Humility, Part 31

November 25, 2009

When people study Scripture, they tend to think of it as an intellectual struggle and not so much as a spiritual one. Yet if we think of the many verses of Scripture on this issue, we will be forced to understand that all the information in the world can do the soul no good apart from humility. I Corinthians 8:1 tells us that knowledge puffs up, yet we are so eager to pursue knowledge and information without humility. On the other hand, James 1:21 tells us that it is only in humility can we receive the word.

James 1:21 – “Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.”

The text is quite clear. Something must be put aside and then it is in humility that one is able to be saved through the word. What does filthiness come from? It comes from a filthy heart that is full of pride and self. What does wickedness come from? It also comes from a wicked heart that is full of pride and self. In order to put aside filthiness and wickedness, therefore, one must be turned from pride and to be humbled. There are many things tied to this, but what we must understand is that the Word of God is more than just words and it does more in the soul than just give it basic information. When God communicates His Word to a human soul, He is giving it the truth of Himself and when the Spirit makes it come alive it is the Word and the Spirit in the soul doing this. God communicates Himself to sinners through the Word and by the Spirit. He will not share Himself with the proud and He will not communicate Himself to the proud any more than He will share His glory with proud souls.,

Isaiah 66:2 – “For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being,” declares the LORD. But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.”

Here is the heart that God will show His Word. It is not that there is such a thing as true humility and then one can add contrition and then one can add some trembling here and there at His word, but this is the state of the heart before God where one has all to some degree or one has none of any. God has created the whole world from nothing other than Himself and He has created all things for His own glory. But even more than all of those things, He looks with favor and pleasure on the soul that is humble, contrite, and trembles at His word. The reason that this is true is because the humble soul is bowed before Him and has been emptied of the self-centeredness and self-sufficiency which the proud creature has. This is a soul that the enmity to God has been taken away and this soul is low before Him wanting to do nothing but receive Him. It is the humble soul that will seek and reflect the beauty and glory of God rather than seek itself. God has pleasure in the contrite soul because it has sorrow for sin because sin is against God rather than just because it will get in trouble for it. A contrite soul has sorrow for sin as against God because it loves God and desires His glory, so it mourns when it has sinned against Him. This shows that the character and true love of God is being worked into that soul. The soul that trembles at the word of God because it sees His commitment to punish sin, but it also sees the display of His glory. This is simply to say that a soul that trembles at His word trembles before God and desires for His name to be revered and to be glorified. The soul that has these things is the soul that has been converted from self to one that has the life of God in it.

The proud soul will never receive the word of God but will do as the Pharisees did. They took the word and treated it as a text book for morality. They limited it to the external sense and so made it into something they could keep. The parts they could not keep they built fences around or twisted it to conform to themselves. A proud heart will twist the word of God in order that s/he will not have to change. This means that the proud heart loves self rather than love the true God and His revelation of Himself. The proud person always judges others and never really judges self as self should be judged. The proud person may be those that are harsh on themselves and moan about how they wish they could be different, but that still does not get to their pride and self-centeredness. A person that is harsh on themselves in words and even some actions in some way looks to self-righteousness as a way of acceptance with God. A truly humble soul bows in its utter nothingness and looks to grace alone.

One reason that we live in such a dark day is because we have forgotten that we are to be humbled in order to understand God and His word. We prefer to read a commentary from an expert who may be as proud as our own hearts. We prefer to study the Bible academically rather than bow before the living God who speaks in and through it. It is much easier to read the Bible for self rather than as a way to be emptied of self. But it is a proud thing to do.

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Conversion, Part 43

November 24, 2009

One of the most interesting conversions in Scripture is the thief on the cross. As one stated long ago, there is one death bed conversion in Scripture so sinners should not give up all hope. Yet there is only one so no one should presume. If we look long enough we can see the various theologies clashing. Where is the act of faith or even prayer in this criminal? Was the criminal saved by a sovereign act of grace or by an act of the will? Did Jesus or someone else preach the Gospel to him? How did he come to faith? It is most likely that no one will ever know all of answers to these questions until heaven. But until then there is enough glory to see.

Two others also, who were criminals, were being led away to be put to death with Him. 33 When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. 34 But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves. 35 And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.” 36 The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, 37 and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!” 38 Now there was also an inscription above Him, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” 39 One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” 40 But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 “And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” 43 And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:32-43).

This text sets up multiple parallels for us. We have Jesus “saying” in v. 34 “Father, forgive them.” Verse 35 has the rulers sneering and saying, “He saved others; le Him save Himself.” The soldiers mocked Him saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save yourself.” Verse 38 had the inscription (saying) nailed above Him that He was the King of the Jews. Verse 39 has the words of one of the criminals who hurled abuse at Jesus saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” So we have the saying of Jesus, of the rulers, of the soldiers, and then of one of the criminals. The contrast between their words is remarkable. They were all hurling abuse at Him as He, at the very least, was praying for the Father to forgive the soldiers. These words were spoken in the context of the conversion of the thief on the cross. These words pointed the thief to something very different about Jesus the Messiah.

