Reformation is the object we pretend to aim at, but we are perpetually mistaking the subject of it; it is ourselves. It is dreadful (but perhaps not uncommon) self-deceit to present ourselves before God with a lie in our mouths, and hypocrisy in our heart, or a secret unwillingness to be and to do as we pray. (Thomas Adam, Private Thoughts on Religion)
“The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).
The real issue of the reformation of the heart is that for all theological persuasions this must be done by grace alone. This is as impossible to attain for the theological Calvinist as it is for the Pelagian as well. If we try to attain to a reformation of the heart by our own works and attitudes, we are sure to fail. Not only is it hard to change our own hearts and reform our own hearts in accordance with Scripture, it is impossible. That is why people are so prone to do the outward things and be deceived by those rather than work on the heart. Grace alone can change the heart and grace alone can reform the heart. When something is done by grace alone, it is done at the mere pleasure of God as to when it is done and if it is done at all. In America, however, we look for methods to attain it.
It is one thing to state that we want to see a work of reformation going on in the church, but it is quite another to really want a real work of reformation to happen in the church. It is one thing to state that I want a work of reformation in my own heart, but it is quite another to truly desire real reformation of the heart. A real reformation in the church would require that all bow before God and seek Him and anything He wants rather than just some life come to what we want so that the church would grow. A desire for real reformation in the church would be a group of people dying to self and seeking His glory by grace alone and not just by words. A real reformation in the heart of a particular person requires that God do the work as He pleases and when He pleases. Instead of reforming the heart in an easy way or manner and in a way that does not disturb the ease of life and reputation of the person seeking reformation, God may destroy (at least outwardly) the ease of life and reputation of the person through trials and hardships. In order for God to reform a heart He must break it from all the things it needs reformation from. This work will be a work of grace and it may be painful and it may take years. Few really want this.
For a person to desire true reformation of the heart (and that must be before any true reformation of the church) that person must desire God to do as He pleases, how He pleases, and when He pleases. It is a heart that sees how corrupt it is and how much it opposes God and His pleasure in all things, but especially in the things of religion. It is a heart that sees that it cannot conquer itself and that grace must do it as grace is pleased to do so. If grace does not break a heart and conquer it, that heart will always remain conquered by sin and self regardless of how religious it is. It must be broken and humbled by God, but also be brought into absolute subjection to God by the hand of God. Until the enemies in the land were subdued by Israel, they could not dwell in peace in the land. The same (by analogy) is true of the heart. Unless God subdues that heart He cannot dwell in peace in that heart.
Until the soul is broken, humbled, and lying in absolute subjection to God it will hide its pride and its true poverty under the guise or lie of religion and reformation. The heart will hide itself to others and itself in all forms, manners, and works of religion. The proud self knows it is sinful to be proud and so it will seek a form of humility to hide its pride under. The self knows it is wrong to be selfish and so it will seek to hide self in the forms of many works that have the appearance of humility. The heart desires to have the appearance of humility rather than humility itself and so deceives itself with the appearance. The breaking of the heart from its pride and self requires the unmasking of it by God and it does not want to appear naked, selfish, and proud because of its pride. But those things must be flushed out of hiding so that grace will work death in the soul to those things.
Oh how easy it is to find refuge in the appearances of good things and hide our hearts from others and ourselves. While the things of God are great and even necessary things, they seem to be mainly used as ways to deceive our hearts from being opened and then broken by God. It is a terrible thing to be satisfied with the appearance of humility when only the truly humble receive grace. It is a terrible thing to be satisfied with the appearance of holiness as only the holy of heart will see God. While there are many zealous people in our day seeking some kind of reformation, there are few that desire a true reformation of the heart by grace alone. Yet that is the only kind.
God Loves... Himself 
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