It is not sufficient that we acknowledge sin in its various forms to be evil, and that we resolve that we will strive against it, because it is under the Lord's ban. In addition to this we are to root out of our hearts every longing, every desire for everything not thoroughly approved by the Lord. Oh, what a cleansing this would mean in the hearts and lives, and especially in the thoughts of many who have named the name of Christ! Many who fail to note this point find themselves continually beset by temptations, because, while outwardly avoiding gross immoralities, they secretly harbor sympathies for things condemned, desiring that they might have them, if only they were not forbidden.
The heart must be guarded with all diligence, both with regard to what enters and what leaves it. With great attention and care should we keep evil out of the heart and seek to fill it with good. So doing our lives will result in good, and not in evil. For as a man thinketh in his heart so is he! Our characters are thus formed, and our destinies are thus determined.
Deut. 5:29; 6:5, 6; 1 Chron. 28:9; 2 Chron. 12:14; Psa. 22:26; 31:10; 57:7; Prov. 14:30; 16:1; Jer. 17:9, 10; Matt. 5:8; 9:4; 15:18, 19; Rom. 2:5; 10:8; Heb. 3:8; 4:12.