A second parallel in the text is the contrast with the idea of salvation involved in the sayings of the people in Luke 23. As Christ was on the cross suffering for the sins of sinners in order to glorify God in salvation, the rulers were mocking Him by saying “let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One” (v. 35). The soldiers were after Him to again challenging Him to save Himself (v. 37). The non-repentant criminal was mocking Him telling Him to save Himself and the criminals (v. 39). The parallel is with the external or temporal salvation from suffering that everybody else was mocking Jesus about as He was earning eternal salvation by being on the cross. If He had stepped down off of the cross then no one in history could have been saved.

At first both thieves mocked Jesus, but something changed. Matthew 27:44 uses the plural “robbers” which tells us that both of them mocked Him. “The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words.” This shows that at this point the heart of both thieves with Jesus were still dead in sins and at enmity with God. But one of the thieves recognized his sin and knew that justice was being carried out on himself and his fellow thief, but he recognized the innocence of Jesus. He then asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingdom. This is truly an extraordinary thing to say about a man who is hanging on the cross and condemned to die while being mocked by the government and religious establishments. This shows that his self-love and self-sufficiency had been defeated. He was changed and no longer went alone with the others in mocking Jesus. What a demonstration of faith it took to say to Jesus who was also on the cross to “remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” This is not just an ordinary conversion, but this was one who looked in faith to a man dying on the cross. He looked to one who was nailed to a cross for salvation. He was delivered from any belief in the Jewish system of salvation or of favor with man and looked to Christ alone. He had his eyes opened and saw the glory of God in Christ with spiritual eyes because there was none to see with the natural eyes.

Jesus was numbered with the transgressors, but He saved one of them while both of them were on their crosses. This is to snatch a brand from the burnings. While His own disciples stood back from fear, this criminal was brought to Christ by Christ. The man who had once spoken evil of Him and mocked Him, was now brought to humility and called Him Lord. He who had once demonstrated with his words that he was a child of the devil and under the dominion of darkness, was now translated into the kingdom of the Beloved Son. He was brought to a conviction of sin and from darkness to light. Most likely this man had been taught some of the basics of religion since he was in Jerusalem, but nothing about that religion had changed his heart. He was there to see God in human flesh humbling Himself and going to the cross. He saw the glory of God in the meekness of Christ who prayed for those who abused Him. He heard bits of the Gospel through the mocking words of the others. God can use His Word as He pleases. It was true faith as set out in Hebrews 11 to behold the glory of God in Christ while Christ was on the cross. He had to have been born again because he now saw the kingdom of God. As Jesus said to Martha regarding Lazarus, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” (John 11:40).

This wicked man was taken to a place of execution and nailed to the cross, and yet before the day was out he was in paradise with Jesus. Was that because of his good works? Was that because he was faithful to keep the Law or the covenant? Was it contingent on his own choice? No, it was because Jesus was faithful to the Father and He did not lose one that the Father had given Him. That criminal looked to Christ alone as his sacrifice and the satisfaction of the justice of God because now he knew his sin and saw the justice of God in Christ. This thief had nothing do offer and could do nothing either. He was utterly dependant on grace alone. This thief stands as a testimony to true as well. We must tell people the Gospel in plain words. God used the words of the ungodly mockers to proclaim the truth to this man and we must learn to quit the methods of men and proclaim the truth of God. This man was dying and on his way to hell and did not want or need sophisticated reasoning nor platitudes and gracious words; he needed to hear the truth of his sin and the truth of Jesus Christ. To those who feel the weight of sin, our man-centered methods seem as nonsense because they are nonsense to an awakened soul.

Behold the sovereignty of God. He who years before speak through a donkey now spoke through the mouths of wicked men. Sinners in the Old Testament were saved by looking ahead to Christ and sinners since then look back to Christ. Yet the thief on the cross looked directly to Jesus on the cross and was delivered from his sinful heart and the guilt of his sin. Whether or not the sun shone at all that day, when the thick darkness came the sight of the brightness of the glory of God was shining. The Gospel of grace and the glory of God alone shone brilliantly. The condemned criminal, as the object of grace, was graciously convicted of his sin and shown that what his suffering and death was justice. Then his heart was opened and he beheld the glory of God’s justice in Christ and looked to Christ for entrance into the eternal kingdom. We know that he entered because Christ told him that he would be with Him in paradise that day. Jesus is the Great Physician who did not come to save the righteous but sinners.

Do we see the beauty of the glory of His grace or is there something here that irritates us? Does it bother us that this criminal would be saved without doing anything? Do we see anything in salvation other than the beauty and glory of God’s grace? Is it unfair of God to save sinners like this? The glory of Divine love, meekness, holiness, justice, wrath, and grace were all on display here. The criminal was used to display the glory of God which was what he was created to do. This is the display of the beauty of grace and no one should think that anyone is saved for any other purpose or reason. Yet the grace of God is seen both in convicting this man of his sin and then changing his heart. The grace of God convicted him or his sin and then delivered him from it. This criminal is in fact all of us. No one has done anything but sin to prepare for salvation and only grace can save from sin.

