When Elijah saw the fire fall from heaven and consume the sacrifice before all the people, he turned to the assembled Israelites and gave a ruthless command about the priests of Baal: "Let not one of them escape." He marched them down to the brook Kishon and executed them all.

So must it be with our sins. They are all condemned to death. Not one can be spared. Not one.

That darling sin of yours? It must die. Don't spare it for all its crying. Strike it down, even if it's as dear to you as Isaac was to Abraham. Strike! For God himself struck at sin when he laid it on his own Son. You must condemn to death, with stern unflinching purpose, that very sin which once sat as an idol in your heart.

How can you possibly do this? Jesus will be your power. The covenant of grace has already given you the strength to overcome sin. You have what it takes to win this crusade against the lusts that rage within, because Christ Jesus has promised to be with you to the very end.

Do you want to triumph over darkness? Then set yourself in the presence of the Sun of Righteousness. There is no better place to expose sin and break free from its power and guilt than right in the immediate presence of God. Job never knew how to deal with sin until his eye of faith rested on God. Then he abhorred himself and repented in dust and ashes.

The fine gold of Christian character so often becomes dim. We need the sacred fire to consume the dross. Fly to your God! He is a consuming fire. He will not consume your spirit—only your sins.

Let the goodness of God excite you to a sacred jealousy, to a holy revenge against those iniquities that are hateful in his sight. Go forth to battle with Amalek in his strength, and utterly destroy the accursed crew.

Let not one of them escape.