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Meditations on God 7

April 18, 2016

God intuitively and constantly sees the whole of this great and complicated system, and governs every particle and part of it in connection and conformity with the whole. He never suffers one link in this chain to be broken, nor one wheel in this machine to move slower or faster, or in any other direction, than he always intended. He governs all objects from the greatest to the smallest, and all creatures from the highest to the lowest; not as distinct and separate individuals, but as connected and constituent parts of his immense creation. Every dispensation of his universal providence, which is thus systematically administered towards any individual of mankind, may sensibly and deeply affect thousands and millions more. (Nathanael Emmons, Instructions to the Afflicted)

Ephesians 1:11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.

The picture that Emmons paints as he expounds at least one aspect of Ephesians 1:11 is that God sees all things at once and He sees all things constantly. This is a strong teaching on the omniscience of God. From all eternity God has known and seen all things in the eternal present, which is to say that all things are present with Him and His knowledge is certain. This great and glorious God does not depend on anyone to inform Him of anything past or present, but He knows all and all depends on Him completely. It is not just that He knows particular events from some outside way, but instead He governs every particle and knows their every connection and how its part fits in with the whole. As a clock has many springs and wheels and all work together, so God knows how all things fit together and how all things function. He knows this because He has created all things and in Him all things hold together. Not one event that happens to us or around us has any part of it that is not in His complete control and is part of His plan.

When we see one event happen, whether large or small, if we will take the time and effort (rather, pray that God would give us grace to have insight and the strength to take the time and effort) to meditate on those events, we can behold the hand of God in all things. We tend to think of the providence of God as being focused on us, but instead God is focused on Himself and His own glory. We tend to think of things as good or bad as to whether they make us feel good or bad or whether they are good or bad for our finances. But we must learn to see God in all things and know all things work together for good because He is sovereign over all things and the greatest good is for us to bow in humble submission to His sovereign wisdom.

As we meditate upon the fact that nothing in God’s chain of events can ever be broken regardless of how we feel about it or view it. God is supreme and independent and nothing can go apart from His perfect will in all things. Nothing ever happens apart from the perfect plan of God and so we can neither hurry up the plan of God nor can we slow it down. God’s timing is always perfect in accordance to His divine sovereignty whether it appears slower than we want or perhaps arrives quicker than is comfortable to us. But again, while our hearts may rebel or grumble with the circumstances of life, those circumstances have been ordered from all eternity past and nothing has changed with God and as such each circumstance is perfectly timed for the best. Oh how our hearts chafe when God does not deliver us when we want, yet that is to trust in our own wisdom rather than His. Again, we should seek the Lord to humble our hearts that we may trust Him in all our ways and steps rather than ourselves.

As we think through the issue of the extent and depths of the sovereignty of God, it is quite clear that not many in our day believe in the sovereignty of God to the extent that Emmons did. However, if you meditate upon that you will see that not many in our day believe in the sovereignty of God at all. They think of Him as more of a divine genie who will do what they want and when they want if they can work up enough faith. That is to make God out to be stronger than we are but who is at our service to do as we please. The entire universe was created by God and for God, or in the words of Colossians it was created through Christ and for Christ. The entire universe operates precisely and exactly as God created it and all events come to pass simply because it was His mere pleasure for it to come to pass. This is of great comfort to those who love God. We don’t rest in the winds of luck or fortune, we are in the hands of One who has an infinite love for Jesus Christ and all who are in Christ are love more than they can possibly imagine. Let us bow in worship rather than grumble.

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Meditations on God 6

April 17, 2016

God intuitively and constantly sees the whole of this great and complicated system, and governs every particle and part of it in connection and conformity with the whole. He never suffers one link in this chain to be broken, nor one wheel in this machine to move slower or faster, or in any other direction, than he always intended. He governs all objects from the greatest to the smallest, and all creatures from the highest to the lowest; not as distinct and separate individuals, but as connected and constituent parts of his immense creation. Every dispensation of his universal providence, which is thus systematically administered towards any individual of mankind, may sensibly and deeply affect thousands and millions more. Nathanael Emmons, Instructions to the Afflicted)

Ephesians 1:11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.

While the world focuses on the abilities of self and the religious world worries about the responsibility of man and how we must not take too much away from man and ascribe it to God, the Bible does not worry about that. Neither did Nathanael Emmons in the quote above. What he would have us to see is that God is sovereign over all things at all times and in all ways. We must know that we are not alone and we are not free to operate apart from the great and sovereign plan of God. We must know that we are not free to act in a way that will upset the plan of God and will disrupt anything He has planned to do. While we are free from forces that make us choose, we are not free from the sovereign hand of God at any point and at any time.

