Wave 12 is a follow-up of direction 8. Here Baxter provides a benchmark to identify whether one is in the state of grace or still under the state of sin. #pob #bbh #cent #hive-engine
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If you hate men who are serious in the service of God and because they don’t join the crowd in social sins, that is one clear indication that you are not in the state of grace.
If all you think about is this world and you have no time to contemplate the afterlife, that’s another clear indication that the state of grace is alien to you.
If your reflection of the afterlife does not lead you to deny yourself, that is, if for the sake of Christ and his gospel, you are unwilling to give up even your closest relationships here on earth and all your earthly dreams and aspirations, this is a clear sign that the life of grace is foreign to you.
If the Spirit of Christ does not dwell in you, giving you the ability to desire the law of God and the gospel of His Son, and instead you live to satisfy the desire of the flesh rather than living a life that pleases God, this too is a clear indication that the life of grace is unfamiliar to you.
If you are living in sin and are satisfied with it and have no intention to leave such a kind of life, and you do not pray for strength to overcome it but instead find all the reasons to justify such a kind of life, then this is obvious evidence that your heart is unrepentant and has not experienced the power of saving grace.
If you do not love the Word and the preaching of it, for it exposes your guilt and directs you to your duty, that is one sure sign that you are not yet living in the light.
If you are taking for granted the laws of your Creator and Redeemer as if they are like the wills of man, their threats and promises have no effect on your conscience; that is another indication that you are still under the state of sin.
If you have not made a firm resolution to devote yourself to God as your Father, to His Son as your Savior and King, and to the Holy Spirit as your Sanctifier, this is another clear sign that saving grace is alien to you despite the fact that you were baptized when you were still an infant.