We have spent that last few BLOGS looking at evangelical hypocrisy along with evangelical humiliation. It should chill us to the depths of our souls. If what Edwards says about what true religion is, then there is a lot of evangelical hypocrisy in our nation. A person can be very evangelical in terms of doctrine, but that does not mean that the person is a true believer. While a person must have certain expressed beliefs to be a Christian, the very nature and depth of those beliefs are important as well. A person’s true belief is from the depths of the heart and is sometimes hidden to the person. The deepest beliefs of the heart can be hidden from us by our deceptive hearts and actually hide behind evangelical beliefs. Apart from recognizing the stunning superficiality of this age, we will continue on in our deception and evangelical hypocrisy will flourish.
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.
“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.”
Edwards says that this is “a great and most essential thing in true religion.” But why is it that a mean esteem of self that is attended with a mortification of a disposition to exalt self and a free renunciation of a person’s own glory is so essential to true religion? It may not seem all that obvious to people in a day where self-esteem is exalted. This may sound virtually alien to those who think that to encourage another is simply to say good things about them. Religion is thought of in our day as that which is centered upon people and is for people. That is exactly backwards. True religion (Christianity) is to be centered upon God and is for God. Some of this can be seen in a quote from a famous football coach. “Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it” (Lou Holtz).
A man-centered approach tells us to look at what ability we have. Another man-centered approach that is hidden under the use of God in the language tells us to look at what we can do if God helps us. But the biblical approach is to look at John 15:4-5 and know that apart from Christ we have no ability to do anything spiritually. As long as a person pursues self-esteem and high thoughts of self, that person will never reach the end of his or her strength in self and so live by grace. The fallen human soul has no ability in the spiritual realm and all and in that fallen state it does not recognize its own utter helplessness. The fallen human soul must come to a point of being broken and humbled or it will attempt to do all it does in its own ability. But the biblical teaching is that human beings have no ability in themselves and must look to Christ for all of its strength and ability.
“Motivation determines what you do.” In some ways this is a true statement, but motivation also determines why a person does something. In the unhumbled soul, though it may be very religious, the person’s motivation will always be self. Indeed the very religious person may be moral and do outwardly good things in the name of God, but the heart is still in bondage to self. The religious person can have an outward motive of doing things for God and yet the deepest motive of the heart is love for self. One can love God only out of love for self as indeed sinners love those who love themselves (Luke 6:32). If we love God, that is, only do things for God out of love for self, then we do not love Him but self. This is a terribly deceptive situation for the heart. It thinks it loves God because it thinks that God has done something for it, yet its only love for God is really motivated and moved by love for self. Now if the motivation determines what the soul does, then the soul that is deceived about its love for God does all out of love for self while thinking that it loves God. The unhumbled soul is a terribly deceived soul. It thinks it is doing for God when in fact all it does is done in the strength of self and all of its motivation at the deepest level is love for self. The Greatest Command is to love God with all of the being. Apart from evangelical humility, the soul loves itself with all of its being. It is utterly necessary for true Christianity.
God Loves... Himself 
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