It is wiser to think of God’s sovereign hand as in control and as the ultimate reason and purpose behind all things. This is why the Scriptures tell us that He works all things after the counsel of His own will. When the Scriptures tell us that God works all things after the counsel of His will, we can be sure that He is absolutely sovereign over all things. Whether it is subatomic particles or gigantic galaxies and universes, God is sovereign over each and every thing. Absolutely and utterly nothing is beyond His omnipotence and sovereign wisdom. Instead of men thinking that they can come up with wise plans to help God’s kingdom advance, these men should bow in humble submission and cry out how He would have these things to happen. Instead of seeking greatness, men should seek lowliness and brokenness before God who alone can enable them to submit to His sovereign plan.

As Jesus taught us in John 15, we can do nothing apart from Him. This great God that “governs every particle and part of it in connection and conformity with the whole” can alone work in us wisdom and grace that we may indeed do things that are intended to be good and are good. It is God alone who can work all things for His own glory and our good because He has planned all things and orders all things in that way. Everything conforms to each other and His plan in the ultimate sense because that is how perfect wisdom orders all things when He intends all things for the highest good which is His own glory. Each and ever thing (act, word, intent, motive) are all part of His divine plan and each works together as He has designed it and planned it. We may think or feel that He is picking on us by bringing hard things into our lives, but we have no idea the good He has planned for those hard things. He can use those to work great maturity in our lives, but those hard things can also be used in His hands to bring great glory to Himself in ways we are clueless about.

What an encouragement for the believer that we must take hold of. God is indeed sovereign over all the smallest things as well as the greatest things. Everything that happens to me is from His sovereign hand and intended for His glory which is the greatest good that there is and which should be my greatest love. There is nothing that can possibly happen to the believer that is outside of the hand of the sovereign and living God who has an eternal plan for the smallest things. Every event that comes to the believer is brought directly to the believer through the hand of eternal and infinite love, and that is true with the hardest things as well as the good. While God may bring things that are far beyond what my flesh can bear, His grace can give me the strength to bear what His wisdom has planned for His own glory. Every thing that He brings to pass fits with His great scheme and that I am part of that great scheme and that all that is happening to me has a far greater purpose than I can imagine. Oh how this great truth should humble us into the dust and move us to seek the face of the Lord to give us grace to be content in His hands.

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Selfishness as Sin 73

April 16, 2016

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.

Philippians 2:19 But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. 20 For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.

If sinners are constantly under the governing influence of selfishness, then they must experience an essential change in their affections, in order to be saved. If they naturally possessed the least degree of disinterested love, or true holiness, there would be no need of a radical and essential change in their moral exercises. They might love God and repent of sin and believe in Christ, without becoming new creatures. Their carnal mind, which is perfect selfishness, cannot be new modified or molded into benevolence by any exterior means of motives. Though under some circumstances, they may, without a change of heart, hate the world which they once loved, and love God whom they once hated, yet their love and hatred will arise from the same mercenary motives, which are entirely sinful. Sinners are continually turning their attention and their affections from one object to another; but their love and their hated continue to be of the same selfish nature. The careless sinner fixes his whole attention and affection upon the world; but when he is awakened from his stupidity, he turns his whole attention from the world to God, whom he hates for the same reason for which he before loved the world. Whatever sinners love and hate, they love and hate from selfish motives; and consequently no change of objects, motives, or circumstances, has the least tendency to change the nature of their affections. So that nothing short of a divine influence upon their hearts, can turn them from selfishness to benevolence, or from sin to holiness, without which they cannot see the kingdom of God. (Nathanael Emmons, Selfishness, International Outreach)

When reading the Scriptures and the quote by Emmons above (not to mention the rest of Scripture and the rest of the book by Emmons), I am struck by how easy the devil can manipulate ministers and people into a false assurance of a false conversion. It is also striking how easy it would be to deceive people about the Gospel of the glory of God and so have a false gospel being preached. As long as the unregenerate operate on the basis of selfishness (self-love, pride, self-centeredness), they will be moved to love error because truth is centered upon God. This has been brought up and discussed before, but it is so clear from this passage from Emmons that it needs to be bought to the forefront again. This is a vitally important issue in our day.

