John Flavel

It may much conduce to your willingness to die to consider that by death God oftentimes hides His people out of the way of all temptations and troubles upon earth.

—John Flavel

Lapsed man is not only deep in misery, but grossly ignorant, both that he is so, and how to recover himself from it: Sin has left him at once senseless of his state, and at a perfect loss about the true remedy.

—John Flavel

O for a prospect of (our) final deliverance from sin, never to be entangled, defiled, or troubled with it anymore.

—John Flavel

If you will be for Christ, and be His, you must embrace all pains, watchings, and laborings after holiness to the end of your days: holiness will cost a Christian abundance of labor, but this you must do, or you cannot be Christians.

—John Flavel

Most men need patience to die, but a saint that understands what death admits him to should rather need patience to live.

—John Flavel

Some who may be drawn to commit sin yet are none of the servants of sin, because they do heartily beg the assistance of grace to keep them from sin: Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins, says the psalmist, let them not have dominion over me (Ps. 19:13).

—John Flavel

Outward sins are sins majoris infamiae, of greatest scandal; but heart sins are oftentimes majoris reatus, sins of greater guilt.

—John Flavel

(2 Cor. 7:1) Here’s the work of a Christian, cleansing work, and perfecting work in the fear of God, to the end of our lives…. He that is contented with these terms is surely Christ’s as ever was any soul.

—John Flavel

Merely feeling troubled for your sin does not argue for sincerity of repentance.

—John Flavel

Are you contented to embrace all corrections from the hand of God for the killing of the remainders of sin in you? If you will be for Christ, you must submit to Christ’s: It is in vain to say, If I can travel to heaven without meeting a storm in the way, I am willing to go

—John Flavel

The sufferings of His soul were the very soul of His sufferings. Did Christ bear such a burden for me with unbroken patience and constancy, and shall I shrink back from momentary and light afflictions for Him?

—John Flavel

Is not eternal life worth the suffering of a moment’s pain? If I suffer with Him, I shall reign with Him (2 Tim. 2:12).

—John Flavel

O my friends, it is not enough that the object of your duties is spiritual, that they respect a holy God or that the matter is spiritual, that you be conversant about holy things; but that the frame of your heart must be spiritual, a heavenly temper of soul is necessary.

—John Flavel

The renewed nature of a saint restrains him from sin. The spirit lusts against the flesh, so that you cannot do the thing you would (Gal. 5:17).

—John Flavel

A sincere Christian falls into sin and commits evil, yet he proceeds not from evil to evil as the ungodly do but makes his fall into one sin a caution to prevent another sin…. It is not so with the servants of sin. One sin leaves them much more disposed to another sin.

—John Flavel

To think of a grave is not pleasant in itself, but to think of a parting time with sin, that’s sweet and pleasant indeed.

—John Flavel

To complete the happiness of the redeemed; Christ is not only made of God unto them wisdom and righteousness, the one curing our ignorance, the other our guilt; but he is made sanctification also, to relieve us against the dominion and pollutions of our corruptions.

—John Flavel

Why should you be enemies to your own peace? To read over the evidences of God’s love to your souls as a man does a book that he intends to refute? Why do you study to find evasions, to turn off these comforts that are due to you?

—John Flavel

To suffer sin to lodge quietly in the heart, to let thy heart habitually and without control wander from God, is a sad, a dangerous symptom indeed.

—John Flavel

It was not persecutions and prisons, but worldliness and wantonness that poisoned the church: neither was it the earthly glory of its professors, but the blood of its martyrs that was the seed of the church.

—John Flavel

If he (the truly gracious soul) and his God have not met in secret and had some communion in the morning, he sensibly finds it in the deadness and unprofitableness of his heart and life all the day after.

—John Flavel

The conscience men make of secret as well as of public duties will tell them what their hearts and graces are, true or false.

—John Flavel

Heart-work is hard work indeed. To shuffle over religious duties with a loose and heedless spirit, will cost no great pains; but to set thyself before the Lord, and tie up thy loose and vain thoughts to a constant and serious attendance upon him; this will cost thee something.

—John Flavel

The engagements of men’s hearts to God in duties will tell them what they are. The hypocrite takes little heed to his heart. They are not afflicted really for the hardness, deadness, unbelief, and wanderings of their hearts in duty as upright ones are.

—John Flavel

Consider what heavy burdens death will ease your shoulders of.

Death is the best physician; it will cure you of all diseases at once.

—John Flavel

To be troubled for grosser sins and have no trouble for ordinary sins daily incurred is an ill sign of a bad heart.

—John Flavel

Strive to be Christ-like, if ever you would be lovely in the eyes of God and man. Certainly, my brethren, it is only the Spirit of Christ within you, and the beauty of Christ upon you, which can make you lovely persons.

—John Flavel

As the fear of God, so the love of God is a principle of restraint from sin to the soul that is upright. This kept back Joseph from sin: How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?

—John Flavel

Can you say, Christians, that you are willing to have your mistakes directed by God or men, your corruptions discovered, anything that helps to the pulling up the roots of corruption? Surely thus it must be if you will be for Christ, all faithful admonitions and afflictions.

—John Flavel

The gracious soul hates not only this or that particular sin, but the whole kind—everything that is sinful. True hatred is of the whole nature or kind. I hate every false way (Ps. 119:104).

—John Flavel