God Loves… Himself

Luke 6:31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 “If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 “If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. 35 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

Bellamy [Joseph] believed that much of the religion of his day was defective because it simply appealed to the selfish interests of men. He argued that if God is set forth as a Being who is simply dedicated to doing good to His creatures there is nothing about such a God to offend or contradict the personal welfare of the carnal mind, thus nothing objectionable as far as the lost man is concerned. The Arminian preachers were telling sinners that God was doing all He could to promote their best interests. But Bellamy argued that no natural man would object to such a God, thus there is no reason for the conviction of sin. In True Religion Delineated, he states, “True if God were such an one [if God were dedicated to seeking the happiness of man as His chief end, editor], then the most wicked man in the world could not but love him. Self-love would make it natural. Even publicans love those who love them, and are good to those who are kind to them (Matthew 5). Did men firmly believe God to be such an one, they could not, indeed, possibly be at enmity against Him. Self-love would not admit of it. Men would not need any grace to make them love God. Nature would make them love Him. They could not but love Him, so long as they love themselves. The point is that it does not take a supernatural work of grace in the heart of man to cause the sinner to love a God who is dedicated to the sinner’s own good. But it does take a “divine light” from God to turn the lost man to see the glory of God and dedicate himself to a God whose great cause is to magnify Himself. (From John F. Thornbury’s Introduction, True Religion Delineated, by International Outreach.)

In logic there is the simple “if A, then B” form of an argument. This is called the modus ponens. If something truly is A, then B will necessarily be included and be true. A cannot be true without B also being true. For example, if Joe is alive (A) then Joe is breathing (B). Joe is breathing, therefore Joe is alive. Another example, if the moon is shining at night (A), then the sun has not burned out (B). The moon is shining; therefore the sun has not burned out. These simple illustrations are to point out some of the argument of Bellamy just above. If the sinful nature of man is seen in his selfishness, then a god that is devoted to the worldly good of man will be loved by man. Involved in the very nature of man is his selfish heart that loves worldly self and all that has to do with self. When preachers do nothing but present a god that longs for and seeks the worldly good of men, then men will not and cannot do anything but love that god. This means that men will not see their natural enmity against the true God and so they will not understand their sin and so the Gospel of grace alone.

As long as natural man loves himself in the worldly way and all that will do good to him, he will love the god that is preached by all who are trying to reach men in accordance with the selfish heart of man. While Scripture is quite clear that the true God is holy and will not acquit the wicked, the selfish heart of man longs to keep his selfish heart and all things that are in line with his selfish heart. The selfish heart of man wants to keep his selfish heart and his pride and avoid hell which is for the eternal place for all the proud. The god that is preached in what seems to be the vast majority of places today is one that selfish and unregenerate men cannot help but love. It does no good to tell men that the Great Commandment is to love God in an effort to show them the depths of their sin and how much they need free-grace, for they think that they already love God. Indeed the love a god that they have falsely come to believe in. But again, their hearts cannot do anything but love the false god that is set forth from modern pulpits because this false god does not hate sin and does all for the worldly good of human beings.

When the false god that men will love in their unregenerate nature is preached and taught, then men will not see that they are enemies of God and His holiness and they do not see and understand that they must be born from above in order to love the true God. These men do not need grace in order to love the false gods because their very nature makes it impossible for them not to love the false gods that are preached in our day. The true and living God does all for the glory of His own name and stands opposed to the selfish hearts of men who do all for the sake of their own name. The god that is preached in the modern day would have no enemies from the natural men if what is said about him is true. The living God loves Himself while the natural man loves himself. The two are opposed in all things in reality, yet the god that is preached today seeks the good of worldly man. The true God is not like that and yet if He were He would be an idolater who loves men more than Himself. The failure to preach that the natural man is selfish and does all for himself leads to a false idea and a false god who is an idolater.

The natural man is in such a grip of selfishness and pride that he does not see himself and his sin and as such he will change the living God to be like himself rather than seek the Lord for true repentance in order to be like the true God. While this shows the horror of what appears to be the great trouble in America today, that is precisely what Arminian theology does and that is precisely what a practical Arminian does even if s/he claims to be Reformed. The Arminian is calling on men to believe based on some ability or freedom in the soul of that person rather than trying to get them to see the nature of their sin and the true nature of God. When the Arminian is calling on men to believe, he is trying to entice that person to make a choice based on the selfish nature of man. This is not the true about man or God. Oh how we need God to open our eyes to see Him and His truth!