It seems as if the vast majority or preaching in our day has no recognition of this problem. Sinners are told that Christ loves them and has done everything for them and as such all they have to do is pray a prayer or walk an aisle or something that they can do in their own natural power. A person is never told that it is beyond their ability to change their own heart in order to do what is needed, so a person must receive a new heart which is an absolute must in order to believe. This new heart can only come by the work of God and He will only do it by free and sovereign grace. The unregenerate person will believe that Christ loves him or her because s/he loves self and of course believes that Christ would love him or her. That unregenerate person will love those who s/he thinks loves him or her and as such will think that s/he is converted. After all, a love for God is a sign of conversion. However, a false love for a false god (even if it is derived from the Bible in some way) is a sign of false conversion.

The unregenerate person still loves self as his or her chief love and is guided by self at all times. This person has not been converted but is in an even greater danger because now s/he is deceived by what s/he thinks is conversion. This person becomes very religious and thinks that God loves him or her and that s/he loves God, though the love of God in Christ does not dwell in that person and the person does not love the true God because s/he has not been regenerated. All that the person does is motivated by a selfish heart and that person can become very religious and still be moved and motivated by that selfish heart. It is a great deception and hardly a word is being said in our day about it. Instead of that people are encouraged to believe based on self-love and the strength of self. It is a tangled web of deception that the evil one has wrought and because it fits with their own selfish hearts full of love for self people are completely deluded by it. The Scripture is quite clear that God will have mercy on whom He will have mercy, but the deluded think that they can have mercy on themselves when the choose. The Scripture teaches that grace cannot be earned, merited, or in any way be moved by something in man, yet the deluded think that grace is at their choice and will.

In Paul’s own day he had no one to send to the Philippians because the ministers sought their own interests rather than those of Christ. This is true in our day as well. Ministers want to build big buildings and huge congregations to the glory of their own names, though indeed they say it is for God. Ministers will stoop very low in order to get people to pray a prayer, join the church, or give money to the latest building program. But ministers will not preach that the true God is sovereign and He alone can change hearts. Ministers will not preach that grace is sovereign and God is not under obligation to show it to anyone and there is nothing anyone can do to move Him to show grace. Ministers deceive others when they tell people that God loves them and will assuredly save them if they will but pray a prayer or walk an aisle. Ministers deceive others when it seems that God has done all He can do and it is now up to the sinner. When will ministers be like a Luther or an Edwards who would preach with broken hearts that God must have mercy on sinners and it is God who must change their wicked hearts? It is only when ministers and others see the wickedness of their own selfish hearts and they begin to cry out to God to break them and humble them in the dust. God alone can break proud and selfish hearts, not the people themselves. We must seek him to break our hearts that we would truly seek Him for His own glory.

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Selfishness as Sin 72

April 15, 2016

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.

Philippians 2:19 But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. 20 For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.

If sinners are constantly under the governing influence of selfishness, then they must experience an essential change in their affections, in order to be saved. If they naturally possessed the least degree of disinterested love, or true holiness, there would be no need of a radical and essential change in their moral exercises. They might love God and repent of sin and believe in Christ, without becoming new creatures. Their carnal mind, which is perfect selfishness, cannot be new modified or molded into benevolence by any exterior means of motives. Though under some circumstances, they may, without a change of heart, hate the world which they once loved, and love God whom they once hated, yet their love and hatred will arise from the same mercenary motives, which are entirely sinful. Sinners are continually turning their attention and their affections from one object to another; but their love and their hated continue to be of the same selfish nature. The careless sinner fixes his whole attention and affection upon the world; but when he is awakened from his stupidity, he turns his whole attention from the world to God, whom he hates for the same reason for which he before loved the world. Whatever sinners love and hate, they love and hate from selfish motives; and consequently no change of objects, motives, or circumstances, has the least tendency to change the nature of their affections. So that nothing short of a divine influence upon their hearts, can turn them from selfishness to benevolence, or from sin to holiness, without which they cannot see the kingdom of God. (Nathanael Emmons, Selfishness, International Outreach)

As we think back about the heart of the meaning of Luke 6:31-35, it teaches us that sinners love those who love them. In other words, they love others only for the sake of what they will obtain by it. They may obtain a regard for themselves and think that they love the unlovely and as such think of self as righteous, but the heart of all they do is love for self. This means that if sinners love those who love them, they will hate those that do not love them. The love and the hatred of sinners, then, must come from the same nature of self. All that the unregenerate sinner does is from self, of self, and for self. The sinner gives self to open sin and from that same selfish heart can give self to religion. As long as self is stroked and honored and pleased to some degree; self will be there.