The conversion of this criminal shows us the sovereignty of God and the Gospel of grace. It was by grace that this man came to be broken of his self-love and self-sufficiency. It was by His sovereignty and His grace that when Christ was mocked aspects of the Gospel was proclaimed. It was by the sovereignty of God that this man was arrested, convicted, and was then sent to the cross at the same time as Jesus was. It was here that the glory of the love, meekness, grace, justice, and mercy of God were put on display before this criminal. It was the sovereignty and grace of God that arranged and carried this entire situation out. It was the Spirit who gave this man a new heart where he could behold the glory of God in all that was going on. It is also only by the sovereignty and grace of God that anyone is saved. Let us learn from this that sinners need to be deeply convicted of sin and they need to hear the truth of Christ. Let us not despair when others have great trials. Sometimes God uses them to save sinners.

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Humility, Part 30

November 23, 2009

We have been exploring a statement of William Law’s in reference to the utter need of humility. A devout believer in profession at least and yet without true conversion may be in the commission of the most vile sins that can be committed. When a professing believer does all his or her religious acts in the service of self, whether in the desire for fame and riches or just doing it for the idol self, this is diabolical. It is wickedness beyond what the human mind can conceive to profess to be crucified with Christ while indeed crucifying Him again with sin (Heb 6:6; 10:29). It is to bring Christ to open shame when this is done (Heb 6:6).

“Therefore it must be added that a religion of self, carried on under the banner of Christ-whether it contend for Scripture doctrines or for worldly glory and prosperity-has more of a diabolical nature than that of the Jewish Pharisees. The highest and last working of the mystery of iniquity is this living for self, Satan, and the world under cover of a lip-profession of denying self, of being crucified with Christ, of being led by His Spirit, of being set with Him in heavenly places. Those who boast of their heavenly position in Christ, while living to self, stand in the fullest opposition to the gospel though they contend loudly in words for all orthodox doctrines.” (William Law)

Apart from humility Law says those who contend loudly for orthodox doctrine are really standing in the fullest opposition to the gospel while they are contending for the doctrine of the gospel. We can see this in Judas who was sent out by Christ with the other disciples to preach, yet later on he was the one that denied Christ in full opposition to the gospel of Christ. Though Peter repented after he denied Christ, yet he was loud in his boasting that he would follow Christ anywhere and even to death just before he denied Him. Someone said years ago that a person that has not denied self will sooner or later deny Christ. We see this throughout Scripture. As long as self is on the throne whether in profession of Christ or not, Christ will be denied in reality.

In the great display and example of humility Jesus humbled Himself to take human flesh (Phil 2:5-11), and He then humbled Himself to go to the cross. Jesus was not born with a sinful nature and so He was not full of pride to be humbled, and yet He still humbled Himself. Humility is opposite to pride, but even in a perfect man (Jesus) who was without pride He still humbled Himself. He who was worshipped in heaven day and night without ceasing humbled Himself and while on earth girded Himself with a towel and washed the feet of the disciples. He who lived in perfect and unceasing love in the Trinity humbled Himself and was hated and despised by men while on earth. He who was life itself humbled Himself and gave up His life on the cross. He who could know no pain or suffering humbled Himself and went to the cross to endure agony and suffering that no human can understand. He who was and is absolutely sovereign over all humbled Himself and put Himself in the hands of men. He who was and is perfectly holy humbled Himself and took the sins of sinners upon Himself. He who was and is Truth itself humbled Himself and was ridiculed and called crazy and a liar. He who was obeyed perfectly by the angels in heaven humbled Himself and obeyed His Father in heaven perfectly even in going to the cross.

The Lord Jesus Christ was perfect in humility and it is a mockery to think that He lives in human souls without working that humility in them. Sinful human beings don’t just deny Christ with their mouths, but they also deny Him with their lives, loves, and intents. All those born dead in sin and trespassed deny Christ every moment in some way until they are regenerated, but those who profess Christ with their lips and yet live like the devil in living for self and trying to use Christ and His Word for self are much worse. Luke 12 points to this:

47 “And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, 48 but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.”

Those who know more will receive more punishment because they have sinned against knowledge. Those who know more are truly more selfish in their denial of Christ in the embracing of self. Those who know more deny more of Christ while being filled with self even more. Those who know more about Christ and profess Christ bring Him to ridicule in the sight of others even more. It is a wicked thing to study the humility of Christ and see His perfect life of humility and then to live in pride. It is a wicked thing to see Christ on the cross and then crucify Him before others in a sense with a wicked life. Without humility our religion and works are nothing but diabolical.

