In the last BLOG we primarily looked at why evangelical humiliation is so necessary for true religion (Christianity). We did this, at least in part, with the help of a quote from Lou Holtz the famous football coach. His quote, though perhaps not intended to be taken spiritually, is rather helpful. Apart from evangelical humiliation, the soul does all it does out of the strength of self and the love for self though it may think it is doing what it does out of love for God. It is hard to imagine the numbers of people that may be deceived in the modern world because they are deceived in this area. Jesus said “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS'” (Mat 7:22-23). Apart from what Edwards called evangelical humiliation, this is what religious people are doing. They are preaching and doing all kinds of religious things, but they are practicing lawlessness. May God awaken us so that we can see His judgment on us and then pronounce judgment on our own souls that we may be turned to Him.
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.”
The quote that we used in the last BLOG from a famous football coach is this: “Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it” (Lou Holtz). This insightful quote, when looked at closely, shows something of how the soul actually works. The soul has ability and it has motivation. Jesus taught that we have no spiritual ability and our motivation must be out of love for God and be for the glory of God. Until a soul arrives at some understanding of the fallen nature of human beings and of his or her own spiritual deadness, that soul will do all it does out of love for self and the strength of self. It can be very religious and very active in that religion, but it is nothing but the activity of self.
It is easy to see what is going on with people are quite taken with themselves. They boast about themselves, their looks, their abilities, and their intellects. It is obvious that all they do is for self and out of love for self. But for others it is a lot harder, and especially for the fallen heart, to see that it is wrong to love and serve self. It is so “natural” for the fallen heart to serve and love self. It is so “natural” for the fallen heart to love God if it thinks that God loves it. It is so “natural” for the fallen heart to do many things out of that deceived love for God while all the time it is doing nothing but loving self. The proud heart has built so much of its righteousness upon self while perhaps deceived about it but still thinking it is the righteousness that comes from God. The proud heart will even think that it has evangelical humiliation because of its false view of what it means to love God. How desperately we need to understand that self-denial is not what self does in order for self to follow Christ, but instead self-denial is the denial of the very self and its abilities and motivations to do so.
Apart from a true evangelical humiliation, which is essentially to turn from doing all for self to despising the self enough to die or to mortify the disposition to exalt self and renounce seeking ones own glory, then all that is done in the realm of nature or of religion is done for self. This is why Edwards is so clear that this is at the very heart of Christianity. Human souls that are bound to self-love will from self-deception be very religious for self. This can be true of those who are very moral and for those who are very theological. This can be true of those who are very smart and those who are not as smart. This can be true of those who are Reformed and those who are not Reformed. A person can be a Pelagian out of self-love and Reformed in theology out of self-love as well. Apart from the true mortification of a disposition to exalt self all that a person does will be to exalt self even if s/he thinks it is out of love for God. This is not a minor issue at all; it is at the very heart of what it means to be saved. After all, salvation is from the guilt and power of sin. If we are not saved from self, we are not saved from sin.
God Loves... Himself 
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