"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom
of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor
idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual
offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor
slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
What a sad roster of vile people! These monstrous sinners and
prodigious sins were enough to have brought another flood upon
the world; or to have provoked the Lord to rain hell out of heaven
upon them—as once he did upon Sodom and Gomorrah; or to have
caused the ground to open and swallow them up—as once it did
Korah, Dathan, and Abiram!
And yet behold! some of these are changed and sanctified!
"And that is what some of you were! But you were washed,
you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." verse 11.
Oh, the infinite goodness!
Oh, the infinite grace!
Oh, the infinite wisdom and power of God—which has
pardoned, washed, sanctified, and cleansed such guilty,
filthy, and polluted souls! The worst of sinners should
never despair of being made saints—considering what
notorious sinners have been made holy. There is no
heart so wicked—but grace can make it holy.
Well! sinners, remember this—it is possible that those . . .
proud hearts of yours may be humbled;
hard hearts of yours may be softened;
unclean hearts of yours may be sanctified;
blind minds of yours may be enlightened;
stubborn wills of yours may be tamed;
disordered affections of yours may be regulated;
defiled consciences of yours may be awakened and purged;
vile and polluted natures of yours may be changed and purified.
Be the first to react on this!
Thomas Brooks (1608 - 1680)
Much of what is known about Thomas Brooks has been ascertained from his writings. Born, likely to well-to-do parents, in 1608, Brooks entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 1625, where he was preceded by such men as Thomas Hooker, John Cotton, and Thomas Shepard. He was licensed as a preacher of the Gospel by 1640. Before that date, he appears to have spent a number of years at sea, probably as a chaplain with the fleet.After the conclusion of the First English Civil War, Thomas Brooks became minister at Thomas Apostle's, London, and was sufficiently renowned to be chosen as preacher before the House of Commons on December 26, 1648. His sermon was afterwards published under the title, 'God's Delight in the Progress of the Upright', the text being Psalm 44:18: 'Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from Thy way'. Three or four years afterwards, he transferred to St. Margaret's, Fish-street Hill, London. In 1662, he fell victim to the notorious Act of Uniformity, but he appears to have remained in his parish and to have preached as opportunity arose. Treatises continued to flow from his pen.[3]
Thomas Brooks was a nonconformist preacher. Born into a Puritan family, he was sent to Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He soon became an advocate of the Congregational way and served as a chaplain in the Civil War. In 1648 he accepted the rectory of St. Margaret's, New Fish Street, London, but only after making his Congregational principles clear to the vestry.
On several occasions he preached before Parliament. He was ejected in 1660 and remained in London as a Nonconformist preacher. Government spies reported that he preached at Tower Wharf and in Moorfields. During the Great Plague and Great Fire he worked in London, and in 1672 was granted a license to preach in Lime Street. He wrote over a dozen books, most of which are devotional in character. He was buried in Bunhill Fields.