There are perhaps more souls lost through a false confidence of salvation than by any other deceit the Devil makes use of. I do not mean those notorious sinners, but among the more decent formalists, who because they have never fallen into any foul, gross sins, or because their lives are somewhat reformed, and they practice some outward duties, make no doubt of the safety of their state. Yet they have no union with Christ by faith; the great renovating change has never been wrought in them; their natures are still unrenewed, their hearts unsanctified; they never saw and bewailed their own vileness; they never felt their real need of a Savior, in a way of renunciation of their own righteousness. They do not pant and labor after higher degrees of grace and holiness, like a true child of God, who can never rest contented with his present attainments [of grace]. They [the deceived] keep plodding on in the same beaten track, vainly thinking to divide their hearts between God and the world and content themselves with a formal, lifeless, luke-warm religion, which only tends to their greater delusion. Thus they go on dreaming of heaven till they awake in hell. Sir Richard Hill
The formalist is a person that does not pant and labor after more and more true grace and holiness, but is contented with his present state or present attainments thinking (perhaps) that this happened by grace. This is so important to point out to anyone that will listen. This is important in a day of great darkness where it appears that we are in a virtual Gospel eclipse. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is one of grace and grace alone, but when a different Jesus and a different grace are preached, the Gospel itself is changed. Each person should and must examine his or her own heart to see if s/he is caught up in formalism. Yes, formalism is consistent with a virile form of orthodoxy. Yes, formalism is consistent with a virile form of moralism. The formalist may be a person that is strong on the sacraments and/or strong on creedalism or confessionalism. While confessions and creeds are important, they will not protect a church against formalism.
The formalist just keeps plodding along on the path s/he is on and is thought to be faithful. But where is the life of Christ in the soul of the formalist? The formalist will find religious excuses to be worldly in some ways, if not many. The formalist will not recognize how divided his heart is between God and the world, but will tell himself and deceive himself into thinking that he is walking with God. After all, he tells himself, there is nothing wrong with his hobbies and the things he loves, just as long as he does them in a way that honors God. The formalist will think that the morality of true Christianity is legalism as true Christianity wants to love God rather than just be content with some externals. True Christianity does not ask as the main question about things whether it is wrong, but is it true love for the true God.
The formalist goes on in life with an external morality and even a strong version of Christianity, but this can be but to “content themselves with a formal, lifeless, luke-warm religion, which only tends to their greater delusion.” Formal religion is, as Hill notes, “lifeless and luke-warm.” There is no life of Christ there is no true fruit of the Holy Spirit. Formalism settles for the works of the flesh and deludes self into thinking that these things are the real thing. But to settle for formalism, which is lifeless and luke-warm, is to settle for the type of religion that Jesus says He will spew out of His mouth. Formalism, then, is a false form of confidence in salvation that the Devil uses to deceive and delude people with.
The contrast drawn in the paragraph above (quote of Hill) is that of those who bewail their own sinfulness and then those who with confidence trust in their own religion. Jesus the Christ came to save sinners and not those who are confident in their lifeless religion. Jesus the Christ is the very life of the souls of all who are united to Him by grace alone. Jesus the Christ is the Savior of those who have had their eyes opened and despite their little faith and enormous sin they rest in Christ alone. Jesus the Christ has given those who are stripped of their own righteousness and their own religious formalism His own perfect righteousness. Formalism in the things of Christianity is not just a little dangerous, it is as deadly as anything on the planet. It seems that people who gain confidence in their state before God based on formalism are greatly deceived and this great deception is like a sleep that one never awakes from. “Thus they go on dreaming of heaven till they awake in hell.” “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you” (Eph 5:14). Formalism is the walk of death into hell. Christ is the way, the truth, and the LIFE.
God Loves... Himself 
Leave a comment