Again, pastors and elders must know that they cannot just stroke people and tickle their ears. The selfish hearts of sinners long to hear of positive things about themselves and how much God surely loves them, but regenerate people long to hear the glories of God and want to die to self that they may live for His glory more and more. Emmons notes that sinners love and hate for the same and can be openly sinful or very religious from the very same heart that loves self. The unregenerate person that is full of self-love and pride can become a very, very religious person (think of the Pharisees) without a change of heart. It must be stressed over and over and said in different ways so that men and women will hear. There is nothing but a divine work on the heart that can change the heart from selfishness to true love and as such from open sin to holiness. A change in behavior does not qualify a person for the kingdom, only the work of God in changing the heart will do so. A person that says a prayer and gets involved in religious activity may be in even greater danger because of the deception of self-righteousness.

As Emmons notes, sinners can come to hate the world without a change of heart. They can begin to see that the world is harming them and as such they begin to hate it. They can see that following the world is not good for their self-righteousness and for the honor they will obtain before religious people, so they can hate the world as such. Unregenerate sinners can even hate certain sins because they can see that those sins are not good for their self-righteousness or that they cannot obtain assurance of salvation by those sins. But again, a new heart which loves God in Christ cannot be had by those things. There certainly appears to be vast numbers of ministers who preach from selfish hearts because they have nothing to say about the true nature of sin. Instead, it appears that vast numbers are lulled to sleep by a religious potion that leaves people in their self-love and pride. Whether the people said a prayer or not or walked an aisle or not is not the real issue. The real issue is whether the living God has given these people a new and living heart where they now really love the real God from a new heart and are now at war with self and pride.

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Selfishness as Sin 71

April 14, 2016

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.

Philippians 2:19 But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. 20 For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.

If sinners are constantly under the governing influence of selfishness, then they must experience an essential change in their affections, in order to be saved. If they naturally possessed the least degree of disinterested love, or true holiness, there would be no need of a radical and essential change in their moral exercises. They might love God and repent of sin and believe in Christ, without becoming new creatures. Their carnal mind, which is perfect selfishness, cannot be new modified or molded into benevolence by any exterior means of motives. Though under some circumstances, they may, without a change of heart, hate the world which they once loved, and love God whom they once hated, yet their love and hatred will arise from the same mercenary motives, which are entirely sinful. Sinners are continually turning their attention and their affections from one object to another; but their love and their hated continue to be of the same selfish nature. The careless sinner fixes his whole attention and affection upon the world; but when he is awakened from his stupidity, he turns his whole attention from the world to God, whom he hates for the same reason for which he before loved the world. Whatever sinners love and hate, they love and hate from selfish motives; and consequently no change of objects, motives, or circumstances, has the least tendency to change the nature of their affections. So that nothing short of a divine influence upon their hearts, can turn them from selfishness to benevolence, or from sin to holiness, without which they cannot see the kingdom of God. (Nathanael Emmons, Selfishness, International Outreach)

In reading the texts of Scripture above and then the passage from Emmons, the nature of sin should become somewhat clear with some reflection and meditation. We have all observed profligate sinners become very religious and then slowly leave off their religion and go into the world again. The problem is that the person was never changed by God and was still under the influences of a selfish heart. We have all observed people who viewed themselves with a far different eye than those around them. This can again be seen as a problem of a selfish heart. The explanatory power of the selfish heart is enormous.

If it is true that a sinner who is born in sin and is dead in sins and trespasses can love and hate religion (not just the world) out of and because of a selfish heart, then we must see just how this will influence the churches and the souls of men. A great change in external behavior and even in what appears to be the affections is no safe sign of conversion. Unregenerate sinners can become the most refined and committed religionists and that be from nothing but a selfish heart. Preachers can be guilty of deceiving an enormous number of people because they try to get people to pray prayers and make external changes based on a selfish heart. No amount of self-love can change the sinner’s heart and nothing but the power of God alone can do that.

What can take a heart that is guided by selfishness and guide it by the power of love for God? Only the power of God’s free-grace can do that. The devil is only too happy to lend a hand in taking open sinners and helping them become very religious as long as they remain deceived about their bondage to self-love. Sinners must have their eyes opened to their selfish hearts so that they can see that they are mercenary in terms of their religion and not true lovers of the true God. Preachers must wake up and realize that they may be preaching from a selfish heart and that may be why they are preaching a false gospel to sinners. They plead with sinners to be converted, yet it is only on the power of self-love that they do so. They offer motivations to sinners, but those are only to the hearts of self-love. True preaching is that God is sovereign and He changes hearts by free-grace. True preaching of the Gospel preaches Christ and His glories to sinners and leaves the changing of the heart to the One who alone can do so.

