Little Sins

Spurgeon attacks the devil's most effective lie — "Is it not a little one?" — by marshaling five arguments: the greatest saints in history (Daniel, the three young men, the bishop Arethusa) chose death and torture over even the smallest sin, proving they saw enormous danger in what Satan calls trivial; little sins inevitably lead to greater ones, multiplying like locusts and spreading like thistle seed until they produce total devastation; and even in themselves, small sins are not actually small, since they break the same principle of obedience, are often more wantonly committed than great sins, and God explicitly judges people for the neglect of seemingly minor duties. For the believer, he adds that even a small sin will not destroy the soul but will absolutely destroy peace and fellowship with Christ, who withdraws his comfortable presence when any known sin is tolerated — comparing this to a loving spouse being content to live month after month without their partner's company. He closes with a thundering warning to the unconverted: God will damn people for little sins just as surely as for great ones, and no one can find mercy while deliberately keeping even one sin; and he paints a terrifying picture of the "bottomless pit" and "the wrath to come" — a judgment that never lessens but is always still approaching — to drive every listener to flee to the cross where even the smallest sin can be washed away.Sermon delivered by Charles Spurgeon on April 17th, 1859.