Little Sins. This sermon was first preached on April 17, 1859, by Charles Haddon Spurgeon. The text for this morning comes from the book of Genesis, Genesis 19, verse 20. Isn't it a little one? We will take the words of our text as a simple motto. rather than a text in the ordinary sense. This morning I will not attempt to explain the connection. It was the statement of Lot when he pleaded for the salvation of Zor, but I will completely remove it from the connection in which it stands and make another use of it.

The great father of lies has multitudes of schemes which he seeks to ruin the souls of men and women. He uses false weights and dishonest scales in order to deceive them. Sometimes he uses false times, declaring at one hour that it is too early to seek the Lord, and at another time that it is now too late. And he uses false quantities, for he will declare that great sins are really little, And as for what he confesses to be little sins, he declares them to be nothing at all, merely a very small fault, almost worthy of forgiveness in themselves. I do not doubt that many souls have been caught in this trap and because of being snared have been destroyed. They have ventured into sin where they thought the stream was shallow. and fatally deceived by its depth, they have been swept away by the strength of the current to that waterfall, which is the ruin of such vast multitudes of the souls of men and women.

It will be my purpose this morning to answer this temptation and try to put a sword in your hands so that you can resist the enemy when he comes to you with this temptation. It is just a little one. and tempt you into sin because he causes you to imagine that there is really very little harm in it.

With regard then to this temptation of Satan concerning the smallness of sin, I would give this first answer. The holiest of men and women have always been afraid of little sins. The holiest of men and women have always been afraid of little sins. The holy martyrs of God have been ready to endure the most terrible torments, rather than step so much as one inch, one inch aside from the road of truth and righteousness. Witness Daniel, when the king's decree went forth that no man should worship God for such and such a time, nevertheless, Daniel prayed three times a day as before. with his window open towards Jerusalem, not fearing the king's commandment. Why couldn't he have gone to his closet to pray? Why didn't he just cease from vocal prayer and simply pray in his mind and in his heart? Wouldn't he have been just as well accepted by God as when he kneeled as usual with the window open so that all the world might see him? Ah, but Daniel. Daniel would rather suffer death at the jaws of the lion than he would, by that little offense, provoke the anger of his God or lead men to blaspheme his holy name because his servant had been afraid to obey.

Note 2. The Three Holy Children. They are asked by King Nebuchadnezzar simply to bend the knee and worship the golden image which he had set up. It was only to be a little worship. just one little bend of the knee and then it would be over. One little bow and they may safely go on their way. Not so. They will not worship the golden image which the king has set up. They can burn for God, but they cannot turn from God. They can suffer, but they will not sin. And though all the world might have excused them with the plea of expediency, If they had performed that one little act of idol worship, yet they will not do it, but would rather be exposed to the fury of a furnace heated seven times than commit an offense against the Most High God.

It was the same among the early Christians. You may have read of that noble warrior for Christ, Martin Arethusa, the bishop. He had led the people to destroy the idol temple in the city over which he had oversight. And when the apostate emperor Julian came to power, he commanded the people to rebuild the idol temple. They were bound to obey on threat of death. But Erathusa continued to lift up his voice against the evil they were doing until the wrath of the king suddenly fell on him. He was, however, offered his life on condition that he would give only a single half penny towards the building of the temple, no even less than that. If he would only put in one grain, one little grain of incense into the censer of the false god, he might escape punishment.

But he would not do it. He feared God and he would not do the least tiny little sin to save his life. They therefore stripped him of his clothes, exposed his body, and gave him to the children to prick him with knives. Then they smeared him with honey, and he was exposed to wasp and stung to death. But through it all, he would not give that little grain of incense. He could give his body to the wasp and die in the most terrible pains, but he could not, he would not, he dared not sin against God.

A very noble example. Now, brothers and sisters, if men have been able to perceive so much of sin in little transgressions that they would bear inconceivable tortures rather than commit these little sins, There must be something dreadful, after all, in the thing of which Satan says, isn't it only a little one? Men and women, with their eyes wide open by divine grace, have seen an entire hell slumbering in the most minute sin. Gifted with microscopic power, their eyes have seen a world of iniquity hidden in one single act or thought or imagination of sin, and therefore they have avoided it with horror. They passed it by and would have nothing to do with it.