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Selfishness as Sin 70

April 13, 2016

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.

Philippians 2:19 But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. 20 For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.

If sinners are constantly under the governing influence of selfishness, then they must experience an essential change in their affections, in order to be saved. If they naturally possessed the least degree of disinterested love, or true holiness, there would be no need of a radical and essential change in their moral exercises. They might love God and repent of sin and believe in Christ, without becoming new creatures. Their carnal mind, which is perfect selfishness, cannot be new modified or molded into benevolence by any exterior means of motives. Though under some circumstances, they may, without a change of heart, hate the world which they once loved, and love God whom they once hated, yet their love and hatred will arise from the same mercenary motives, which are entirely sinful. Sinners are continually turning their attention and their affections from one object to another; but their love and their hated continue to be of the same selfish nature. The careless sinner fixes his whole attention and affection upon the world; but when he is awakened from his stupidity, he turns his whole attention from the world to God, whom he hates for the same reason for which he before loved the world. Whatever sinners love and hate, they love and hate from selfish motives; and consequently no change of objects, motives, or circumstances, has the least tendency to change the nature of their affections. So that nothing short of a divine influence upon their hearts, can turn them from selfishness to benevolence, or from sin to holiness, without which they cannot see the kingdom of God. (Nathanael Emmons, Selfishness, International Outreach)

Emmons tells us that the carnal mind cannot be newly modified or molded into benevolence by any exterior means of motives. This is powerful statement which frankly blows away Arminian theology and wipes the dust off behind it. The carnal mind cannot be changed by motives as it will always operate according to the dictate of selfishness and pride. Nothing can change that mind but God alone in the new birth. When the love and hatred of the heart always arises from the same source, there can be no change apart from the hand of God granting a new heart. This is so important to grasp in terms of evangelism, the Gospel, the character of God, and the nature of Christian fellowship. This is so important to grasp in terms of helping people see if they are truly converted. Myriads of people are deceived because of their selfish hearts and it seems as if no one is dealing with that in our day.

Since it is true that sinners are bound fast in the bondage of selfishness (pride and love for self), then it should be absolutely clear that they must be born from above to be converted. In regeneration God “rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13). Satan, the deceiver and the great lover and admirer of self, keeps people in the bonds and darkness of his kingdom of self. He can deceive the greatest of open sinners into becoming the greatest in the things of religion and yet they have never been born from above. All that they have done is change their behavior and keep their chief sin which is self.

The religious person can come to hate the world, but not because he has a new heart, but because the world does not feed his self-love in the same way religion does now. The religious person can now love God (though it is a god of his own making) and it will still be out of nothing but love for self. Whether a person gives all of his or her energies in pursuit of the world or in pursuit of the things of religion, that person will do either in the bondage of the love of self. Oh how the selfish heart can weep and say great things about the god who saved him or her from the sin and the world, but it is still self-love speaking. Self-love cannot change the heart from self-love to a new heart. Self-love cannot give itself new desires for God and new affections for the truth of God. Only free-grace can change a despicable heart that loves self and make it one that loves the true and living God.

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Selfishness as Sin 69

April 12, 2016

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.

Philippians 2:19 But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. 20 For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.

If sinners are constantly under the governing influence of selfishness, then they must experience an essential change in their affections, in order to be saved. If they naturally possessed the least degree of disinterested love, or true holiness, there would be no need of a radical and essential change in their moral exercises. They might love God and repent of sin and believe in Christ, without becoming new creatures. Their carnal mind, which is perfect selfishness, cannot be new modified or molded into benevolence by any exterior means of motives. Though under some circumstances, they may, without a change of heart, hate the world which they once loved, and love God whom they once hated, yet their love and hatred will arise from the same mercenary motives, which are entirely sinful. Sinners are continually turning their attention and their affections from one object to another; but their love and their hated continue to be of the same selfish nature. The careless sinner fixes his whole attention and affection upon the world; but when he is awakened from his stupidity, he turns his whole attention from the world to God, whom he hates for the same reason for which he before loved the world. Whatever sinners love and hate, they love and hate from selfish motives; and consequently no change of objects, motives, or circumstances, has the least tendency to change the nature of their affections. So that nothing short of a divine influence upon their hearts, can turn them from selfishness to benevolence, or from sin to holiness, without which they cannot see the kingdom of God. (Nathanael Emmons, Selfishness, International Outreach)

It is vital to understand something of the nature of sin so that one can understand something of the Gospel as a whole and regeneration in particular. As seen in the quote from Emmons with the Scriptures above, one can see just how easy it is for sinners to have a religious experience of some sort and be deceived about salvation. It is not the behavior only which needs to be changed, it is the very heart that needs changing. It is not that people need a little change here and there, but they need an inner renovation which includes the whole soul. It is so encompassing of the soul that it is referred to as the new birth and one that has undergone that new birth is said to be a new creature. A selfish heart is the very essence of sin which is to do all out of love for self and to seek the glory of self rather than love God and seek His glory. A selfish heart lives to please self rather than to please God.

