July 23, 2023
Hence see the reason why men are worse in virgin-churches, than in polluted places, and why it is so generally; because here are more temptations to make them all slumber and sleep; here their beds are made soft, here the storms are past, here they are under the shadow, and out of the sun, and security opens the door for an enemy: No wonder if the city be taken though never so strong, if it grow once secure:
Thomas Shepard, Of Carnal Security in Virgin Churches
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This quote is from a sermon discussing the parable of ten virgins in Matthew ch.25. Have we as a church become sleepy? Are we so complacent in our comfortable lives that we no longer feel the desperate need for Christ? Will we be caught off guard, sleeping, when he returns? Our security and comfort at their best cause sleepiness and, at their worst, cause pride and make us forget their true source, tempting us to think we provided them for ourselves. Be careful of falling into this slumber or, worse, believing you are the source of your present security.