But if the narrow road to heaven is through flames, through floods, through death itself, they would sooner go through all these torments then turn aside one inch to walk on an easy and sinful path. I believe this should help us when Satan tempts us to commit little sins. This should help us to answer, no, Satan. If God's people think it is a great evil to commit even little sins, then they know better than you do. You are a deceiver. They are true. I must avoid all sin, even though you say it is only a little sin."

It may be further answered in reply to this temptation of Satan with regard to little sins. Little sins lead to great ones. Satan, you tempt me to commit a little sin. I know who you are. You are the unholy one. You desire to insert the thin edge of the wedge. You know that once it is inserted, that you can drive it in all the way and split my soul in two. No, stand back. Though the temptation is small, I dread you, for your little temptation leads us something greater, and your small sin makes way for something worse.

We can all see in nature how easily we can prove this, that little things lead to greater things, that little things lead to greater things. If you desire to build a suspension bridge across the gorge, it is often the custom to shoot an arrow that has a very thin line attached to it, so thin it is almost not visible. That line passes over and a string is drawn after it, and after that some small rope, and after that a cable, and after that a swinging suspension bridge that provides a bridge for thousands to cross over.

Oftentimes this is the way it is with Satan. It is only a tiny thought that he shoots across our mind. That thought will carry a desire, that desire a look, that look a touch, that touch an act, that act a habit, and that habit something worse, until the man or woman from a little beginning will be swamped and drowned in iniquity.

Little things we say lead on to something worse. This is the way it has always been. A spark is dropped by some unsuspecting traveler amidst the dry grass of the prairie. It is only a little spark. It is so little a spark that a child's foot can easily stomp it out. One little drop of rain from a cloud could quench it.

But oh, what causes the prairie to be a burning blaze? What forces the rolling waves of flame to drive before them all the animals of the field? What is it that consumes the forest, locking it in its fiery arms? What is it that burns down the habitation of man or robs the harvester of his harvest? It is this little tiny spark, the one spark, the breeder of flames.

So it is with little sins. Keep them back, Satan. They are sparks. but the very fire of hell grows from them. The spark is the mother of the inferno, and though it is a little one, I must have nothing to do with it.

Satan always begins with us as he did with Achan. First of all, he showed Achan an excellent article of clothing from Babylon, and he also showed him a wedge of pure gold. Achan looked at it. It was such a little thing to do, simply to look. Then Achan touched it. Wasn't that a little thing to do? How slight a sin to touch the forbidden thing. He then takes it and carries it away to his tent. And here it gets worse. He hides it. And in time he must die for the awful crime.

Oh, please, my friends, be careful of those small beginnings of sin. Beginnings of sin are like letting out water. First, there is a news, then a drip, then a slender stream, then a river of water, and then finally a flood sweeping away everything in its path. And eventually a continent is drowned.

Be careful of small beginnings, for they lead to major problems and disasters. There has never been a man that was executed for his crimes that failed to confess that his life of crime began with small thefts. The stealing of a book at school, the pilfering afterwards from his employer's cash drawer, which led to the joining of the gang of robbers, the joining of the gang of robbers leading to worse crimes, and finally, the deed was done. The murder was committed, which brought him to a disgraceful death.

Little sins often act as burglars do. Burglars sometimes take with them a little child. They put the little child into a window that is too small for them to enter. And then the little child goes and opens the door to let in the thieves. Little sins act in the same way. They are only little ones, but they creep in and they open the door for great ones.

A traitor inside the camp may only be one small person and yet will go and open the gates of the city and let in a whole army. Dread sin. Dread sin, though it is ever so small. Dread it. You cannot see all that is in it. It is the mother of 10,000 evils. The mother of evil, they say, is as small as a mustard seed. And certainly the smallest sin has 10,000 evils sleeping within its heart.

Augustine gives a picture of how far men will go once they begin to sin. There once was a man who, while in an argument, declared that the devil made flies. Well, said the man with whom he was arguing, if the devil made flies, then it is but a little jump to say the devil made worms. Well, said the other, I believe it. Well, said the man, If the devil made worms, how do you know that he didn't also make small birds? Well, said the other, it is likely he did. Well, resumed the man with whom he was arguing, but if he made small birds, why couldn't he have made big ones too? And if he made big birds, why couldn't he have made man? And if he made man, why can't we say that he also made the universe? You see, says Augustine, by one little declaration, by just permitting the devil to be thought the creator of a fly, the man came to believe that the devil was also the creator.

