God has given you the treasure of faith, but you carry that treasure in an earthen vessel.
God has given holy angels to guard you, but the devil waits not far off to lead you astray.
He has renewed you in the spirit of your mind, but you still have the oldness of the flesh to struggle against.
You have been established in the grace of God, but you are not yet confirmed in eternal glory.
A heavenly mansion is prepared for you, but first you must struggle with a wicked world.
God has promised pardon to the penitent, but he has not promised to give the inclination to repent to anyone while willfully persisting in sin.
The consolations of eternal life wait for you, but you must through many tribulations enter the Kingdom of God.
A crown of eternal glory is promised you, but you must pass through a severe conflict before you can wear that crown!
God's promises are unchangeable; but then you must not relax for a minute in the zeal for a holy life.
If the servant fails to do what is commanded, the Lord will do what He threatens.
Any idea who said this?
Sounds like it comes out of orthodox theology-one of the church fathers, however, it's almost a direct paraphrase of Paul in 2 Corinthians 4.
ReplyDeleteIt does, doesn't it, Nan!
ReplyDeleteNo one else bit, so I'll fess up. It was St. Johann Gerhard, my all-time favorite 17th century Lutheran theologian. Truly astounding in his theological insights and in his grasp of patristic thought. This was from *Sacred Meditations* - which he wrote when he was all of 21 I believe. Amazing.
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