faith was weak. A true believer will certainly not be cast away, although he may linger. But if he does linger, it's vain to suppose that his religion, his faith will thrive. Grace is a tender plant. Unless you cherish it and nurse it well, it will soon become sickly in this evil world. I mean, think of it. How many spiritually mature, sound, increasing in holiness and increasing in Christ-likeness people do you know who are people who are careless, careless about being in God's word, careless about gathering together with God's people on Sunday. You're not gonna find a mature believer like that. Unless you cherish it and nourish it well, it will soon become sickly in this evil world. It may droop, though it cannot die. The brightest gold will soon become dim when exposed to a damp atmosphere. The hottest iron will soon become cold. It requires pains and toil to bring it to a red heat. It requires nothing but letting alone or a little cold water to become black and hard. You may be an earnest, zealous Christian now. You may feel like David in his prosperity. I shall never be moved. But don't be deceived. You have only got to walk in Lot's steps and make Lot's choice and you will soon come to Lot's state of soul. Allow yourself to do as he did. presume to act as he acted, and be very sure you will soon discover you have become a wretched lingerer like him. You will find like Samson the presence of the Lord is no longer with you. You will prove to your own shame an undecided, hesitating man in the day of trial. There will come a canker, a sore, on your religion and eat out its vitality without your knowing it. There will come a slow consumption on your spiritual strength and waste it away insensibly. And at length you will wake up to find your hands hardly able to do the Lord's work, and your feet hardly able to carry you along the Lord's way, and your faith no bigger than a grain of mustard seed. And this perhaps at some turning point in your life, at a time when the enemy is coming in like a flood and your need is sorest. If you would not become a lingerer in religion, consider these things, beware of doing what Lot did. The fourth point here, Let us inquire now what kind of fruit Lot's lingering spirit bore at last. I would not pass over this point for many reasons, especially in the present day. There are not a few people who will feel disposed to say, after all, Lot was saved. He was justified. He got to heaven. I want no more than that. If I do but get to heaven, I'll be content. If this is the thinking of your heart, just stay with him here a moment and listen to me a little longer. I will show you one or two things in Lot's history which deserve attention and may perhaps induce you to change your mind. I think it of first importance to dwell upon this subject. I always will contend that eminent holiness and eminent usefulness are most closely connected. that happiness and following the Lord fully go side by side, and that if believers linger, they must not expect to be useful in their day and generation, or to be very saintly and Christ-like, or to enjoy great comfort and peace in believing. Let's mark, then, for one thing, that Lot did no good among the inhabitants of Sodom. That's a crucial point. Think about that. Note this, mark this. Lot did no good among the inhabitants of Sodom. Lot probably lived in Sodom for many years. No doubt he had many precious opportunities for speaking of the things of God and trying to turn away souls from sin. But Lot seems to have affected just nothing at all. He appears to have had no weight or influence with the people who lived around him. He possessed none of that respect and reverence which even the men of the world will frequently concede to a bright servant of God. Not one righteous person could be found in all Sodom. Not one righteous person could be found in all of Sodom outside the walls of Lot's home. Not one of his neighbors believed his testimony. Not one of his acquaintances honored the Lord whom he worshipped. Not one of his servants served his master's God. Not one of all the people from every quarter cared a jot for his opinion when he tried to restrain their wickedness. They said, this one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will be our judge, right? His life carried no weight. His words were not listened to. His religion drew none to follow him. Truly, I don't wonder. As a general rule, lingering souls do no good to the world and bring no credit to God's cause. Their salt has too little savor to season the corruption around them. They're not epistles of Christ who can be known and read of all, 2 Corinthians 3. There's nothing magnetic and attractive in Christ reflecting about their ways. Let's remember this. And then let's, Mark, let's note for another thing that Lot helped none of his family, relatives, or connections toward heaven. We're not told how large his family was, but this we know. He had a wife and two daughters, at least, in the day he was called out of Sodom, if he had not more children besides. Let's see, did I skip one here? But whether Lot's family was large or small, one thing I think is perfectly clear. There was not one among all that feared God. See, this is one great thing about Ryle. He notes these things, right? Think about it. Not one of them. When he went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, in Genesis 19, who married his daughters and warned them to flee from the judgments coming on Sodom, we're told, he seemed to them as one that mocked. He was a fool. What fearful words those are. It was as good as saying, who cares for anything you say? So long as the world stands, those things will be painful proof of the contempt which a lingerer in religion is regarded. And what was Lot's wife? She left the city in his company, but she didn't go far. She had not faith to see the need of such a speedy flight. She left her heart in Sodom when she began to flee. She looked back from behind her husband, in spite of the plainest command not to do so, and was at once turned into a pillar of salt. What about Lot's two daughters? They escaped, indeed, but only to do the devil's work. They became their father's tempters to wickedness and led him to commit the foulest of sins. In short, Lot seems to have stood alone in his family. He was not made the means of keeping one soul back from the gates of hell. And I don't wonder. Lingering souls are seen through by their own families, and when seen through, they're despised. Their nearest relatives understand the inconsistency if they understand nothing else in religion. They draw the sad but not unnatural conclusion. Surely if he believed all that he professes to believe, he would not go on doing as he does. Lingering parents seldom have godly children." Check that out. Now we know full well that a godly parent, godly parents, can have a wicked child. But when you have a pattern, but the fact of the matter is careless Christians, lazy Christians, lingering Christians, hesitating and halting Christians who, you know, they never, they know they need to do this, they should do this, but