Just get one small error into your minds. Get one small evil into your thoughts. Commit one small act of sin in your life. Permit these things to be embraced, caressed, favored, and treated with respect and you cannot tell what they will grow into. They are small in their infancy. They will be giants when they come to their full growth. You have no idea how near your soul may be to destruction when you carelessly indulge in the smallest act of sin.

Another argument may be used to respond to this temptation of the devil. The devil says, isn't it a little one? Yes, we reply, but little sins multiply very quickly. Little sins multiply very quickly. Like all other little things, there is a marvelous power of multiplication in little sins. As for murder, it is a great sin, but we do not often hear of it as compared with a multitude of minor sins. The smaller the guilt, the more frequent it becomes. The elephant has only a small number of offspring and multiplies very slowly. But the little green fly has thousands of offspring produced from it within an hour. It is just the same with little sins. They multiply rapidly, beyond all imagination. One little sin becomes the mother of multitudes. And note this, little sins are as mighty for evil in their multitude as if they were greater sins. They are as mighty for evil in their multitude as if they were greater sins.

Have you ever read the story of the locust when they sweep through the land? I was reading only yesterday of a missionary who called all the people together when he heard that the locusts were coming up the valley. So the people started huge fires, which they hoped would drive off the living stream of locusts. The locust is only a small insect, but it seemed as if all of the blazing fires were quenched The swarms of locusts marched over the dead and burning bodies of their comrades, and on they went, one living stream. Before them, everything was green like the Garden of Eden. Behind them, everything was like a desert. The vines were nothing but naked bark. The trees had lost every leaf and stretched their naked arms to the sky as if winter had torn away their foliage. There was not even so much as a single blade of grass or sprig on the tree. The locust had done all this and left utter devastation in their path. How could this be? The locust is only a little thing. Yes, but when they come in large numbers, then they are very, very powerful.

Dread the little sin, for it will surely multiply. It will not stay as one, no, it will become many, many little sins. The plague of flies in Egypt was perhaps the most terrible that the Egyptians ever felt. Be very careful of those little insect sins which may become your downfall.

Surely if you are caused to feel them and to groan under them and to pray to God for deliverance from them, then it may be said that in your preservation is found the finger of God. But if you leave these little sins alone, let them increase and multiply, then your misery is near at hand. Do not listen to the evil voice of Satan when he says to you, it is only a little sin.

The thistle is the national emblem of Scotland. And years ago, a Scotchman discovered that there was not a single thistle in all of Australia. This Scotchman greatly admired thistles and thought it was a pity that a great island like Australia should be without that marvelous and glorious symbol of his great nation. He therefore collected a packet of thistle seeds and sent it over to one of his friends in Australia.

Well, when it arrived, the custom officer said, Oh, let it in. Isn't it a little one? It is only a handful of thistle seeds. Oh, let them come into the country. It will only be planted in a garden. The Scotch will grow it in their gardens. No doubt they think it is a fine flower. Let them have it. It is only meant for their amusement. Oh yes, it was only a little one, but now the whole country is covered with it, and it has become the farmer's pest and plague. It was only a little one, but it multiplied and grew. If it had been a great evil, all men would have set out to crush it. This little evil cannot be eradicated, and we can now say of Australia that from now until the end of the world that it will bring forth thorns and thistles. It would have been a blessing if the ship that brought that cursed seed to Australia had been sunk.

Be careful of the thistle seed. Little sins are just like it. Be careful that they are not admitted into your heart. Endeavor to shun them as soon as Satan presents them. Go, seek by the grace of God and His Holy Spirit to keep them away. For if not, these little sins will multiply so fast that they will be your ruin and destruction.

Little sins, if you look at them in another aspect, are great. A little sin involves a great principle. A little sin involves a great principle. Suppose that tomorrow the Austrians would send a small group of soldiers into the island of Sardinia. If they only sent a dozen, it would still be equal to a declaration of war. The Austrians might say, but isn't this just a little group of soldiers, a very small band of soldiers that we have sent? Yes, Sardinia would reply, but it is the principle of the thing You cannot get away with sending your soldiers across the border. War must be declared because you have violated the border and invaded the land. It is not necessary to send 100,000 troops into a country to break a treaty. It is true the breach of the treaty may appear to be small, but if the slightest breach is allowed, then the principle is compromised. There is a lot more in principle than men imagine.