Luke 6:31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 “If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 “If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. 35 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

Bellamy [Joseph] believed that much of the religion of his day was defective because it simply appealed to the selfish interests of men. He argued that if God is set forth as a Being who is simply dedicated to doing good to His creatures there is nothing about such a God to offend or contradict the personal welfare of the carnal mind, thus nothing objectionable as far as the lost man is concerned. The Arminian preachers were telling sinners that God was doing all He could to promote their best interests. But Bellamy argued that no natural man would object to such a God, thus there is no reason for the conviction of sin. In True Religion Delineated, he states, “True if God were such an one [if God were dedicated to seeking the happiness of man as His chief end, editor], then the most wicked man in the world could not but love him. Self-love would make it natural. Even publicans love those who love them, and are good to those who are kind to them (Matthew 5). Did men firmly believe God to be such an one, they could not, indeed, possibly be at enmity against Him. Self-love would not admit of it. Men would not need any grace to make them love God. Nature would make them love Him. They could not but love Him, so long as they love themselves. The point is that it does not take a supernatural work of grace in the heart of man to cause the sinner to love a God who is dedicated to the sinner’s own good. But it does take a “divine light” from God to turn the lost man to see the glory of God and dedicate himself to a God whose great cause is to magnify Himself. (From John F. Thornbury’s Introduction, True Religion Delineated, by International Outreach.)

Many a carnal man is ravished to think that God loves him, and will save him; but in this case; it is not the true character of God which charms the heart. It is not God that is loved. Strictly speaking, he only loves himself; and self-love is the source of all his affections. Or, if we call it love to God, it is no other kind than sinners feel to one another, “for sinners love those that love them.” (Bellamy, Sin, the Law, and the Glory of the Gospel, International Outreach)

Notice the connection in the thinking of Joseph Bellamy between a selfish heart that loves those who love it and false ideas of God. The selfish heart longs for and will find preachers and teachers who will tickle the ears rather than those who will speak the truth to hearts and in uncovering the sin of those hearts show those hearts that they need a Savior who saves by free-grace alone. Sinful men will not object to a god that loves them and does nothing but work for their worldly good while they remain in the bondage and deception of a selfish heart. The selfish heart hates the true God but loves all gods that men will offer up whom will not demand that their selfish heart be repented of and that they must die to their pride and self.

A selfish heart will twist and turn the Scriptures and all else in extreme efforts to find a way for it to keep its lordship over self and yet to think it is loved by God. The only way that this can happen is for men to wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction because in doing so they wrest the teaching about the true God and also wrest the Scriptures that teach them about their own sinful natures of selfish hearts. Oh how fallen creatures love to think that God loves them and will not bring them to judgment. After all, they reason, I love me and I love others and I would not judge them or myself with an eternal damnation. However, quite clearly that is to make a god in their own image rather than seek the true God.

This shows us that a selfish heart is not just a little selfish, but instead it is a heart that longs to be the true God. It is a heart that will twist all the facts and evidence in order to comfort itself and maintain its own pride and self-righteousness. This selfish heart is just like what the devil promised Adam and Eve when he told them that they would be like God. Indeed the selfish heart of man is like God in the sense that now man wants to be God, man wants to determine what is right and wrong for self, and man wants to change God to be like himself. The selfish heart (so to speak) casts God from His throne and takes that place for him or herself. The selfish heart will do what it wants and when it wants and then justifies itself by thinking and/or saying that it did that because it was best for self. The selfish heart plays God when it justifies its own sinful behavior and condemns others for far less. The selfish heart plays God when it denies that God will punish certain sins and so changes the nature of God in his or her own mind and acts as if that is reality.

The selfish heart tells others that it loves God and deceives itself into thinking that as well, but in reality it is not the true God that is loved. It is the false god that the selfish heart has erected in its own image and then pretends that its own image is the real God. The horrifying reality is that when the professing Church and its “ministers” do nothing toward proclaiming the true God, the evil of selfish hearts seemingly knows no end and the images of men that they pretend to be the true God takes over in the professing Church. It is my fear that this is what has happened in the professing Church. The true God has been ushered out and the false gods of selfish hearts have been lifted up and is the one being preached. These false gods are the ones that people are taught about Sunday after Sunday from the pulpits. These false gods are the ones that people think love them in their unconverted state where they are ruled over by selfish hearts. May God have mercy and deliver us for the sake of His name!