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Conversion, Part 42

November 22, 2009

In order to look at what a biblical conversion is, we must also look at what the Bible tells us about false conversions. It can be dangerous to take one verse or a few verses and think of salvation in terms of the few rather than the Bible as a whole. If we limit ourselves to one or a few verses we will tend to read our own culture and traditions into it rather than submit to the Bible for what it actually teaches. To be truly converted means that the person must believe as the Bible says and not what the Bible teaches about false belief. The Bible tells us “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom 10:9). Yet it also says that not all who say to Him “Lord, Lord” are converted. So the Bible tells us that all who believe are saved, yet also that many who believed in some way in the Bible were not saved. Obviously, then, Scripture is telling us that there is a kind of belief that goes with salvation and a kind that does not. We must be careful to believe and practice evangelism according to what Scripture tells us true belief is.

13 Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed. 14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 “You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 “Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 “For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity” (Acts 8:13-23).

If we take the story of Simon (above) according to modern evangelism and Romans 10:9, we would think that he was a converted man. But without any question (Acts 8:19-23) he was not a converted man. This is a great danger with modern evangelism and conversion. He made his profession and was baptized. He followed a true believer and was constantly amazed at the signs and miracles that God was doing. But the truth with Simon had happened to others who saw signs too. “Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled”” (John 6:26). Simon believed, true, as indeed did many who saw Jesus feed thousands from a few loaves and fish. But they sought Jesus for free food rather than for who He really was. They believed in Him as a food source rather than as Lord. They would follow Him as king as long as He gave them free food, but they would not follow Him as absolute Lord.

Simon was amazed when he saw the signs and the miracles, but he was taken with the power rather than the glory of God who was doing these things through Philip. He was taken with what those things could do for him rather than seeing the glory of God in them. While indeed he believed something, his heart was not changed. He was still a man in the bonds of self and he interpreted things for what they would do for him and his selfish heart. This is seen in his offering money for the ability to give the Holy Spirit. Peter, instead of being what modern people term “gracious,” loved God and the truth enough to be straight with Simon. He told the man that he was “in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.” Simon, though he had believed and was baptized, was a man still in the bondage of iniquity and was not converted and so not a new creature in Christ Jesus.

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS'” (Mat 7:21-23).

It is true that all who really believe will be saved, but not all who believe really believe. In other words, we must be very careful to understand “belief” as the Bible sets it out. We must be careful to have a biblical understanding about what it means to confess Christ as Lord because God’s glory and eternal souls are at stake. We must know what the biblical meaning of “confess” is, of the biblical meaning of “Christ,” and the biblical meaning of “Lord.” But even more, these things must be true in our hearts and not just bits of information in our brains. If we are not careful to attach a biblical meaning to biblical words and terminology, we will be guilty of transporting false teaching into the church with biblical language. If we are not careful to seek the Lord to apply these to our hearts, then the correct information can deceive us as well. These are very dangerous practices in our day. False and unbiblical meanings enter the church in the guise of biblical language. Coupled with the desire ministers have to be gracious, these are not applied and so souls are deceived. In Simon’s case, he had Peter who had died to self enough to plainly point the truth out to Simon. Simon really needed to hear that and Peter had true love.

In the case of Simon we have a man who believed, was baptized, had a changed life, and was zealous in his religious activity. He was around Philip a lot who was filled with the Spirit, but Simon was not a converted man and was deceived for some time. But compare Simon with what passes as salvation in the modern world. He did believe and was baptized. For many, that is enough to guarantee a life free from worry. But even more, he had the evidence of a changed life in that he had left his magic arts and was now zealous in religious activity. Surely these were clear signs of conversion. But Simon was a man with a history in the magic arts and he desired to have himself thought of as great (Acts 8:9). When he saw a greater power, he wanted to be able to have it, but he wanted to obtain it with money. He had not learned that he must be converted and become like a child to enter the kingdom (Mat 18:3) which was what Jesus told His disciples when they desired greatness.

It is not hard to imagine Simon professing Christ as Lord since he heard Philip preach “the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 8:12). He had, after all, followed Christ in baptism and in turning from his magic arts. But the modern day must learn that just because a person prays a prayer and professes Christ as Lord does not mean that God has converted that person. One difference between true and false conversion is the nature of the heart when the word “Lord” is said. It is not the uttered words in and of themselves, but the heart must truly have Christ in it as Lord for the mouth to confess Christ as Lord in truth. To confess Christ as Lord in truth means that the heart has been broken from self and the love of self so that self is no longer ruler in the heart but Christ is. A person can say the words, but that would be speaking a lie if the heart is not truly submitted to Christ. A person can say the words while thinking that in his or her own power s/he has submitted to Christ and He is Lord over them. But Christ must truly be Lord in the heart for the confession to be a true confession. All other confessions are simply from deceived people or outright liars.

Matthew 7:22 gives the pleas of those about to enter hell: “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?” The text says “many” will say they prophesied in His name and many who call Him Lord will be lost. One can hide an unregenerate heart behind an orthodox confession and a position as preacher. One can deceive others and self with an orthodox confession and a position as preacher. We must beware. Then we see that some said that they cast out demons and performed miracles. This was what excited Simon. He followed Philip around who was doing signs and wonders. He was taken with the signs and wonders rather than Christ Himself. He was taken with the signs and wonders and wanted to do them rather than be broken and humbled. As those things are not signs of salvation in Matthew 7, neither did they show Simon to truly be converted. He was still in the bondage of self and self-love.