In a sin against God, it is not so much the thing itself as the principle of the thing which God sees. And the principle of obedience is just as much broken, just as much dishonored by a little sin as by a great sin. Oh, my friends, the Creator has created you to obey Him. You break His law. And yet you say it is only a little violation. Still it is a violation. The law is broken. You are disobedient. His wrath remains on you.

The principle of obedience is compromised in your smallest transgression, and therefore it is great. Besides, I don't know whether the things Christian men and women call little sins are not, after all, greater than what they call great sins in some respects. If you have a friend and he wrongs you because someone paid him a very large sum of money to do it, then you might say, well, he had a very great temptation. It is true he has committed a great wrong against me. but still he had a great reason to wrong me. But suppose your friend would dishonor you and grieve you for the sake of a penny. What would you think of that? Well, this is uncalled for, you would say. This man has done it out of sheer malice towards me.

Now, if Adam had been denied by his creator all of paradise, That is, if he had been placed in a stony desert situated right outside of the lush Garden of Eden and then told that all the fruits of the garden were forbidden, well then if Adam would have suddenly rushed into the forbidden garden and grabbed all the fruit he could carry and eat, there would have been no more sin in that act than when he was placed in the midst of the garden and simply stole one little fruit from the one forbidden tree.

The transgression involved a great principle because he did it with a selfish greed. Adam had so little to gain. He had so much to lose when he dishonored God. It has been said that to sin without temptation is to sin like the devil. For the devil was not tempted when he sinned. And to sin with only a little temptation is to sin like the devil. I am not saying that there is any excuse to sin when there is a great temptation. But what I am saying is that when there is little or no temptation, when the deed is only little, bringing only a little pleasure and involving only a small consequence, then there is a careless attitude about the sin which makes it greater in moral deviation than many other iniquities that men commit.

Yes, you cry out against a great felon when he is discovered. See how much he has robbed men. See how he has wronged the widow and robbed the fatherless. I know it. God forbid that I should make any excuse for him. But that man has a name to maintain. He had thousands of temptations before him to get immensely rich. He thought he would never be discovered. He had a family to support. He had got involved in expensive habits and there are many things to be said for his justification of his wickedness. But you, if you indulge in some little sin which brings you no pleasure, which involves no important interest, by which you have nothing to get, then I would say that you sin in a most careless and wicked way. You have committed an act that has in it the very virus and bitterness of willful, obstinate, scheming disobedience, because there is not even the hint of justification or excuse or apology that you would gain something by the sin.

Little sins are, after all, tremendous sins viewed in the light of God's law, looked upon as involving a breach of that most holy standard of right and considered as having been committed without any warrant but only to commit evil. I say they are great sins and I do not believe that those sins that men conceive to be gross and great are in reality any greater or grosser than these little sins. Thus I have given you several arguments with which to answer that temptation, isn't it only a little one?

Now I turn and I wish to speak only to the children of God. And I say to them, if Satan tempts you to say, it is only a little one, reply to him, oh Satan, it may only be a little one, but it can spoil my fellowship with Christ. For a Christian, sin cannot destroy, but it will annoy. It cannot ruin my soul, but it will soon ruin my peace. Satan, you say it is only a little one, but my Savior had to die for it, or otherwise I would have been shut out from heaven. That little one may be like a little thorn in my flesh, to prick my heart and wound my soul. I cannot, I dare not indulge in this little sin, for I have been greatly forgiven. and therefore I must greatly love. A little sin to others would be a great sin for me. How can I do this great wickedness and sin against my God?

Is it only a little one Satan? Yet only a little stone in the shoe will cause a traveler to limp. A little thorn may breed a fester. A little cloud may hide the sun. Away from me, Satan, I will have nothing to do with you. For since I know that Jesus bled for little sins, I cannot wound his heart by indulging in them again. A little sin, Satan, hasn't my master said? Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom. Yes, these little things bring evil to my tender heart. These little sins burrow into my soul and soon cause it to become the very den and hole of the wild beast that Jesus hates, and soon drives him away from my spirit so that he will not hold sweet fellowship and communion with me.

