In previous newsletters there has been a concentration on the need for man to be converted and on the awful bondage that human beings are in due to the pride and self-centeredness of the heart. In past centuries the nature of man in pride and self-centeredness was seen as the background for the nature of conversion. If the nature of sin is pride and self-centeredness, then for the soul to be truly converted it must be humbled from its pride and turned into a soul that is God-centered. Some quotes will be given below to show that this was indeed what was focused on in the teaching on conversion.
God has surely promised His grace to the humbled: that is, to those who mourn over and despair of themselves. But a man cannot be thoroughly humbled till he realizes that salvation is utterly beyond his own powers, counsels, efforts, will and works, and depends absolutely on the will, counsel, pleasure and work of Another-God alone. As long as he is persuaded that he can make even the smallest contribution to his salvation, he remains self-confident and does not utterly despair of himself, and so is not humbled before God; but plans out for himself (or at least hopes and longs for) a position, an occasion, a work, which shall bring him final salvation. But he who is out of doubt that his destiny depends entirely on the will of God despairs entirely of himself, chooses nothing for himself, but waits for God to work in him; and such a man is very near to grace for his salvation. So these truths are published for the sake of the elect, that they may be humbled and brought down to nothing, and so be saved. The rest of men resist this humiliation; indeed, they condemn the teaching of self-despair; they want a little something left that they can do for themselves. Secretly they continue proud, the enemies of the grace of God. (Bondage of the Will, Martin Luther, Revell Publications)
So also it is a habit or disposition natural to the souls of men to entertain an high thought of their own strength. And hence men are so prone to reject such doctrines as teach that men are naturally helpless, and dead in trespasses and sins, and can do nothing for themselves. And hence so many embrace the doctrines of free will-that any man can convert himself if he pleases without any more than common assistance-and slight and despise those schemes of salvation that teach the arbitrary and mighty influences of the Spirit of God in men’s hearts. Again, ’tis a disposition of soul natural to all men to have an high thought of their own righteousness. And hence, they are prone to reject those doctrines that teach man’s absolute dependence on the free and sovereign grace of God and salvation by the righteousness of Christ. (Knowing the Heart: Jonathan Edwards on True and False Conversion, International Outreach)
While they sought to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to the righteousness of God. Hence therefore the second work of humiliation is required, whereby God plucks away all his props, and emptieth him wholly of what he hath or seemeth to have. For pride (unto which humiliation is opposite) is but the rawkness of praise, and praise is a fruit of a cause by counsel, that hath power to do or not to do this or that, as he sees fit. Humiliation is the utter nothingness of the soul, that we have no power, it’s not in our choice to dispose of ourselves, nor yet to dispose of that which another gives, nor yet safe to repine at his dispose. In a word, as in a scion before it be engrafted into another stock, it must be cut off from the old, and pared, and then implanted. In contrition we are cut off; in humiliation pared, and so fit to be implanted into Christ by faith. (The Application of Redemption, Thomas Hooker, International Outreach).
You must let go of self; your own righteousness and all self-confidences must be parted with, you must be humbled and emptied of your selves, if you would be prepared for the receiving of Jesus Christ…Before you can love Christ, your heart must be taken off from sin. Get therefore a conviction of sin as the greatest evil in the world. Be persuaded what an evil thing and a bitter it is, to transgress God’s Law, and thereby to affront the highest Majesty, the great King of glory. (The True Christian’s Love to the Unseen Christ, Thomas Vincent, Soli Deo Gloria)
It is true, Christ is applied to us next by faith, but faith is wrought in us in that way of conviction and sorrow for sin; no man can or will come by faith to Christ to take away his sins, unless he first see, be convicted of, and loaded with them. (The Sound Believer, Thomas Shepard, Soli Deo Gloria)
Men cannot exercise faith until the heart is prepared by a sense of danger and the insufficiency of other things. If they don’t see their danger, they can see no occasion that they have come to Christ. If they don’t see themselves liable to wrath, how can they come to Christ to save them from wrath? As long as they imagine that they can help themselves, they will not come to Christ for help. Men can’t trust in Christ alone until they are driven out of themselves. They cannot come as helpless and undone until they see themselves so. (Guide to Christ, Solomon Stoddard, Soli Deo Gloria)
The work of regeneration being of absolute necessity unto salvation, it greatly concerns ministers especially, in all ways possible, to promote the same; and in particular that they guide souls aright who are under a work of preparation. There are some who deny any necessity of the preparatory work of the Spirit of God in order to a closing with Christ. This is a very dark cloud, both as it is an evidence that men do not have the experience of that work in their own souls, and it is a sign that such men are utterly unskillful in guiding others who are under this work. If this opinion should prevail in the land, it would give a deadly wound to religion. It would expose men to think of themselves as converted when they are not….Men must see the plague of their own hearts, their helplessness, and that they are like the clay in the hand of the potter before they come to Christ, and so will be afraid and searching themselves. But if they do not know any necessity of preparation [of the Spirit of God], they will take the first appearance of holiness for holiness; and, if they find religious affections in themselves, they will grow confident that God has wrought a good work in them.
It would, likewise, expose them to bolster up others in false confidence…But another who is a stranger to it will be ready to take all for gold that glitters and, if he sees men religiously disposed, will be speaking peace to them. He will be like the false prophets saying, peace, peace, when there is no peace. So men will be hardened. It is a dismal thing to give men sleepy notions and make them sleep the sleep of death. (Guide to Christ, Solomon Stoddard, Soli Deo Gloria)
Solomon Stoddard went on to list several men that believed what he spoke of. But simply from a look at Habakkuk 2:4 we know that faith cannot abide with pride: “Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.” The proud one and the one with faith are contrasted with each other. It is easy to understand, though it is hard to apply it to ourselves, that pride cannot dwell with faith. Pride must be repented of in order for there to be faith in the soul. Pride is focused on self and the abilities of self. Pride may think it is trusting in Christ and will exercise what it thinks is faith, but a broken and humbled soul is the only soul that has true faith. We are commanded to believe in Christ, but with no further instruction we will think that faith or belief is something that we can do with no change of heart at all. We are told that we are sinners and need a Savior from that sin, but we are not told that pride is the very essence of sin and that we have not repented of sin until we have repented of our pride. We are also not told that we need a Savior from our pride and ourselves. So we pray a prayer or walk an aisle and think we are converted people. This is to do nothing but sleep the sleep of death.
Souls must be thoroughly humbled or they will be left in their pride. Only the humble receive grace because the proud cannot do so. The dark cloud that Solomon Stoddard spoke of is present in our day. This deadly wound to Christianity has been dealt and we are suffering the effects of it. When the first signs of gold are taken for gold and hearts are not searched, then churches are filled with unbelievers. Our evangelism, though saying the words of the Bible, is no longer biblical evangelism because the pride of human hearts is left intact rather than broken. A truly converted soul is one that has been deeply humbled and broken from its strength of self and trust in its own abilities. This is a soul that has experienced the truth that it can do nothing apart from Christ (John 15:4-5). This is the soul that realizes that humility is not something that is put on or is a simple choice, but it is the emptiness of self that the Spirit of God has to do. Until the Spirit of God empties the soul of pride and self (though we will never be free from this perfectly until heaven), faith will not be in the soul because Christ will not dwell in a soul that is proud and self-centered (Isa 57:15). God only dwells in the contrite and lowly of spirit. A truly converted soul has been transformed from a proud person to a humbled one. This is the one that trusts in grace alone.
God Loves... Himself 
Leave a comment