I Corinthians 13:2 tells us that “If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” A person only has true love if Christ is the life and Lord of that soul. All the practices of Christianity can be practiced by the unbeliever apart from true love. This is how the devil has deceived many about true love and true conversion. As there is a type of confession of Christ which is a lie and not true, so there is a type of love that is not true love at all. The devil has transported error into the church using the word “love” as well. Simon did not have true love and did not truly have Christ. So he was an unconverted man despite his belief, baptism, outward repentance, and religious zeal. This should make us feel the danger for ourselves and those around us. It should make us ransack our hearts to see if Christ is really there and concerned for others who profess Christ in some way. I John 2:26 is sobering: “These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.” He wrote about true salvation to answer the ways of deception. We must hear his words and try to help others who are deceived. True conversion is utterly essential.

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Humility, Part 29

November 21, 2009

The utter importance of humility can be seen in the following quote by William Law though humility is not directly mentioned. Without humility in the soul all the religion that self can produce is diabolical as it is the religion of self. All the use of Scripture and all that we do with it will be for self unless the soul is humbled. When all that the soul does is for self, it is being like the devil who is the most selfish creature in the universe. When the soul uses Scripture for self, it is being like the devil because that is how he uses Scripture as well. Perhaps it could be said that without humility the proud heart is like the devil and has the venom of the devil coursing through its veins. True humility, however, is when the soul has been emptied of self and now Christ lives in the soul and exercises the divine life in the heart of those who are humble. But the diabolical nature of external “Christianity” that those in the bondage of self have is something that perhaps cannot be stressed enough.

“Therefore it must be added that a religion of self, carried on under the banner of Christ-whether it contend for Scripture doctrines or for worldly glory and prosperity-has more of a diabolical nature than that of the Jewish Pharisees. The highest and last working of the mystery of iniquity is this living for self, Satan, and the world under cover of a lip-profession of denying self, of being crucified with Christ, of being led by His Spirit, of being set with Him in heavenly places. Those who boast of their heavenly position in Christ, while living to self, stand in the fullest opposition to the gospel though they contend loudly in words for all orthodox doctrines.” (William Law)

Law speaks of the highest and last working of the mystery of iniquity as being in living for self, Satan, and the world while under the cover of a lip-profession of denying self. Can this really be the highest working of iniquity? Is this worse than murder? Is this worse than adultery? Is this worse than lying and stealing? The story of Simon in Acts 8 shows something of this:

“20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 “You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right right before God. 22 “Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 “For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.”

Simon believed and was baptized. He was in with Peter and perhaps even thought he was a true believer, but his heart had not been changed. He wanted to impress people and make money by having the power to give people the Holy Spirit and thought that this could be obtained by giving Peter money. Peter said that it was wickedness and that Simon was in “the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.” When a person professes Christ and desires to use Christ for the benefit of self, it is a very wicked act. Peter said that Simon should pray to the Lord that “if possible the intention of your heart may be forgiven you.” This may be a reflection that Simon might have went so far in this sin that he had crossed the line. But do “evangelicals” today do things that are really all that different? Don’t they ask for gifts and money in order to pray for people so that the Spirit will heal them? Don’t they in reality try to sell Christ or the Spirit? Don’t we see that many ministers are in it for themselves rather than God as Phil 2:21 points out? Do we see the utter wickedness of using the name of Christ to serve self?

Jesus has set out with a great deal of clarity several times that anyone must deny self in order to follow Him. He has told us that the soil of the heart can believe and yet the seed by choked by worries and the world. But the soul that has not been humbled (emptied of self) will use religion and Christ Himself to serve the interests of self. This points to the utter need of a humbling of the soul in order to be converted in the first place, but also of a true believer that must seek true humility. Apart from humility a person is full of self and wants to serve self, and that goes so far as using or manipulating Christ (at least in the thoughts and intents) to serve self. We can study the Bible simply to serve the lusts of self. While we may not often think of it that way, it is surely diabolical.

In Scripture sexual immorality is a way of joining Christ to a prostitute. The professing believer who uses Christ for self also joins Christ to idols. We are blinded to the ways of sin because pride always wants to view sin in light of self. We are blinded to the true ways of God because we want to see God and His glory in light of self. The unhumbled self is to that person the true god and true idol. The unhumbled self wants the whole word and even God to bow at its feet and serve it. Humility is utterly necessary for all our religion not to be idolatry.

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Provocation to Prayer, Part 15

November 20, 2009

For a condensed version of Jonathan Edwards’ call to prayer go to http://www.sbaoc.org/ , click on “BLOG,” and then “a call to prayer.” James 5:16: The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. 18 Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.