This is devastating to modern versions of Christianity which is always going after self-love and self-interest in order to motivate people to pray a prayer or to give money. But again, noting the thought of Emmons, if a person has some little bit of true love or true holiness in the soul then there is no need for the new birth. However, for those who are born dead in sin and trespasses and have nothing of true love or true holiness in the soul, those people must be born from above. What we see is that in modern evangelism people are not told about their selfish hearts and they are not told about the real need of a real new birth. They are just told to pray a prayer and make a change. Then their selfish heart is not changed but now a false god has been held before them and now they think they love the true God when in fact they hate the true God.

Because the nature of sin (as selfishness) is not understood and not taught in our day, false conversions abound and the masses are deceived. Many make decisions and moral changes and all of those things are based on their self-love and as such they have not been truly born again and are not new creatures in Christ Jesus. This is deadly to true Christianity and it is deadly to the Gospel of free-grace alone. When sinners see that their hearts are full of self and pride and that even the most religious things they do are out of self-love which is idolatry, they understand to some degree that it takes free-grace to save them and they can have no part in that. God starts with nothing but a mass of sin and enmity toward Himself and changes it according to His pleasure and according to His own will. There is nothing in the selfish hearts of sinners that is lovely to Him and in fact that selfish hearts are hateful to Him. A little prayer or a little walk down an aisle will not change the heart of sinners, but only the free-grace of God can do that. Sinners must be taught not to look at themselves for faith, but to look to Christ for all things that are needed and to look to receive nothing but by free-grace.

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Free Grace 36

April 11, 2016

Nothing in man doth precede or prevent the grace of God. The light and beams of grace do dispel the clouds of our sins. Not for our sakes, but for his Name’s sake he covereth our sins. It is God’s prerogative to free us from sin by grace, and to remove them far from us. “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” {Ps.103:12} He only can remove sin against whom it is committed. He only can cast sin into the depths of the sea, who hath an ocean of grace in himself, in which he swalloweth them up. John Simpson {Perfection of Justification, 1648}

What a poor despicable creature is man—the best of men! What a wonder the great God should think of saving him! His rise was from the earth. He is but at best dust and ashes, a poor piece of clay. He dwells in houses of clay. His foundation is in the dust, and is crushed by the moth (Job 4:19). A stately thing sure which the very moth can crush, and crumble into his first principle, dust! The most victorious king that ever Israel had, put a worm among his titles (Psalm 22:6). The great man in the East derives his pedigree no higher; “I have said to corruption, Thou art my father; and to the worm, Thou art my mother and my sister,” (Job 17:14). And if the greatest men on earth, who best understood themselves, were no greater in their own account; what do we think men are in God’s account? The numerous posterity of Jacob have no greater title, “Fear not, worm Jacob;” (Isaiah 41:14) and if that vast multitude, which was like the stars of heavens, and the sands of the sea-shore which cannot be numbered, be but as one worm to His eye, what do we think is one man? [David Clarkson, A Discourse of Free Grace]

Why must grace be free-grace or it is no true grace at all? It is because of who man is according to his nature, his basic foundation, and that of the greatest men. In the modern day men will fight and feud over these thoughts concerning man, but the concern is to be faithful to Scripture and bow in humble submission to it, God willing. Oh how the pride of man blinds him to who he really is. Oh how man blocks out the clear teaching of Scripture as to what man is in the eyes of God. When man in pride looks at himself, he sees the glitter of self-love rather than reality. Again, this does not say that God does not love His children, but this is to say that God loves His children by free-grace and is not moved by anything within man. Man must learn to see himself in some likeness as God sees him, though this is hard on the flesh.

