Mourning Over the Sin that Remains

“Just before I die sanctification will be finished; but not till that moment shall I ever claim perfection in myself. But at that moment when I depart, my spirit shall have its last baptism in the Holy Spirit’s fire. It shall be put in the crucible for its last trying in the furnace; and then, free from all dross, and fine, like a wedge of pure gold, it shall be presented at the feet of God without the least degree of dross or mixture. O glorious hour! O blessed moment! . . . Oh to be washed white, clean, pure, perfect! Not an angel more pure than I shall be, —yea, not God himself more holy!”—Charles Spurgeon

Believers’ born again nature creates a new heart within each of us, but we continuously battle to overcome the contingent of remaining sin that will be with us until physical death. The beauty of the Holy Spirit is that He generates the ability within Christians to defeat habitual sin, but at the same time, He reminds us of our inability to reach completeness in this…