“We have as much of the Spirit of God as we desire.” That may sound untrue or crazy, but examine your heart and think about it. It may be true that we may seek God for self-interests or we may seek God for religious interests and think we have great desires for God. But what may not be obvious to us is that we desire a great amount of God for self and rather than desire to repent of a great amount of self. Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell all that he had and give to the poor (Luke 18:22), yet He commands us to repent of our selves. We must give up all rights to ourselves and all we have. We must give up all rights to our thoughts, affections, choices, and everything else to submit to His lordship. We must give up all that the life of Christ would dwell in us as fully as He pleases. Our desire for God is measured by our desire to repent of the things of self and die to self. Do we really desire God?

True prayer is hard because utter submission is hard. The heart cannot come to God full of self and the world. Sure we can utter religious sounding words in a “prayer time,” but that is not prayer. In order to be in the presence of God seeking His face, pleasure, and will, we must repent of seeking our own pleasure and will. But usually those are the things we are praying for. To go to the throne of grace to receive grace requires at least two things. First, we must turn from any hope in our own worth and merit and anything but Christ. Only the name of Christ will be heard there. Second, we are to ask for nothing but grace which is always to His glory. God will give nothing that does not come by way of grace and by definition grace can only be given to the manifestation of His glory.

To truly pray for grace, the inward part of man must deny self at the root. When the Lord looked upon the world in Genesis, He was grieved because He “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” (Gen 6:5-6). He still sees every heart on earth today and we must know that God looks upon our hearts when we “pray” and not our words alone. Regardless of the words of our lips God knows our true prayer and that has to do with the purposes, intents, and desires of our hearts. If I am praying for revival with my lips, and indeed I may desire revival in my heart in some way, yet if the reason that I desire revival in my heart is for self-centered (can be religious) motives, my prayer before God is idolatrous.

Luke 14:25 – Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27 “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 “Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 “Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. 34 “Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? 35 “It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Let’s apply Luke 14 to prayer. If we love anyone or anything that is not out of a love for Christ, we don’t seek Him in prayer. If we are not bearing our cross and following Him, we are not seeking Him in prayer. If we will not count the cost, we are not seeking Him in prayer. If we won’t give up all rights to self and our possessions, we will not seek Him in prayer. If we cannot even meet the basic measure Jesus gave for discipleship in our hearts, then our prayers are no better than a manure pile and are thrown out. We have as much of God as we truly desire of Him in the depths of our hearts. Do we have ears to hear? Are our prayers like useless salt because they are full of desires for self and love of self? God commands us to give up all to be His disciple. Is anything less expected for true prayer? Have we truly denied self? If not, we pray for self rather than God. The “seed” of prayer can be choked by the thorns of the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth. If so, prayer becomes unfruitful. The invitation and command to pray also invites and commands us to deny the inner self. Shall we pray?

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Humility, Part 28

November 18, 2009

In the last BLOG (Humility 27) there was a beginning effort to show that William Law was correct in thinking that the religion of self, when carried on under the name of Christ, actually has more of a diabolical nature than the Jewish Pharisees. Matthew 23:23-33 was quoted to show how much Jesus disliked and even detested the religion and activities of the Pharisees. Revelation 2:9 and 3:9 were quoted to show that the words “synagogue of the Jews” is a phrase used by the resurrected Christ in telling John what to say to the churches. It can be argued that this strong phrase was being spoken of about those who called themselves Jews or it could be argued that this was actually about believers since Romans 3:28-29 says that the true Jews are those who are so inwardly. But either way, we see what a religion of self does. Even when it is being carried on under the guise of truth it is actually the work of Satan. All those who take the name of Christian on their lips and yet are without the truth of Christ in the soul are proud souls who have not been humbled. God does not dwell with the proud, but only with the humble.

“Therefore it must be added that a religion of self, carried on under the banner of Christ-whether it contend for Scripture doctrines or for worldly glory and prosperity-has more of a diabolical nature than that of the Jewish Pharisees. The highest and last working of the mystery of iniquity is this living for self, Satan, and the world under cover of a lip-profession of denying self, of being crucified with Christ, of being led by His Spirit, of being set with Him in heavenly places. Those who boast of their heavenly position in Christ, while living to self, stand in the fullest opposition to the gospel though they contend loudly in words for all orthodox doctrines.” (William Law)

Paul fought against the influence of works for salvation throughout the main portion of the New Testament letters. A form of Christianity that has substituted works in the place of true Christianity is without question the work of the devil. It is nothing but pride and the blindness of pride brought into religion that gives us such teaching and practices. It might sound arrogant to say, but those who preach such things are nothing less than the mouthpieces of the devil. But even worse, when those who are given to self hold to orthodoxy and yet essentially preach a religion of self, they are also mouthpieces and agents of the devil. Those who are closer to the truth and use it for selfish ends are, without real question, worse than those who do not pretend to be orthodox and yet serve self. The closer one is to the truth of Christianity and the more one takes that name to him or herself and yet serves self makes that person more diabolical. The more truth that one has and still uses for self is demonstrative evidence that the person has a very hardened heart. The truth that does not soften the heart will harden it.