Luke 6:31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 “If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 “If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. 35 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

Bellamy [Joseph] believed that much of the religion of his day was defective because it simply appealed to the selfish interests of men. He argued that if God is set forth as a Being who is simply dedicated to doing good to His creatures there is nothing about such a God to offend or contradict the personal welfare of the carnal mind, thus nothing objectionable as far as the lost man is concerned. The Arminian preachers were telling sinners that God was doing all He could to promote their best interests. But Bellamy argued that no natural man would object to such a God, thus there is no reason for the conviction of sin. In True Religion Delineated, he states, “True if God were such an one [if God were dedicated to seeking the happiness of man as His chief end, editor], then the most wicked man in the world could not but love him. Self-love would make it natural. Even publicans love those who love them, and are good to those who are kind to them (Matthew 5). Did men firmly believe God to be such an one, they could not, indeed, possibly be at enmity against Him. Self-love would not admit of it. Men would not need any grace to make them love God. Nature would make them love Him. They could not but love Him, so long as they love themselves. The point is that it does not take a supernatural work of grace in the heart of man to cause the sinner to love a God who is dedicated to the sinner’s own good. But it does take a “divine light” from God to turn the lost man to see the glory of God and dedicate himself to a God whose great cause is to magnify Himself.  (From John F. Thornbury’s Introduction, True Religion Delineated, by International Outreach.)

There is a train of thought that pulls us along to some serious reflection on the methods of the modern day professing Church when one takes into account that religion is not biblical Christianity when all it does is appeal to the selfish interests of men, and that train of thought drives us to see that much of what is going on today is far removed from the heart of biblical Christianity. When professing churches are thought of as businesses and that people are thought of as consumers, something has gone wrong way down the tracks. When ministers think of the ministry in terms of package and those sorts of things, something has gone wrong way down the tracks. When denominations have area managers (in reality) who are judged by the offerings and attendance of the churches that they are over, something has gone wrong way down the tracks. Following the analogy, we are on a runaway train and there appears to be nothing that can stop it as it gains speed going down into the pit with all on board.

When ministers and evangelists, whether “professional” or the members of the congregations, preach and evangelize on the basis that God is dedicated to the “good” of His creatures, men will interpret that as meaning that God loves them (at least in a saving way) and seeks their “good” in the sense of good that they mean. They will think that God is out for their selfish interests and seeks it. The selfish heart that all have unless they are regenerate will have no cause for alarm at that point and will see no need to change. As long as sinners believe that God seeks to fulfill their selfish desires they will remain undisturbed in their sin. As long as sinners think that God loves them as they are and seeks their worldly good, they will wrongly believe that they are converted because they have prayed a prayer and have become religious to an acceptable degree (they think).

Many a carnal man is ravished to think that God loves him, and will save him; but in this case; it is not the true character of God which charms the heart. It is not God that is loved. Strictly speaking, he only loves himself; and self-love is the source of all his affections. Or, if we call it love to God, it is no other kind than sinners feel to one another, “for sinners love those that love them.” (Bellamy, Sin, the Law, and the Glory of the Gospel, International Outreach)

Imagine the deception of those who think that they love God and that God loves them and they do so because they don’t understand the true God and they don’t understand the nature of their selfish hearts. They are deceived and blind and as such the idea of the true God is suppressed by them and their false god is loved, though indeed they only love that false god out of their own selfish hearts and self-love. A religion based on a false idea of God and unregenerate hearts is not one that is remotely close to Christianity in truth and reality. The god of the hearts of men who only love the false gods of their idolatrous hearts can save no one and those who love those false gods will hate the true God when He is set out in His glory. These men who love false gods will not love the Gospel of His glory and they will hate free-grace when it is taught. We see a lot of that in our day.

Luke 6:31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 “If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 “If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. 35 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

Bellamy [Joseph] believed that much of the religion of his day was defective because it simply appealed to the selfish interests of men. He argued that if God is set forth as a Being who is simply dedicated to doing good to His creatures there is nothing about such a God to offend or contradict the personal welfare of the carnal mind, thus nothing objectionable as far as the lost man is concerned. The Arminian preachers were telling sinners that God was doing all He could to promote their best interests. But Bellamy argued that no natural man would object to such a God, thus there is no reason for the conviction of sin. In True Religion Delineated, he states, “True if God were such an one [if God were dedicated to seeking the happiness of man as His chief end, editor], then the most wicked man in the world could not but love him. Self-love would make it natural. Even publicans love those who love them, and are good to those who are kind to them (Matthew 5). Did men firmly believe God to be such an one, they could not, indeed, possibly be at enmity against Him. Self-love would not admit of it. Men would not need any grace to make them love God. Nature would make them love Him. They could not but love Him, so long as they love themselves. The point is that it does not take a supernatural work of grace in the heart of man to cause the sinner to love a God who is dedicated to the sinner’s own good. But it does take a “divine light” from God to turn the lost man to see the glory of God and dedicate himself to a God whose great cause is to magnify Himself. (From John F. Thornbury’s Introduction, True Religion Delineated, by International Outreach.)