A great sin cannot destroy a Christian, but a little sin can make him miserable. Jesus will not walk in close fellowship with his people unless they drive out every known sin. Jesus says, If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in His love. There are many, many Christians in the world that do not see their Savior's face for many months at a time and seem to be quite content without His company. I don't understand you, nor can I comprehend how it is that you can reconcile your souls to the absence of your Lord. A loving wife without her husband for many months and years seems to me would become miserable and very, very lonely. Surely it must be an affliction for a tender child to be separated from his father. Many of us remember that in our childhood it was always that way and we look forward to our return home with joy. And are you a child of God, yet happy without seeing your father's face? What, you are the bride of Christ, and yet you are content without his intimacy? Surely, surely, surely you have fallen into a sad state. You must have gone astray, if this can be your experience. For the true chaste spouse of Christ mourns like a dove without her mate when he has left her.

Ask then the question, what has driven Christ from you? He hides his face behind the wall of your sins. That wall may be built up from little pebbles as easily as from great stones. The sea is made up of drops. The rocks are made of grains. And surely the sea which divides you from Christ may be filled with the drops of your little sins. And the coral rocks which is to wreck your boat, may have been made by the daily working of the coral insects of your little sins. Therefore be careful, for if you would live with Christ and walk with Christ and see Christ and have fellowship with Christ, then be very careful. I beg you, be careful of the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, for our vines have tender grapes.

And now, leaving the child of God for a while, I turn myself to address others of you who have some thought with regard to your souls, but who could not yet be ranked among those that fear God with a true heart. I turn to address myself to others, those of you who have some thought with regard to your souls, but who could not yet be ranked among those that fear God with a true heart.

To you, I know, Satan often offers this temptation. Isn't it only a little sin? May God help you to answer him when he attacks you like that by saying, it is not only a little sin.

And so, young man, the devil has tempted you to commit the first petty theft. Isn't it only a little one? And so he has strongly suggested to you, young man, for the first time in your life to spend Sunday in foolish pleasure rather than go to church and worship with God's people. It was only a little sin, he said, and you have taken him at his word, and you have committed that sin. It was only a little one, so you told a lie. It was only a little one, and you have joined with the company of the flippant and mixed in the society of scorners. It was only a little one, there could not be much harm in it. It could not do much evil to your soul.

Oh friend, stop for a while and think. Don't you know that a little sin, if carelessly indulged in, will prevent your salvation? God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription. The Lord knows those who are his. and everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness. Christ will give salvation from all sins to the man or woman who hates all their sins. But if you keep one sin to yourself, you will never, never receive mercy from his hands.

If you will forsake all your ways and turn with a totally committed heart to Christ, then the biggest sin you have ever committed will not destroy your soul. But if a little sin is concealed, your prayers will be unheard, your sighs will be disregarded, and your earnest cries will return to you without a blessing.

You have been in prayer lately. You have been seeking Christ. You have been praying with all your might that God would meet with you. Now months have rolled by, yet you are not saved. You have not yet received a comfortable assurance of your pardon. Young man, is it not likely that some little known sin is still hidden in your heart? Then know this, God will never be one with you till you and your sins are split apart. Part with your sins or else part with all hope. Though you hide only a tiny grain of sin from God, He will not, He cannot have any mercy on you.

Come to Christ just as you are, but renounce every sin. Ask Him to set you free from every lust, from every false way, from every evil thing, or else, note this, that you will never find grace and favor at His hands. The greatest sin in the world, if repented of, will be forgiven. But the smallest, unrepentant sin will sink your soul lower than the lowest hell.