The unforgivable sin has been debated, but at least some think it is coming to the point of recognizing that Jesus is the Messiah and still resisting that truth and not bowing to Him as Lord. Some think that this is the sin against the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 6 is at least evidence that this as true:

“4 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. 7 For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; 8 but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.”

Those that the Spirit have enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift are those that have tasted the good work of God. In doing this they crucify the Son of God again (in some way) and put Him to open shame. So we can at least see that those who attend church, have the workings of the Holy Spirit as the Word of God is preached, are those that can be described at the ground that drinks in the rain and yields thorns and thistles. These are proud hearts that hear the Word of God and yet go on in their stubborn unbelief while deceiving themselves and others by professing faith in Christ. These are those that are religious and do plenty of good things but their hearts are hard against the truth of God and against grace alone. These are those that attempt to use the things of religion for self and selfish gain. They are no better than their daddy who is the devil who quoted Scripture and tried to use it for his selfish purposes in the temptation of Eve and then of Christ Himself. It is utterly diabolical to use the name of Christ and His Word for the purposes of self because that is exactly how the devil uses it also. Oh how our hearts need to be humbled and broken to properly use His Word.

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Humility, Part 27

November 16, 2009

It is chilling to consider the results of pride in the world. Not one murder has ever been done because a person was humble, but only because people are proud and focused on self. Jesus Himself was murdered because of the pride of the Pharisees. They did not want to lose their positions and their power. They did not want to lose their seats of honor before the people. Since they loved money, it is also clear that they loved their positions for the sake of money as well. While they were very religious, they used their religion for selfish and self-centered gain. They loved the praise of men and the honor that they gained for their supposed holiness. They were given over to the love of self in their self-centeredness. The loved the glory of men and the prosperity of the world, yet they were very religious men. Despite taking the name of God on their lips, they were truly men who loved themselves and their religion was ultimately determined by self.

“Therefore it must be added that a religion of self, carried on under the banner of Christ-whether it contend for Scripture doctrines or for worldly glory and prosperity-has more of a diabolical nature than that of the Jewish Pharisees. The highest and last working of the mystery of iniquity is this living for self, Satan, and the world under cover of a lip-profession of denying self, of being crucified with Christ, of being led by His Spirit, of being set with Him in heavenly places. Those who boast of their heavenly position in Christ, while living to self, stand in the fullest opposition to the gospel though they contend loudly in words for all orthodox doctrines.” (William Law)

Can it be true that the religion of self (unhumbled self seeking self in religion) carried on under the banner of Christ has more of a diabolical nature than that of the Jewish Pharisees? This is a very disturbing statement because Jesus was harder on the Pharisees than He was anyone else. Jesus was kind to the prostitutes and the tax collectors. He was merciful to those who recognized their sinfulness. But to the religious proud, He gave them no space and spoke what we would term “harshly” in our day. He gave them no slack at all.

Matthew 23:23 – “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 24 “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! 25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. 26 “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. 27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 “So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 “Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. 33 “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?”

How, then, could William Law even think that a religion of self, carried on under the banner of Christ has more of a diabolical nature in it than that of the Pharisees? I think Law was correct in what he said, but the answer is not easy to hear. Revelation 2:9 can be used by either side in this, but it does point us to an answer: “I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” Revelation 3:9 says essentially the same thing: ‘Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie– I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you.

Romans 3 says this: “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. 29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God” (vv. 28-29). A true believer has a new heart and is the temple of the living God. Those who claim to know Christ and instead live for self by the strength of self are really the temple of Satan. This is to attribute self to Christ when in fact it comes from the devil. It is the display of pride.

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Humility, Part 26

November 14, 2009

The heart is the battleground in each person for the rights to control a person. No human being has any ultimate free-will, but instead is always under the lordship of either Christ or the devil. The soul that lives for self is doing what Satan did and does and that is live for self. The soul that has been humbled and emptied of self is given over to the life of God in that soul. But we must never be deceived about the fact that no human is free in the ultimate sense of the word. Even those who are very religious can be the agents of the devil in the world as they walk around in their un-humbled hearts glorying in their religion and perhaps of their pseudo humility.

“Therefore it must be added that a religion of self, carried on under the banner of Christ-whether it contend for Scripture doctrines or for worldly glory and prosperity-has more of a diabolical nature than that of the Jewish Pharisees. The highest and last working of the mystery of iniquity is this living for self, Satan, and the world under cover of a lip-profession of denying self, of being crucified with Christ, of being led by His Spirit, of being set with Him in heavenly places. Those who boast of their heavenly position in Christ, while living to self, stand in the fullest opposition to the gospel though they contend loudly in words for all orthodox doctrines.” (William Law)

There is a religion of self that can be carried on under the banner of Christ. It is when a soul that has not truly been humbled (emptied of self) takes up religion for the benefit of self. It is possible to profess Christ for the sake of self. It is possible to be in the ministry for self-centered purposes and goals (Phil 2:21). “Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; 16 the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; 17 the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment” (Philippians 1:15-17).