Joseph Bellamy studied under Jonathan Edwards and saw that the selfish heart of man was the very core of the nature of sin. It is not just what man does, but it is the nature of the heart which is what all the actions, thoughts, intents, and motives flow from. When the very nature of the heart is selfish (love of self, pride, self-focus), then all that flows from that heart is selfish and therefore sinful. A selfish heart interprets all things according to the interests of self in some way. A selfish heart may appear to serve others, but in reality it is serving self as its primary love in some way.

Since men are born dead in sins and trespasses with a selfish heart, then men want everything for their own sake. This should make us wake up and realize that if this is true, then we must recognize that selfish hearts will want their ears tickled by ministers and ministers will not want to disturb their listeners. This means that men can be extremely and even extraordinarily religious and yet not be delivered from their selfish hearts. Men will seek religion out of self-love rather than seek God to deliver them from their own selfish hearts. What we must see is that in the modern world our theology has become so man-centered that professing Christianity is really another form of humanism. While ministers can preach and use the name of Christ and the name of God a lot, they are preaching Him in a human-centered way. The living God has created all things for His own glory and He will do nothing but what is for the glory of His own name. The Gospel is the Gospel of His glory and it is not just so that men can live selfish lives and escape hell in the end. We must not be lulled back to sleep if God is pleased to awaken us to see just how far professing Christianity has slid away from Him and His glory.

Thornbury (in the quote above) rightly notes that Joseph Bellamy thought that the religion (Christianity) of his day was defective and he thought it was defective because it was focused on and appealed to the selfish interests of men. If he thought it was bad in his day, what would he think of our day? It is said to be worship in music, but in reality the music is selected in order to get people in the door and entertain them. We have bands up front rather than ministers who revere the name of God in truth. We seek electric guitar players rather than the living God. We seek men with personalities and trained voices to lead the music rather than men who love God and long to see His face. But even if people are strict in their adherence to the Regulative Principles, one can sing the songs because they are conservative or because they are historical or because they make me feel good rather than as a means of seeking the presence of the living God. Selfish hearts will ruin all aspects of true worship and the music or the singing is just one aspect. We want to please ourselves rather than seek to be pleasing to the living God.

Luke 6:31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 “If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 “If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. 35 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

If sinners may love themselves and others from mere selfish motives, then it is easy to account for all their kind and friendly conduct towards their fellow creatures, consistent with their total depravity. Their selfishness naturally prompts them to do anything which they think will turn to their own personal advantage. To gain friends, they will show themselves friendly. To gain the love, esteem, and confidence of others, they will do acts of kindness, compassion, and even liberality. And the most depraved and selfish creature in the universe would do the same things, to obtain the same selfish ends. Satan always acts from this motive, when he transforms himself into an angel of light, and appears to seek the good of others. When he tempted our first parents, he professed to be more concerned to promote their knowledge and happiness, than even their Creator. When he tempted Christ to turn stones into bread, and commit himself to the divine care and protection, he appeared like a kind and friendly angel. (Nathaniel Emmons, 1745-1840, Selfishness, International Outreach, 2009)

Bellamy [Joseph] believed that much of the religion of his day was defective because it simply appealed to the selfish interests of men. He argued that if God is set forth as a Being who is simply dedicated to doing good to His creatures there is nothing about such a God to offend or contradict the personal welfare of the carnal mind, thus nothing objectionable as far as the lost man is concerned. The Arminian preachers were telling sinners that God was doing all He could to promote their best interests. But Bellamy argued that no natural man would object to such a God, thus there is no reason for the conviction of sin. In True Religion Delineated, he states, “True if God were such an one [if God were dedicated to seeking the happiness of man as His chief end, editor], then the most wicked man in the world could not but love him. Self-love would make it natural. Even publicans love those who love them, and are good to those who are kind to them (Matthew 5). Did men firmly believe God to be such an one, they could not, indeed, possibly be at enmity against Him. Self-love would not admit of it. Men would not need any grace to make them love God. Nature would make them love Him. They could not but love Him, so long as they love themselves. The point is that it does not take a supernatural work of grace in the heart of man to cause the sinner to love a God who is dedicated to the sinner’s own good. But it does take a “divine light” from God to turn the lost man to see the glory of God and dedicate himself to a God whose great cause is to magnify Himself.