they don't do it. They linger back and don't fully obey and follow Christ. Those kind of people don't have godly children. Their children grow up, they don't respect them. They don't see any need for Christ for them. The eye of the child drinks in far more than the ear. A child will always observe what you do much more than what you say. Let's remember this. And then, let's note for a third thing, that Lot left no evidence. Mind him when he died? when he died, mind him. Let me check this out, just a second. In Kindle, you sometimes get a misprint here, right? So B and C, that should be behind him, okay? Let's mark for a third thing that Lot left no evidence behind him when he died. We know but little about Lot after his flight from Sodom. All that we do know is unsatisfactory. His pleading for Zohar, see, he kept doing it to the angels after he got out of the city. His pleading for Zohar because it was a little one. You know, oh, let me, I don't wanna just go where you're telling me to go. Let me go into this little city of Zohar. Let me just do that. His pleading for Zohar because it was a little city. His departure from Zohar afterwards and his conduct in the cave. that sordid sin with his daughters, all tell the same story. All show the weakness of the grace that was in him and how low the state of soul into which he had fallen. We do not know how long he lived after his escape. We don't know where he died or when he died, whether he saw Abraham again, what was the manner of his death, what he said or what he thought. All these are hidden things. We are told of the last days of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David, but not one word about Lot. What a gloomy deathbed the deathbed of Lot must have been. The scripture appears to draw a veil around him on purpose. There's a painful silence about his latter end. He seems to go out like an expiring lamp and to leave an ill saver behind him. And had we not been especially told in the New Testament that Lot was a just and righteous man, I truly believe we should have doubted whether he was saved at all. But I don't wonder at his sad end. Lingering believers will generally reap according as they have sown. Their lingering often meets them when their spirit is departing. They have little peace at the last, They reach heaven to be sure, but they reach it in poor plight, weary and foot sore, in weakness and tears, in darkness and storm. They are saved, this is 1 Corinthians 13, they're saved, but saved so as by fire. I ask every reader of this paper to consider the three things which I've just mentioned. Don't misunderstand my meaning. It's amazing to observe how readily people catch at the least excuse for misunderstanding the things that concern their souls. I don't tell you that believers who do not linger will, as a matter of course, be great instruments of usefulness to the world. Noah preached 120 years. No one even believed him. The Lord Jesus himself was not esteemed by his own people, the Jews. Nor do I tell you that believers who do not linger will, as a matter of course, be the means of converting their families and relatives. David's children were, many of them, ungodly. David wasn't a great father, actually, but the Lord Jesus was not believed on even by his own brethren. But I do say, It is almost impossible not to see some connection between Lot's evil choice and Lot's lingering, and between Lot's lingering and his unprofitableness to his family and the world. I believe the Spirit means us to see it. I believe the Spirit meant to make him a beacon to all professing Christians. And I'm sure the lessons I've tried to draw from the whole history deserve serious reflection. Now let me speak a few parting words to all who read this paper, and especially to all who call themselves believers in Christ. I have no wish to make your heart sad. I don't want to give you a gloomy view of the Christian life. My only object is to give you friendly warnings. I desire your peace and comfort. I would wish to see you happy as well as safe and joyful as well as justifying. I speak as I've done for your good. You live in days when a lingering lot like religion abounds. Absolutely true today as well. The stream of profession, professing to be a Christian, is far broader than it once was, but far less deep in many places. A certain kind of Christianity is almost fashionable now. To belong to some party in the Church of England and show a zeal for its interests. To be zealous for your denomination. To talk about the leading controversies of the day. To buy the popular religious books as fast as they come out. Lay them on your table. to attend meetings, to subscribe to the religious societies, to discuss the merits of preachers, to be enthusiastic and excited about every new form of sensational religion that crops up. All these are now comparatively easy and common attainments. They no longer make a person unusual. They require little or no sacrifice. They entail no cross. But to walk closely with God, to really be spiritually minded, to behave like strangers and pilgrims in this world, to be distinct from the world in employment of time, in conversation, in amusements, in dress, to bear a faithful witness for Christ in all places, to leave a savor of our Master in every society, to be prayerful, humble, unselfish, good-tempered, quiet, easily pleased, charitable, patient, meek, to be jealously afraid of all manner of sin and tremblingly alive to our danger from the world, these are still rare things. They're not common among those who are called true Christians, and worst of all, the absence of them is not felt and bewailed as it should be. In a day like this, I venture to offer counsel to every believing reader of this paper. Don't turn away from it. Don't be angry with me for plain speaking. I bid you give diligence to make your calling and election sure. I bid you not to be slothful, not to be careless, not to be content with a small measure of grace. not be satisfied with being a little better than the world. I solemnly warn you not to attempt doing what can never be done. I mean to serve Christ and yet keep in with the world. I call upon you and beseech you to be a wholehearted Christian, to follow after eminent holiness, to aim at a high degree of sanctification, to live a consecrated life, to present your body a living sacrifice to God and walk in the Spirit. I charge you and exhort you, by all your hopes of heaven and desires of glory, if you would be happy, if you would be useful, do not be a lingering soul. And there it is, all kinds of challenges and meat for us to mull over and consider. So let's close in prayer. Father, we thank you for these instructions from your word. We pray that in any area of our lives where we are lingering and not turning away from things that you would have us turn away from, where we are not resolve to follow Christ fully and completely and to advance in holiness. We pray, Father, you'd show us these things that we might repent of them and become people that turn the world upside down. And we pray this all in Christ's name. Amen.