Third Device: Satan will diminish the seriousness of sin. He will convince you that it is just a little pride, a little worldliness, a little drunkenness, a little uncleanness, etc. You can commit that without any serious danger to your soul.
First Remedy: Consider that those sins we think are small have often resulted in the greatest wrath of God. For Adam and Eve it was just the eating of a piece of fruit. For the Israelites, it was gathering a few sticks on the sabbath day. Fur Uzza, it was just to reach out his hand to steady the Ark of God (1 Chronicles 13:10). Think of the dreadful wrath these sins brought upon those who committed them. Remember that the least sin is contrary to the law, the nature, the being and the glory of God and therefore must be punished most severely.
Second Remedy: Remember that giving in to lesser sins leads to the committing of greater ones. Sin creeps upon us by degrees, step by step, until it has us completely in its grasp. Consider David, who started with a wandering eye that led to adultery and eventually murder. Satan would have you start with unclean thoughts, which lead to unclean looks, leading to unclean words, at last becoming unclean in your practices. When a man or woman begins to sin, they do not know where it will end. A person travels easily from evil to evil, folly to folly, until they are ripe for eternal misery.
Third Remedy: Consider how sad it is to turn your back on God over a trivial sin. It would be the greatest offense to sever a friendship over a trifle, how much more to breach our fellowship with Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Truine God who is your greatest friend, by yielding to his greatest enemy.
Fourth Remedy: Consider how great a danger is present in even the smallest sins. As Paul says, "A little leaven,leavens the whole lump" (1 Cor. 5:6). A small hole in a ship can sink it; a small stab in the heart can kill a man; a little sin without a great deal of mercy will condemn a man.
Fifth Remedy: Remember that many saints have chosen to suffer the greatest torments rather than commit the least sin. You see this in Daniel and his companions, who chose the fiery furnace and the lions den rather than worship any other than God. We should be ready to suffer the worst torments that men and devils can inflict rather than allow God to be dishonored, our consciences wounded, religion reproached or our souls endangered.
Sixth Remedy: Remember that no one will be able to stand under the guilt and weight of the least sin when God brings it home to the soul. The least sin will press the stoutest sinner as low as hell. Think of how God used the smallest creature, the gnat, to plague mighty Pharaoh until he cried out for mercy. In this way, when God gives power to the smallest sin and arms it against the soul, the soul will retreat away from it.
Seventh Remedy: Consider that there is more evil in the least sin than the greatest affliction. The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23) whether that sin be great or small. God did not spare his son for the least of sins, but made him drink the cup of his wrath to the last drop. Let this cause you to tremble at the least sin as though it were hell itself.
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