True Religion Delineated was originally published in 1750. The quote was taken from the Introduction of the 1997 reprint of the same work by International Outreach located in Ames, Iowa. John F. Thornbury wrote the Introduction in the modern work, while Jonathan Edwards wrote the original Introduction.

Luke 6:31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 “If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 “If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. 35 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

If sinners may love themselves and others from mere selfish motives, then it is easy to account for all their kind and friendly conduct towards their fellow creatures, consistent with their total depravity. Their selfishness naturally prompts them to do anything which they think will turn to their own personal advantage. To gain friends, they will show themselves friendly. To gain the love, esteem, and confidence of others, they will do acts of kindness, compassion, and even liberality. And the most depraved and selfish creature in the universe would do the same things, to obtain the same selfish ends. Satan always acts from this motive, when he transforms himself into an angel of light, and appears to seek the good of others. When he tempted our first parents, he professed to be more concerned to promote their knowledge and happiness, than even their Creator. When he tempted Christ to turn stones into bread, and commit himself to the divine care and protection, he appeared like a kind and friendly angel. (Nathaniel Emmons, 1745-1840, Selfishness, International Outreach, 2009)

As we think through verses like Luke 6:31-35 and the writings of men like Nathaniel Emmons, we begin to see sin in a different light. The essence of sin is not that which we do outwardly, but it is why we do them. As Mark 7 puts it so clearly and plainly, it is what proceeds out of the heart that defiles us. We are then driven to ask ourselves why it is our own hearts that are so bad that the things that come out of them defile us. It is what is in us that defiles us rather than what we put in ourselves that defiles us. The problem is that our hearts desire and covet and drive us to do what we do and as such the problem is our wicked hearts. We think that we have repented if we stop our outwardly bad actions, but that is a great and widely accepted deception. We have not repented until we have been given new hearts so that we now desire righteous things. We have not repented until we are no longer completely controlled by selfish hearts, but now we have a new heart that is under the reign and rule of Christ. It is not just a forcible reign and rule, however, but it is new life in the heart, the very life of Christ Himself.

Mark 7:21 “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. 23 “All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”

As we think through this even more, we see where modern versions of Christianity fall far short of the glory of God. We see the professing Church, ministers, and the people being driven in so many ways and reasons to keep up their religious expressions. We see with great sorrow so many professing churches doing so many things to make themselves relevant and to reach people for Christ, or at least that is what they profess to be doing. As long as men and women have selfish hearts, they will not be converted regardless of what they profess. A selfish version of Christianity is as much from the pit of hell as devil worship. Let me say that again to emphasize this. A selfish version of Christianity is as much from the pit of hell as devil worship. Both come from the devil and both come from selfish hearts. Any version of professing Christianity that tries to reach people on the basis of their selfish hearts is not from God who opposes selfish hearts.

Let us not think for a moment that conservatives are exempt from this. Some people like to be conservative as a way of distinction or even self-righteousness. Some people like to be conservative in order to be like those they are around. Some people like to be conservative because it ties them in with historical figures. Those reasons are not the same thing as believing truths because they are the truth about the Christ we love. Many people need to repent of their conservatism in the same way that others need to repent of their liberalism. Both can be ways of people trusting in themselves and both come from a selfish heart. Justification by faith alone is a great truth, but one is not justified by believing that justification by faith alone is true. One must be actually justified by Christ alone and through grace alone in order to be actually justified. The selfish heart can believe that justification by faith alone is true, but only a humbled and broken heart that is delivered from a selfish heart will actually be justified.

