4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
No more war with our own soul. John Owen said,
He is no true believer unto whom sin is not his greatest burden, sorrow and trouble in this life.Do you too have time to hate yourself? Abhor yourself? Are ashamed of yourself that you would sin again? Again! Against such a good God. Well, you will never have that feeling again. Your soul will be perfect. How self-centred we are! But no more! How dishonest we can be! But no more! How impure we can think in our thoughts! But no more! The lack of self-control we sometimes confront in ourselves, the way we snap at our children, or fume and threat and get irritated so easily. But no more! What obstinacy we can find in ourselves, sometimes even not wanting to say the simple words:I am sorry.But no more! What cruelty we can exercise. What resentment. What an unforgiving spirit we can have. What hardness of heart! But no more! The entire network and complex of sin shall be done away, and your soul will be pure.No more at war with yourself. No more tug of war between the two natures. No more Romans 7:1–25. Here we have to say with Paul, evil is present with me but not in heaven. No more. I will never grieve the Holy Spirit again. I will never have to be taught the same lesson over again. I will never break a single commandment again. I will never, for a moment again, not love God above all, and love my neighbour as myself. I will never fail my Saviour again. I will never have to weep over my sin again. I will never have to abhor myself again. Sinless perfection is not a foolish dream! It is a Christian utopia that is true and real! No more sin!
We prayed for deliverance from evil, and it will happen. God will finally answer it. Fully and freely and we will love our own soul, because it is loved by God. And absolutely pure. No sins. No shadow of grief. No barriers. Nothing between God and us. We will see our Father’s face without a cloud in heaven. We will say with Robert Murray McCheyne:
Joel BeekeWhen I see Thee as Thou art, love Thee with unsinning heart, then Lord, shall I fully know.Oh, let that encourage you in your struggle against sin. I know that some of you, like me, are weary of your sin. You are weary of the struggle. You are weary of wrestling. Sin has thrown you down. Again, and again and again. And you were tempted to despise yourself. Perhaps you are tempted to thus despair of your own salvation. But God says, take heart, my child those sins are doomed. Their death-sentences have been pronounced. At the moment you arise from death, all your sin-clothing shall be left behind in the grave. I will remember your iniquities no more. They are buried in the depths of the sea. You will be raised with a perfect body. There is no more war against the new-born soul. No more war with your soul.1
23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.