In the last BLOG we started looking at the importance of knowing at least some of the distinction between legal and evangelical humiliation in terms of evangelism. It is dangerous just to get a person to agree that s/he is a sinner and to do something on that basis. Being aware of the fact that one is a sinner is far from even being legally humbled for sin, but being legally humbled for sin is far from the evangelical humiliation that is necessary for salvation. Legal humiliation in some degree can be nothing more than the work of self, but evangelical humiliation can be nothing but the work of God in the soul by grace. So it is utterly vital that we become physician assistants to the soul while the Great Physician does His work in converting them. It leads to eternal destruction when the patient or the physician assistant takes the scalpel from the hands of the Great Physician to do the work in His place. That is precisely what we do when we stop short of evangelical humiliation.
The following quote is taken from The Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards. The total quote being used can be seen in the BLOG Humility 36.
“Legal humiliation has in it no spiritual good, nothing of the nature of true virtue; whereas evangelical humiliation is that wherein the excellent beauty of a Christian grace does very much consist. Legal humiliation is useful, as a means in order to evangelical; as a common knowledge of the things of religion is a means requisite in order to spiritual knowledge. Men may be legally humbled and have no humility; as the wicked at the day of judgment will be thoroughly convinced that they have no righteousness, but are altogether sinful, exceeding guilty, and justly exposed to eternal damnation-and be fully sensible of their own helplessness-without the least mortification of the pride of their Hearts. But the essence of evangelical humiliation consists in such humility as becomes a creature in itself exceeding sinful, under a dispensation of grace; consisting in a mean esteem of himself, as in himself nothing, and altogether contemptible and odious; attended with a mortification of a disposition to exalt himself, and a free renunciation of his own glory…This is a great and most essential thing in true religion. The whole frame of the gospel, every thing appertaining in the new covenant, and all God’s dispensations towards fallen man, are calculated to bring to pass this effect. They that are destitute of this, have no true religion, whatever profession they may make, and high soever their religious affections may be.”
It should chill us to the depths of our souls to realize the depths of the knowledge of sin that the unbelieving soul will have on the day of judgment and yet not be converted. It does not take knowledge of sin alone to be saved, and it does not take a moral change alone to be saved. It takes a mortification of the pride of the heart which is the essence and heart of sin. If the pride of the heart is not mortified, then the person turns from the sins of self in open sin to the sins of self in religion. The same self that flowed out in pride in the acts of outward sin will be the same self that flows out in the acts of religion. Unless that proud heart is mortified, pride remains alive and in control of the heart. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. So the proud live in their pride whether religious or not and the proud will die with non-mortified sin in their heart whether religious or not. Unless pride is killed in the heart by grace it is the life of the soul that will be sent to hell for eternity. God hates pride and He will not bring it to heaven to dwell with Him for eternity. For the person with pride in the heart that person must know that his or her pride must be mortified by grace so when the body dies the soul with grace will live with God forever. God saves souls to the glory of His grace and pride is the exact opposite of that. Apart from evangelical humiliation the soul is full of pride and self and will remain that way under the wrath of God for eternity. On judgment day the soul will realize that it will suffer for eternity, but also that it is just for it to do so.
Oh how we need to wake up in our day to see the awful stench that pride is in the nostrils of God. It is not that He will smile dotingly on us as some parents and grandparents do when they see sin in younger folks, but He sees the deadly poison of pride in the hearts and He hates it. He will not allow a proud heart into heaven as that pride is nothing less than the poison of the devil. If He allowed pride into heaven then He might as well allow the devil in and then heaven would no longer be heaven. Oh no, the Lord Jesus who was perfectly humble must be the life in the souls of all who would enter into the presence of God that the Lord may look upon them and see His own glory shining in Christ who is the life of His people. One ounce of pride would destroy that. So we must see the utter necessity of an evangelical humiliation in our own souls and the souls of others. It is not an option despite what the unmortified pride in our hearts and the hearts of others will say. Salvation is to be saved from self and its pride.
God Loves... Himself 
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