Luke 6:31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 “If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 “If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. 35 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

If sinners may love themselves and others from mere selfish motives, then it is easy to account for all their kind and friendly conduct towards their fellow creatures, consistent with their total depravity. Their selfishness naturally prompts them to do anything which they think will turn to their own personal advantage. To gain friends, they will show themselves friendly. To gain the love, esteem, and confidence of others, they will do acts of kindness, compassion, and even liberality. And the most depraved and selfish creature in the universe would do the same things, to obtain the same selfish ends. Satan always acts from this motive, when he transforms himself into an angel of light, and appears to seek the good of others. When he tempted our first parents, he professed to be more concerned to promote their knowledge and happiness, than even their Creator. When he tempted Christ to turn stones into bread, and commit himself to the divine care and protection, he appeared like a kind and friendly angel. (Nathaniel Emmons, 1745-1840, Selfishness, International Outreach, 2009)

When we look at things as Emmons sets out with his illustrations from the Bible, we see that it is not so much that the outward acts are good, but it is the reason that they are done. The devil himself does outward good acts and appears as kind and compassionate in seeking the good of others, but he does so to obtain his own selfish end. While we would agree that his motives are evil, we may not see our own hearts in the same light. In fact, however, our own selfish hearts move us to do outwardly good acts for selfish reasons as well. As Emmons points out, Satan was seemingly concerned with the good of Adam and Eve in the Garden when he tempted them to sin. He appeared concerned with their ability to know things and for them to be happy and he questioned God’s motives toward them. We can easily see one application of how that works in the modern day and that is when people question the motives of God in His commands and precepts in Scripture. They say something like that surely a good God would not restrict people from things like this. They are acting just like the devil.

When Jesus was in the wilderness and had nothing to eat for 40 days, Satan tried to get Him to turn stones into bread. After all, when someone is that hungry and has gone such a long time they need to eat. But what were the motives of Satan in his kind and caring (in appearance) to Jesus? He was trying to get Jesus to sin against God. What was Satan doing when he tried to get Jesus to show that He was the Son of God by throwing Himself off of the Temple because Scripture says that God will command His angels concerning Him? He was trying to get the Messiah out of his way, but how concerned he appeared to be as he tried to get Jesus to show that He was the Son of God. What was Satan’s motive in offering Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory? It sounds as if that was a kind offer for then Jesus could avoid the cross and yet have the whole world as rightfully His. However, Satan’s motive was for himself and he thought Jesus might be tempted to have the same motive.

When Satan appeared to tempt both our first parents and Jesus, he did not come across as the prince of great evil. He came across as interested in the well-being of others. He sounded so reasonable and wise and even compassionate as such. However, when Adam and Eve fell into sin he brought about the fall into sin and misery for the whole human race and he did it for his own selfish purposes. The three trials he brought to Jesus his selfish intent was to stop the Messiah and as such leave the whole human race with no savior at all. The standard of evil, then, is not so much an outward act, but it is the intent of the selfish heart.

Human beings justify their sins by an appeal to their selfish hearts, but in reality they should see that this appeal is to be like the devil and increases their guilt. When they do something wrong and then say that it appeared as good to them, the reason it appeared good to them is because they were looking at it through the lenses of a selfish heart. While we can see the great evil of acts of terror in our world, we may be blind to the hideous acts of evil that are common each Sunday in the pulpits of the land. Children of Satan are trying to get people to be moral and religious based on selfish considerations and avoid speaking of the glory of God and true holiness. Children of Satan are trying to get people to make decisions based on selfish considerations and yet that is to be like Satan rather than to preach the Gospel. Children of Satan are using all kinds of selfish motives to get people “saved” and yet they are keeping the true Gospel of grace alone from the people. It is so easy to want people to like you when you are in the pulpit and so tickle their ears, but that is precisely what Satan does and wants. Until preachers are willing to offend people and preach things that they don’t like and perhaps even hate, the Gospel will not be preached.

Luke 6:31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 “If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 “If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. 35 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

If sinners may love themselves and others from mere selfish motives, then it is easy to account for all their kind and friendly conduct towards their fellow creatures, consistent with their total depravity. Their selfishness naturally prompts them to do anything which they think will turn to their own personal advantage. To gain friends, they will show themselves friendly. To gain the love, esteem, and confidence of others, they will do acts of kindness, compassion, and even liberality. And the most depraved and selfish creature in the universe would do the same things, to obtain the same selfish ends. Satan always acts from this motive, when he transforms himself into an angel of light, and appears to seek the good of others. When he tempted our first parents, he professed to be more concerned to promote their knowledge and happiness, than even their Creator. When he tempted Christ to turn stones into bread, and commit himself to the divine care and protection, he appeared like a kind and friendly angel. (Nathaniel Emmons, 1745-1840, Selfishness, International Outreach, 2009)

What the paragraph above (in light of Luke 6) shows with great clearness is that unregenerate men and women are just like the devil in the very best actions that they do. This is getting at the very heart of the depravity of humankind. Human beings can do what they think is best and what others may think of as kind and compassionate, yet if it is not out of love for God and the true spiritual good or our neighbor we are seeking our own sinful self in doing those things. When we do not seek the spiritual good of others and our efforts are to glorify God, we are doing them real and true harm even if our actions appear as kind and noble.