Note then again, sinner, you who sometimes indulge in little sins, these little sins show that you are still a slave to sin. Roland Hill, that great preacher, tells a curious tale of one of his congregation who sometimes visited the theater and saw what he ought not to have seen. He was a member of the church. So going to see him, Roland said to him, I understand, Mr. So-and-so, that you are very fond of frequenting the theater. No, sir, he said, that's false. Oh, I go now and then just for a special treat. Still, I don't go because I like it. It is not a habit of mine." Well, said Rowland Hill, suppose one should say to me, Mr. Hill, I understand that you eat carrion, that dead and rotten flesh of an animal that is unfit for food. I understand that you eat it. I should say, no, no, I don't eat carry-on, but it is true that now and then I have a piece of that stinking carry-on for a special treat. Why, he would say, you have convicted yourself. It shows that you like it better than most people because you save it up for a special treat. Other men only take it as common daily food, but you save it for a special treat. It shows the deceitfulness of your heart and manifest that you still love the ways and the wages of sin. Ah, my friends, those men that say little sins have no vice in them, whatever, they only but give indications of their own character. They show which way the stream runs. A piece of straw may let you know which way the wind blows, or even a floating feather. Likewise, some little sin may be an indication of the prevailing tendency of the heart. My friends, if you love sin, though it is only a little one, your heart is not right in the sight of God. You are still a stranger to divine grace. The wrath of God remains on you. You are a lost soul unless God changes your heart. And yet another remark here. Sinner, you say it is only a little sin, but do you know that God will damn you for your little sins? Oh, you look angry now and you say that the minister is harsh. But will you look angry at your God in the day when he will condemn you forever? If there were a good man in prison today and you did not go to see him, Would you think that was a great sin? Certainly not, you say. I would not think of doing such a thing. If you saw a hungry man and you did not feed him, would you think that was a great sin? No, you say, I would not. Nevertheless, these are the very things for which men are sent to hell. What did the judge say? I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger and you did not invite me in. I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me. I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. Now, these things which we only consider to be little sins actually send multitudes to hell. Then shouldn't we stop and tremble before we talk lightly of sin? since little sins may be our eternal destroyers. Oh dear friend, the pit of hell is ready to punish little sins. An eternity of torment is prepared for what men and women call little sins. It is not only the murderer, the drunkard, and the prostitute that will be sent to hell. It is true the wicked will be sent there. But the little sinner in all the nations that forget God will have his portion there also. Tremble, therefore, on account of little sins. When I was just a little boy, I remember one day reading during family Bible time the chapter in the book of Revelation concerning the bottomless pit. Stopping in the middle of the chapter, I said to my grandfather, grandfather, what does this mean, the bottomless pit? He said to me, go on, child, go on. So I read that chapter. But I took great care to read it the next morning also. Stopping again, I said, bottomless pit, what does this mean, grandfather? Go on, he said, go on.

Well, it was the same the next morning and for the next two weeks. There was nothing I was allowed to read each morning except this same chapter. Finally, I can remember the horror of my mind when he told me what it meant. He said there is a deep pit and the soul is falling down. Oh, how fast it is falling. There, the last ray of light at the top has disappeared. and it falls down, down, down. And so it goes on falling down, down, down for a thousand years.

I asked him, isn't it getting nearer to the bottom yet, grandfather? Won't it stop falling soon? No, no, the cry from hell is down, down, down. I have been falling for a million years. Isn't the bottom near yet? No, you are no nearer the bottom than you were when you first started falling. It is the bottomless pit. It is down, down, down. And so the soul goes on falling perpetually into a deeper depth still, falling forever into the bottomless pit, into the pit that has no bottom.

It is torment and agony without termination, without hope of it ever coming to a conclusion. The same dreadful ideas contained in those words the wrath to come. Remember, hell is always the wrath to come. The man has been in hell a thousand years. It is still to come. As to what you have suffered in the past, it is as nothing. For still the wrath is to come. And when the world has grown old with age and the fires of the sun are quenched into darkness, it is still the wrath to come. And when other worlds have sprung up and have turned into their old age, it is still the wrath to come.

And when in hell your soul burnt through and through with anguish cries out to be annihilated, even then this often thunder will be heard the wrath to come to come to come. Oh, what a thought. I do not know how to utter it. And yet for little sins, remember you incur the wrath to come. Oh, if I am to be damned, I would be damned for something, but to be delivered up to the executioner and sent into the wrath to come for little sins, which do not even make me famous as a rebel, this is to be indeed damned.

Oh, that you would arise. that you would flee from the wrath to come, that you would forsake the little sins and fly to the great cross of Christ to have the little sins blotted out and little offenses washed away. For, oh, again I warn you, if you die with little sins unforgiven on your soul, with little sins unrepentant of, there will be no little hell. The great wrath of the great King is always to come. in a pit without a bottom, in a hell where the fire never goes out and the worm will never die.

Oh, the wrath to come, the wrath to come. It is enough to make one's heart ache to think of it. God help you to flee from it. May you escape from it now through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.