It is possible for souls to be deceived into thinking that they are truly committed to Christ and all that they do is for self though they may even think they are doing it for the sake of Christ. Humility is not just something that mature Christians are to seek, but without it there is no Christ in the person. We are deluged with self-seeking in the professing Church and virtually all of it is said to be for Christ. It is a terrible thing for a heart to be so deluded that it thinks that its seeking of self is really a seeking of Christ. The great doctrines of the faith can be contended for and yet the souls contending for them can be doing nothing more than desiring and seeking honor for self. It is certainly possible for hearts that desire worldly types of glory to do it within the professing church. There are many musicians and preachers who seem to have attained something of a star status. It seems as if people are drawn to those people by their personalities and star status rather than drawn to the meek and humble Savior.

It is so sad to see so many Simons in our day like those found in Acts 8:

“Even Simon himself believed…and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed. 14… they sent them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit…18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, ‘Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.’ 20 But Peter said to him, ‘May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.'”

Simon believed the basic teachings of the Gospel, but he had not been humbled. He was amazed at the miracles taking place, but he had not been humbled and broken. His self-centeredness and desire for worldly riches and the honor of men were intact. Peter’s description of him was accurate. It is not as though he lost his salvation, but he had never been truly humbled and broken and so he had never been truly converted. Indeed he saw the miracles and believed something, but the self was still ruling rather than Christ and so he saw it as a way to make money. A humbled soul does not live a religion of self but has been delivered from that. Those who only seek Christ for money may obtain their deepest desire for money. The Pharisees prayed in order to be seen by men and they received their deepest desire. So the non-humbled soul will seek self for the things of self while using the name of Christ. The need for true humility is glaringly obvious. Only the soul that is emptied of self can truly seek Christ.

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Provocation to Prayer, Part 14

November 13, 2009

Ezra 8:21 – “Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. 22 For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, “The hand of our God is favorably disposed to all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who forsake Him.” 23 So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He listened to our entreaty.”

Nehemiah 9:1 – “Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel assembled with fasting, in sackcloth and with dirt upon them.”

Daniel 9:3 – “So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.”

Luke 2:37 – “a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.”

Matthew 4:2 – “And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’ 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'”

“All these are but the outward shell of these duties; the internal and substantial part of them lies in the following exercises. 1. Serious meditation, and consideration of our ways…2. Deep humiliation of soul before the Lord; the which was signified by the sackcloth and ashes used, under the Law, on such occasions. The consideration of our ways is to be pursued, till our soul be humbled within us; our heart rent, not with remorse for sin only, but with regret and kindly sorrow for it, as an offence to a “gracious and merciful God,” Joel 2:12, 13; our face filled with shame and blushing before him, in view of our spiritual nakedness, pollution, and defilement, Ezra 9:6; and we loathe ourselves as most vile in our own eyes, Ezek 36:31; Job 40:4. 3. Free and open confession of sin before God, without reserve. This is a very material part of the duty incumbent on us in religious fasting; and the due consideration and deep humiliation just now mentioned, do natively issue in it; producing, of course, extraordinary confession of sin, an exercise most suitable on such an occasion. Hence the Jews spent “one fourth part of the day in confessing and worshipping,” Neh 9:3; and the angel, who brought Daniel’s supplications about the time of the evening oblation, found him praying and confessing his sin, Dan 9:20-21. For here the sinner duly humbled has much ado, acting against himself the part of an accuser, recounting before the Lord his transgressions of the holy law, so far as he is able to reach them; the part of an advocate opening up the particulars, in their nature, and aggravating circumstances; and the part of a judge, justifying God in all the evil he has brought upon him, and condemning himself as unworthy of the least of all his mercies, and deserving to perish under eternal wrath” (Thomas Boston).

Prayer without the heart is no better than a recording of words or of teaching a parrot to speak for us. Parroting words in prayer is not true prayer at all. True prayer requires a humbled and broken heart. To obtain a humbled and broken heart it is often necessary to fast and pray. Fasting is not something we do to earn something before God, but in the practice of it we are enabled to focus on what is truly needed. The purpose in fasting is to be humbled before the Lord and to seek His face. We must not imagine that we can truly seek the Lord in the words of prayer without our hearts being humbled and broken before Him. We must not imagine that our personal or corporate prayers are anything but the outward shell (from Boston) unless we are deeply humbled before the Lord. Until we are broken from self-seeking (even in religious things) and our own self-sufficiency we are doing little more than offering words to God instead of our hearts. Fasting can also be nothing more than an outward shell when it is used as a way of merit to gain things from God. We must learn to fast in order to seek humbled hearts before God. We must learn to fast without a thought of gaining things from God, but instead to seek a broken and humbled heart before Him. Until we are taught of the inward teaching of the Lord to seek a true emptiness of self in our fasting so that we may approach Him with nothing in our hands but shame, we will not seek true revival from Him by grace. Oh how our hearts must be conformed to Christ in His humility in order to fast and pray as He fasted and prayed.

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