Matthew 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. 22 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” 23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” 24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.

The passage just above (Matthew 16:21) shows us what kindness and compassion with the apparent good of others in mind really are. Jesus spoke of His suffering at the hands of the religious elite in Jerusalem, being killed, and then being raised up on the third day. Peter, as one who we think loved Jesus, took Him aside, rebuked Him, and saying that this shall never happen. Again, this appears to be a great act of kindness and compassion toward Jesus, but what did Jesus say to Peter? He told Peter to “Get behind Me, Satan!” Why did He say this to Peter? It was because Peter was not setting his mind on the things of God but on the things of man. This should set upon our hearts and show us the truth about true love and the truth about what it means to follow Christ.

We are like Satan when our minds and words and actions are focused on the things of man rather than the things of God. Even when we are doing what appears to be the best for others in the physical realm or in the human only realm, we are like Satan if we are not looking at them with our eyes and hearts on the things of God. When the kind mother of a child looks after her child with great care and compassion, we think we see true love. However, if that mother does not have the love of God in her and her desire is not for the spiritual welfare of her child, she is really serving herself out of a selfish heart in some way. Even when the mother appears to deny self to care for her child, she is still doing it out of a selfish heart. This helps explain I John 4:7-8 which tells us that only believers have true love and that no unbelievers have true love. This is true because only those who have been born of God and know God truly love. All that we do that is apart from love that is received from God and is love for God is to be like Satan who shows compassion in apparent love but is actually for his own selfish purposes. If this does not show us out great need for God to show free-grace, then nothing can. How helpless we are in our selfish hearts unless God shows free-grace and turns our hearts to be like Him.

Luke 6:31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 “If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 “If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. 35 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

If sinners may love themselves and others from mere selfish motives, then it is easy to account for all their kind and friendly conduct towards their fellow creatures, consistent with their total depravity. Their selfishness naturally prompts them to do anything which they think will turn to their own personal advantage. To gain friends, they will show themselves friendly. To gain the love, esteem, and confidence of others, they will do acts of kindness, compassion, and even liberality. And the most depraved and selfish creature in the universe would do the same things, to obtain the same selfish ends. Satan always acts from this motive, when he transforms himself into an angel of light, and appears to seek the good of others. When he tempted our first parents, he professed to be more concerned to promote their knowledge and happiness, than even their Creator. When he tempted Christ to turn stones into bread, and commit himself to the divine care and protection, he appeared like a kind and friendly angel. (Nathaniel Emmons, 1745-1840, Selfishness, International Outreach, 2009)

If it is true that sinners love those who love themselves, then it follows that these people will be kind and compassionate to obtain some selfish end (goal, result). As with the Pharisees, they did their acts of righteousness in order to be seen by men (Matthew 6). They prayed in order to be honored by men, they gave alms to be seen and honored by men, and they fasted in order to be honored by men. The Pharisees used the things of religion (and God Himself) in order to obtain honor for themselves which demonstrates that they had selfish hearts and sought selfish goals (ends) in their religious activity. Al Capone (Chicago mobster of the 1920’s) ran charity kitchens and fed the poor as had people murdered and murdered people himself. Hitler was not beyond giving nice things to people when it served his purposes. Some of the most brutal mobsters in American history were kind and merciful to their wives, children, and families. Sinners love themselves supremely and do evil or outward good in accordance to their own selfish ends and purposes.

When some of the most evil men in history are set out in this way it may appear that others do not have selfish hearts. However, don’t forget that alongside those evil men in history we have the most religious men doing the same thing. History is rife with religious men who did many outwardly good things and yet when the veil was lifted from their secret lives they had committed very evil deeds. We have priests molesting children. We have pastors molesting children and having affairs. We have pastors committing murder as well. Outward religion will not change the heart of men, but all it does is to channel the self-love of sinners in one direction. The problem, however, is when the heart is not changed by grace it can be turned to gross outward sin when self-love dictates. This is also a huge problem with getting people to make decisions for Christ. If they made a decision and that is what changes them, then they can also make a different decision when it appears good for their selfish hearts.

