As we have stepped aside from a direct look at some of the writings of Jonathan Edwards on evangelical humility and looked at some of the meaning of that in light of Thomas Shepard’s thoughts on evangelical hypocrites, the focus has been sharpened since we can see it from two angles now. Shepard brings us to see the great danger of being an evangelical hypocrite while Edwards helps us to see the necessity of having evangelical humility and yet by implication how few seem to have it. When a person has evangelical theology (or strong Reformed theology) and perhaps strong morality, and yet does not have evangelical humility; that person is an evangelical hypocrite. This is not to call names, but instead it is an effort to get people to see the need to examine their own hearts and not be contributing to the deception that others have. The ramifications of these two quotes when put together help us to see with chilling clarity some of the dangers we face in our day.
The first quote is from Thomas Shepard and then a few comments on it by Alexander Whyte in a book he wrote on Shepard originally published in 1909. The second is from Jonathan Edwards.
‘Of all hypocrites,’ says Thomas Shepard, that pungentest of preachers, ‘take care that you be not an evangelical hypocrite.’ A hundred times and in a hundred ways Shepard says that. But what does the dreadful man mean? He means this: An evangelical hypocrite is a man who sins the more safely because grace abounds; who says to his lusts, both of mind and body, that the blood of Christ cleanseth from all such sin, and who reasons with himself thus: God cannot, by any possibility, cast any man into hell who loves evangelical preaching as I love it, and who would not sit a day but in an evangelical church. My evangelical brethren, let us take good care! For if evangelical hypocrites are to found anywhere in our day it is in a church like ours and under a doctrine like ours.
…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… (Jonathan Edwards)
The book of I John was written for a few different reasons. Yet one of the reasons that he wrote the letter was so that people could know if they had eternal life or not (I John 5:13). All through the book he set out ways for people to know if they had eternal life or if they were lost. The issues that he set out as signs of life in the soul were not what people look for today. What people look for today is if a person has a particular set of beliefs, has prayed a prayer asking Jesus into his or her heart, and then perhaps if one has a certain kind of morality or is faithful in church or a para-church ministry of some sort. But none of these things (depending on how one view morality) are mentioned in I John. In our pragmatic time we have watered down our theology and our practices so much that we have given way to the conditions that make it easy for people to be evangelical hypocrites. When we simply require that people make an assertion that they believe some intellectual facts about the Gospel, we have made it easy for people to be evangelical hypocrites. When we don’t have any real discipleship, though we may have some classes with the name tacked on it, we have made it easy for people to be evangelical hypocrites. When we want more people in the building giving more money, we water the truth down in ways so as not to run them off and so we have made it easy for people to be evangelical hypocrites. When we don’t preach in a way that reaches the depths of evil, sin, and pride of the heart we make it easy for others and ourselves to be evangelical hypocrites.
The only real solution is for churches to begin to cry out to God to grant them repentance from the fear and love of man rather than the fear and love of God. We must begin to search our own hearts and the hearts of others with utter ruthlessness in regard of sin. This will be the kindest thing we can do. We must pray and labor to see our own hearts and help others to see their own hearts in the pursuit of a true mortification of our own pride. We must cry out to God against that enemy that is within us and cut off that right arm and gouge out that right eye when we must to get rid of something in our own heart. We must become burdened over the sin of pride when we see the risings of self in our hearts wanting and desiring the praise of men. We must become stricken at the thoughts we have in wanting to lift ourselves up or admiring thoughts of ourselves. The world sees this as harmless, but it has no idea of the wickedness of pride and the deceitfulness of the human heart. We must know that the pride of our hearts must be mortified at all costs. We must not just hear about evangelical humility, we must have it in truth.
God Loves... Himself 
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