From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

Part seven of a series of selections from Profiting From the Word by A. W. Pink. Read part six.

Are you storing up God's Word in your heart for coming spiritual emergencies?

In the next section of Profiting From the Word, Pink addresses the necessity to use God's Word to fortify ourselves against sin:

An individual is spiritually profited when the Word fortifies against sin. The Holy Scriptures are given to us not only for the purpose of revealing our innate sinfulness, and the many, many ways in which we 'come short of the glory of God' (Romans 3:23), but also to teach us how to obtain deliverance from sin, how to be kept from displeasing God.

'Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee' (Psalm 119:11). This is what each of us is required to do: 'Receive, I pray thee, the law from His mouth, and lay up His words in thine heart' (Job 22:22). It is particularly the commandments, the warnings, the exhortations, we need to make our own and to treasure; to memorize them, meditate upon them, pray over them, and put them into practice.

The only effective way of keeping a plot of ground from being overgrown by weeds is to sow good seed therein: 'Overcome evil with good' (Romans 12:21). So the more Christ's Word dwells in us 'richly' (Colossians 3:16), the less room will there be for the exercise of sin in our hearts and lives.

It is not sufficient merely to assent to the veracity of the Scriptures, they require to be received into the affections. It is unspeakably solemn to note that the Holy Spirit specifies as the ground of apostasy, 'because they did not receive the love of the truth' (2 Thessalonians 2:10).

'If it lies only in the tongue or in the mind, only to make it a matter of talk and speculation, it will soon be gone. The seed which lies on the surface, the fowls in the air will pick up. Therefore hide it deeply; let it get from the ear into the mind, from the mind into the heart; let it soak in further and further. It is only when it has a prevailing sovereignty in the heart that we receive it in the love of it - when it is dearer than our dearest lust, then it will stick to us' (Thomas Manton).¹

Nothing else will preserve from the infections of this world, deliver from the temptations of Satan, and be so effective a preservative against sin, as the Word of God received into the affections. 'The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide' (Psalm 37:31). As long as the truth is active within us, stirring the conscience, and is really loved by us, we shall be kept from falling.

When Joseph was tempted by Potiphar's wife, he said, 'How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?' (Genesis 39:9). The Word was in his heart, and therefore had prevailing power over his lusts. The ineffable holiness, the mighty power of God, who is able both to save and to destroy. None of us knows when he may be tempted: therefore it is necessary to be prepared against it. 'Who among you will give ear to this? Who will listen and hear for the time to come?' (Isaiah 42:23). Yes, we are to anticipate the future and be fortified against it, by storing up the Word in our hearts for coming emergencies.²

Next: Is God's Word Causing You to Practice the Opposite of Sin?

References:

1. Here Pink quotes a sermon on Psalm 119:11 by Thomas Manton (1620-1677), an English Puritan preacher and member of the assembly that produced the Westminster Confession of Faith.

2. Arthur W. Pink, Profiting From the Word (Carlisle, Pennsylvania: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1970), pages 15-16.

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