The last BLOG ended with some discussion over the root and heart of sin based on Genesis 3:5. It is the promise that Satan made to Eve and which she bought into. It was promised to her by Satan that she would be like God. The desire to be like God is pride and in some sense it is the root of all sin. It can be seen in Romans 1:18-32 very clearly. Much of the battle in the human heart is over who will rule over and in it. The battle, then, has to do with pride and humility. The proud heart wants to deny that which it does not love and so it suppresses the truth about itself and about God in unrighteousness (Rom 1:18). Verse 19 goes on to say that is true “because that which is known about God is evident within them.” Creation itself puts enough of the very character of God on display to render all without excuse. In light of that, the suppression of the truth (v. 18) occurs in the heart of man in suppressing the truth about God and not honoring Him as God or in giving thanks.
The very lie of Satan (be as God) is brought out and displayed by human beings who do not want this God to be over them and instead they want to run and rule their own lives which they think is their own to run. In these actions their very speculations become futile and their foolish hearts are darkened. When the God who is light is suppressed there is nothing left but to fall deeper and deeper into darkness. When hearts love their own wisdom enough to suppress the wisdom of God, the pursuit of that wisdom sinks those hearts deeper and deeper into foolishness and speculation. In this very drive for wisdom according to self rather than God that is exchanging the glory of God for an image of man. It is not that one has to bow down to a wooden or metal image, but in serving self one has exchanged the glory of God for an idol because self is an idol at that point. In doing this God hardens their hearts and turns them over to more and more darkness and foolishness. When they serve self rather than God, they have exchanged the truth of God for a lie. This is deep darkness.
When these proud souls that serve self do this, God sees it for what it is: “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper” (v. 28). The refusal to “acknowledge God” is really a suppressing of the truth about God and a rejecting of the knowledge of Him. The “natural” downward trend of this sin is that God turns a person over to a mind that is depraved and growing even more depraved by its rejection of Him. It is a mind that is being filled with all sorts of the sin that is really the soul being turned over to the love and service of self. It is a hatred of God (v. 30).
Humility is the only answer for such a person and such a heart as that. It is the proud heart that rejects God and it is by that pride that such wickedness enters the soul. A proud heart is one that rejects God and His sovereign rights over it. While it might be obvious at this point, it should be pointed out that the human soul is either descending into darkness and sin or it is descending into a deeper and deeper humility. On the one hand the proud heart rejects God and continues to reject Him and so it descends into deeper and deeper darkness and wickedness. The other side is the soul that God has delivered from its pride and so it is growing deeper in its humility. The proud soul is growing in being full of self and the so-called wisdom of self while the humble soul is being filled with God and His wisdom. The proud soul becomes consumed with self as Satan is and the humble soul becomes consumed with God and His glory as God is. The proud soul becomes more and more consumed with self and ends up in hell where the soul if hardened to self and given totally over to self. It is in hell that the soul hates all others and God. In hell the soul is given over to the wrath of God and to the total misery of hating all other beings. The humble soul becomes more and more consumed with God and ends up in heaven where it will be full of God for all eternity. For all eternity it will share in the love God has for Himself and all other beings in heaven.
Pride is the very heart of sin while humility is at the very heart of holiness and love. Pride is at the heart of sin because it is the suppression of the truth of God in the pursuit of self. Humility is the very heart of holiness and love because it is the emptiness of self and pride so that God who is love can fill the soul with Himself and His love. Humility is the heart of holiness since self is the very nature of sin and the heart that is emptied of self will be a partaker of the holiness of God (Heb 12:10). When the heart of sin is pride and self, it is obvious that when God humbles the soul He is taking out the very heart of sin. When God fills the soul with Himself, He is giving the soul that which is the very best which is Himself and He fills it with true love and holiness. Humility is so vital that a person cannot be saved apart from some humility and a person cannot grow in sanctification apart from it either. A humble heart is at the heart of the Christian life. After all, it is the life of Christ who was perfectly humble.
God Loves... Himself 
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