Men can spend hours a day on exercise and what they think of as healthy living, but that is simply an effort to get their clay formed in a way that they like. Mankind can spend hours in front of the mirror trying to look like an image in the mind, but that is simply trying to get a piece of clay to conform to something that society thinks that it is. Scripture says that bodily exercise is of little profit, but men fight that and continue on as if they can become immortal and as if their bodies are more important than their souls. If men look good in the mirror, they are pumped up in their view of self and feel quite proud of themselves. However, they forget that they are but clay and that is all their efforts are focused on. When these people become religious, it is either for eternal insurance (as they think) or to help them with their worldly things.

The best of men have nothing to commend the very core of their physical body as it is nothing but dust and clay. Regardless of what man does to his body, it is nothing but dressing up dust and clay and is an effort to make it appear better or perhaps be on earth a little longer. Men will go to great lengths by spending vast amounts of money on their wrinkles and hair and even plastic surgeons, but they are still dust and clay. What can dust and clay do to commend self to God? How hard it is for man to face reality concerning himself. There is nothing to commend him to God and many things that would be repulsive to a thrice holy God. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, in man that would move God to save such a creature!

Man must see himself for who he really is (to some degree) or he will never understand the utter freeness of the grace of God. Man is but a small creature, even but a speck of dust, that God has brought into being and holds him into being at His good pleasure. During the whole of man’s existence he sins against that great God and in his pride thinks that God owes him something. In the great pride of man who is but dust and clay he thinks that he can move God to show mercy on him for something that he is or does. How deceived a human being must be to think that s/he can be or do something to move God to show mercy. How utterly beyond conception it is to think that God would find something other than Himself to move Him to show grace. Grace is free-grace or it is not grace at all.

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Free Grace 35

April 10, 2016

Nothing in man doth precede or prevent the grace of God. The light and beams of grace do dispel the clouds of our sins. Not for our sakes, but for his Name’s sake he covereth our sins. It is God’s prerogative to free us from sin by grace, and to remove them far from us. “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” {Ps.103:12} He only can remove sin against whom it is committed. He only can cast sin into the depths of the sea, who hath an ocean of grace in himself, in which he swalloweth them up. John Simpson {Perfection of Justification, 1648}

Salvation is by grace; because it is a gift of free love to such in whom there can be nothing to enforce it, nothing to deserve it, nor anything to move Him to bestow it. The demonstrations are drawn from God, from man. From man: The impotency, deformity, enmity, of man against God, makes it evident that salvation must be wholly, only from grace. [David Clarkson, A Discourse of Free Grace]

Ephesians 1:5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He lavished on us.

The doctrines and teachings of free-grace (real free-grace, not just the name) are rare in our day. There are many teaching something they think of as grace, but it is quite far from free-grace. The fallen human heart loves the modern view of grace, but it will hate free-grace from beginning to end. The fallen human heart is at enmity with God and hates the sovereignty of God, and since all grace is sovereign the human heart will hate true grace which is free-grace. As long as man is not required to repent of all of his free-will and all of his own righteousness and goodness, man may like grace since it helps what he cannot do.

While there are various teachings on the issue, it is not until man is awakened to his impotency, deformity, and enmity against God that he will really understand the Gospel of free-grace. Until man understands and feels his own impotency which is his lack of any power at all in the spiritual realm and the lack of any power to change his own heart or standing before God, man does not understand from the depths of his soul his need of free-grace. Men are blind to the nature of true grace until God opens their eyes to see the lack of all power in the soul. Men are utterly blind to the truths of free-grace until God teaches them in the inner man that they have nothing that they can do. Oh the despair that will enter the soul who does not understand that God saves sinners by free-grace when God opens eyes to see how impoverished the soul is. Oh the despair of the believer as God turns that believer over to a sinful heart to teach that man or woman that it is only by the Spirit and by grace that we can die to sin.

We must teach the doctrines of Scripture regarding the depravity of man because they are necessary if people are to come to grips with free-grace. Scripture does not just teach how bad man is, but how helpless man is and how much men are opposed to God. It is not just that man’s heart is set on evil and is against God, but man has no power to do good and no power to change his own heart. Men must come to grips with this and they must come to grips with this in the depths of their souls. It is one thing to give a discourse on grace and set out the intellectual properties of it, but it is quite another thing for a man or a woman to know that s/he has no power and no ability to please God and move God in any way to save his or her soul. Preachers must know that they are not just there to inform people of the propositions of these great truths, but they are to strive for people to know these great truths in the depths of their souls and they will only know them when the truth sinks to the depths of their souls.