As Jesus set out for us in John 8, the father of the Pharisees was the devil. When they told a lie (said Jesus) they were simply acting like their father who was the father of lies. After all, why do people lie? It is for selfish reasons and in order to obtain a selfish goal. This is the modus operandi of Satan and all of his children, regardless of their status in life and regardless of how religious they may or may not be. Satan is the most selfish being in the universe and he will stoop and appear to be doing what is good for others in order to obtain his own purposes. He will use religion to gain his own purposes and so will his children. He deceives with religion and as such his children are deceived and go around deceiving as well, though they may be doing so because they are in darkness. This cannot be stressed too much. Unregenerate men and women are children of the devil and they act like him in appearing to do what is good for others and yet doing so for their own selfish purposes. A mere choice for Christ coming from a wicked and selfish heart will not change that selfish heart, but instead it will deceive that selfish heart even more by giving it a form of religion without the power thereof. Sinners need a new heart and it must come by the power of God and His free-grace or all the religion of men will be the products of nothing but idolatry and self-love.

Luke 6:31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 “If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 “If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. 35 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

If sinners may love themselves and others from mere selfish motives, then it is easy to account for all their kind and friendly conduct towards their fellow creatures, consistent with their total depravity. Their selfishness naturally prompts them to do anything which they think will turn to their own personal advantage. To gain friends, they will show themselves friendly. To gain the love, esteem, and confidence of others, they will do acts of kindness, compassion, and even liberality. And the most depraved and selfish creature in the universe would do the same things, to obtain the same selfish ends. Satan always acts from this motive, when he transforms himself into an angel of light, and appears to seek the good of others. When he tempted our first parents, he professed to be more concerned to promote their knowledge and happiness, than even their Creator. When he tempted Christ to turn stones into bread, and commit himself to the divine care and protection, he appeared like a kind and friendly angel. (Nathaniel Emmons, 1745-1840, Selfishness, International Outreach, 2009)

The profundity of the statement by Emmons can hardly be exaggerated. It explains so much in the world and in the professing Church as well. Its explanatory power is simply enormous. The Great Commandment is to love God with all of our being, yet the selfish heart loves self with all of its power and does all it does for self. The selfish heart may be nice and it may be kind and it may be given to good works (externally), but that heart is doing all that it does for self rather than the glory of God. Indeed that selfish heart may say that it is doing what it does for the glory of God, but that is just another step of deception. These people may not be consciously aware of what they are doing, but all that they do is moved by their own personal advantage. They may do a good work in relieving the misery of another, but they do so in an effort to appear righteous before self and/or others.

The professing Church is captivated by that type of thinking and has been “helped” along in that way by people like James Dobson and secular psychology which said that all we do should be done out of self-love and we should puff up the self-esteem of people so that they will behave better. When people are encouraged to do good works out of self-love, even if it is by ministers, that is exactly what the devil is like and what he wants them to do. Whether the work is outwardly good or evil he does not care as he wants people to be like him and that is to do all he does out of love for self and enmity toward God. But again, the outward actions are not the most essential issue. It is the motives and intents of the heart. Genesis 6:5 tells us this story: “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Every intent of the heart included when man was doing outwardly good things and even when he was religious.

Emmons writes this regarding selfish hearts: “To gain friends, they will show themselves friendly.” Businesses, when they are going after customers, try to encourage the employees to show themselves friendly. However, they are only doing it to obtain more customers and so more money for themselves. The employees, eager to please their bosses, will be friendly for a period of time, but clearly it is not out of love for God or the customers. The same thing is true of churches. Some churches have training for greeters and the idea is to swarm people with friendliness and make them feel special so that they will be comfortable and come back. However, once again, that is not love for God or the visitors. It is just a way to try to get the “church” to grow.

Preachers have also imbibed this spirit. They do not want to offend people and as such they water the sermons down to where they are virtually empty of true Christianity, whether they speak of Christ or not. One can speak a lot about Christ without preaching Christ and the Gospel. One can speak highly of Christ and yet only do this in an effort to be sure that the professing church is being biblical or that the preacher will be spoken highly of. One can speak much of Christ and yet be focused on Christ in such a way that it is not the biblical Christ in that men are the center of the sermon and not Christ. As one can easily see, only free-grace can deliver a selfish heart from itself. Yet apart from showing people the very nature of their sin they can go on with their selfish hearts and be quite religious in a conservative and “evangelical” atmosphere. We must preach the nature of sin and the free-grace of God if we are going to love men and our neighbors.