The wonders of free-grace are not simply truths to be held in the mind, but they are great truths for the whole soul. As such, grace is not just an intellectual truth about something, but grace is a truth of God Himself. When God shows grace, He is really showing and manifesting Himself. When God gives grace, He is really giving Himself in Christ. Oh how sinners must see that grace is not just a word, but it is the reality of God giving Himself to sinners in Christ. Christ will not dwell with proud and unbroken sinners, but instead He will dwell with the humble and the contrite. As always, we must be careful at this point. No one can earn anything but striving to humble himself. True humility is the work of God in the soul, though man should seek it from God. True humility is when God prepares the soul as a dwelling place for Himself. Oh the wonders of free-grace!

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Free Grace 34

April 9, 2016

Nothing in man doth precede or prevent the grace of God. The light and beams of grace do dispel the clouds of our sins. Not for our sakes, but for his Name’s sake he covereth our sins. It is God’s prerogative to free us from sin by grace, and to remove them far from us. “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” {Ps.103:12} He only can remove sin against whom it is committed. He only can cast sin into the depths of the sea, who hath an ocean of grace in himself, in which he swalloweth them up. John Simpson {Perfection of Justification, 1648}

Salvation is by grace; because it is a gift of free love to such in whom there can be nothing to enforce it, nothing to deserve it, nor anything to move Him to bestow it. The demonstrations are drawn from God, from man. From man: The impotency, deformity, enmity, of man against God, makes it evident that salvation must be wholly, only from grace. [David Clarkson, A Discourse of Free Grace]

Ephesians 1:5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He lavished on us.

The glories of the grace of God are indeed painted on a canvas with the background of the sin of man, but also the greatness and glories of God. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is for saved and unsaved alike as there is no way into the presence of God apart from the sovereign grace of God in Christ Jesus. Yes, sinners are saved from the wrath of God and made children of God by grace alone. However, each moment of the Christian life is also by this glorious free-grace. There is nothing in man to move God to show this gift of free love to man and that is from eternity past to eternity future. The whole Gospel is for the glory of God and as such is moved by the motives of God for His own glory. This is hope for sinners as nothing else can possibly be.

As sinners try to grab and hold on to the glory of free-grace, they may want to think that they know it because they have read of it. They may want to think that they know it because they have heard things about it. However, once again this is a great and grand teaching that God alone must teach the sinner in the deepest recesses of his or her heart. It is possible for sinners to think that s/he believes and trusts in free-grace while yet a distant stranger to it. It is also possible for one to be a true child of God and yet find many things that s/he has to be taught of the Lord concerning this free-grace. The hardest thing for sinners to give up is their pride and their very self, yet we are told that God is opposed to the proud and gives grace to the humble. This is a teaching that is easy to grasp in terms of the words and concept, but it is oh so hard for the heart to give up all hope in self.

In order for the heart to give up hope in self requires the hand of the Lord to work a deep humility in the soul. The soul must learn that there is nothing in it that deserves anything but the wrath of God and it must learn that in the depths of the soul and not just the information of it. While the soul will know what it means to fear and what frustration means as the Lord teaches the soul that there is nothing it can do to move the Lord to show grace to it, this is part of the dying to self that the Lord works in the soul. Men resists this work of God in the soul and they will frantically look around and search for some little something that they can rest their souls upon rather than free-grace. But what a frail nothing all things are apart from free-grace for the soul to rest upon.

When the Lord is teaching the soul how opposed it is to free-grace in the hidden recesses and the crevices of the soul, He may turn the soul over to sin in order to teach it that He alone is sovereign over sin as well. Before that the soul may be quite deceived into thinking that sin is in its own power to leave as it pleases. The surprise and yet pain of the soul as it discovers that God is really and truly sovereign and that it is by grace alone that the soul can refrain from sins that it thought it had given up a long time before. While it may go against the grain of many moralists in our day, it is nothing but pride and self that stops the vast majority of sin today. Despite Romans 8 teaching us that it is by the Spirit that we are to put sin to death, it seems that we just want to let sin sleep and remain hidden in our hearts.

The sheer terror of the soul will happen in many cases as it finds itself worthy of nothing but eternal hell and completely and totally without anything it can do to stop it. How wonderful free-grace sounds, and indeed it is, but those taught of the Lord in the inner man learn that the heart of man stands in opposition to free-grace at all points and in all ways. The soul will allow mostly grace and mostly mercy, but it will not stand to have God save it according to His good pleasure and for the sake of His name. Man wants some control and some way of moving God to save him, but the glorious teaching of Scripture is that man has no control and no way of moving God to save him. God saves by free-grace alone and coming to the realization of that in the depths of the soul is quite painful. However, it is painful for a brief time (though it may seem like a long time) and leads to great joy.

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