God Loves… Himself

Last week we talked some about moral conversions, that is, a person who becomes or remains moral but is never really changed in heart. The person’s very morality deceives him into thinking that he has been changed by Christ when in fact it is nothing but self-love that has caused the person to be moral. This week we want to look at intellectual conversion and the danger it poses to true evangelism and life in the church. This is, in one sense, a twin to moral conversion or the other side of the coin of the evil one’s work in the deception of souls.

What is intellectual conversion? It is when a person is intellectually convinced of the truths of Christianity or at least gives a mental assent to them. This can happen when a person is overpowered by the one doing the socalled evangelism or it can happen because the truth is intellectually satisfying. It can also happen because the unconverted heart takes pride in its own position regardless of what it is. So once a person takes on a Christian worldview of some sort, it is possible for a person to defend the truths of Christianity simply out of selfish reasons.

Or we could say that intellectual conversion has many facets to it. It can be the easy-believism way of evangelism, which is simply to get the person to assent to certain propositions and say a prayer in order to be converted. It can also be a long session where the evangelist wears down the other person with arguments and the person just gives in. It can be that people simply see the logic of a position and believe it because it answers the problems in the world better than the rest. It can be because a certain brand of theology is far more intellectually satisfying than others. It is even possible to agree with a position because several people that a person respects hold to a certain belief. But whatever the case, just because a person gives mental assent to a position does not show that the person is born from above and has a new heart.

An intellectual conversion is to believe certain things or doctrines without a change in heart. But they believe these doctrines because they satisfy the intellect and not because these things display the glory of God that all true believers love. The preaching and teaching within the Church must take note of what an intellectual conversion is and must preach and teach in a way that shows that the change of mind alone is not true repentance and is not true conversion. The core of the person is not converted. So until this basic truth is brought to the fore within Christendom, it will be a huge problem in evangelism and therefore in the churches. This shows the great need of the Church to focus on the heart and not just feed people information. But here is a huge problem. It is far easier for a pastor to remain deceived about himself and others if he does not strive to go after the heart. Sermons are much easier to prepare if it consists of information only. Sermons that drive to the depths of the heart and deal with men at the depths of their being require a lot more time and preparation. Sermons like that will also cause people to leave the church, even some of the most stalwart people in the church. It is not easy.

What does the intellectual convert look like? This person can be a very committed person in the church. This person can be a leader in the church and love theology. This person can be a very moral person, even taking part in movements against immoral activities in the community. But this person can cause a lot of trouble in the church. Since his own heart is not changed, he does not know how to deal with the hearts of people. An unconverted person is a person full of pride, though a person who is intellectually converted will usually learn how to hide that to some degree. After all, a person who studies the Bible or the giants of the past will readily see that pride is a problem. So, this person takes on a feigned humility of sorts. However, he is quite proud of his humility. The person who is an intellectual convert can be judgmental out of pride or he can be quite tolerant out of pride. Either way, an intellectual convert can cause a lot of trouble in the church, though he may be the hardest worker there.

An intellectual convert is most likely self-deceived, though there may be nagging doubts. He believes the things that Christians believe and he follows the same outward moral pattern that the Christian does. This person may be one who studies the Bible and prays on a consistent basis because that is what Christians do. His conscience may bother him if he does not keep up the daily ritual of study and prayer. But even the means of grace are used to deceive him. He does not realize that the purpose of Bible study is not for him to do his duty, but is the way to meet and commune with God. Bible study can be a means of self-idolatry to an individual like this. The only thing that will awaken a person like this is to hear the preaching of God’s Word in a way where his heart is pierced (Acts 2:37), though indeed this is exactly what he does not want and will fight vociferously.

While the signs and dangers of intellectual conversion are many, the basics have been set out. To put it concisely, the proud and self-centered heart of man will seize on many things to deceive itself. Intellectual conversion is one way that is obvious. The proud heart of man seizes on the truths of Christianity and holds to it with tenacity, though the heart has never been changed. It is ironic that the very thing that must be changed if man is to be converted is the very thing that deceives man as to true conversion. It is that proud heart that obtains knowledge and deceives the person into thinking that he is converted. It is that proud heart that is satisfied with outward knowledge of the Bible and perhaps a lot of Bible study. Knowledge does indeed puff up, even spiritual knowledge (I Cor. 8:1). It is possible for the deceived person who is intellectually converted to have deep feelings for self or for others, but these are still out of pride and self-interest. It is possible for the intellectually converted person to speak of the heart since he has a wrong idea of the heart too. But, as we have seen in previous weeks, the real problem with man is that he is self-centered and proud. Self-centered and prideful people will use religion to their own perceived selfish benefit as well (Mat. 6:1-7, 16-24). Some of the churches in Revelation were that way and so were the Pharisees. That spirit is still very much alive today.

The answer to this problem is simple, though carrying it out is hard. Leaders in churches must begin to examine their own hearts and practices. Interestingly enough, it is possibly easier to be deceived in this way in Reformed circles than in other traditions. The Reformed people stress the minds and intellects in theology along with a strict adherence to a creed. While these things may be good, they do lend themselves to believing people are converted just because they adhere to certain beliefs. This shows that even the most orthodox of leaders must begin to examine themselves and their own hearts. They must begin to rethink how to do evangelism and deal with people in the churches. Have people in our churches been properly evangelized? Do they think that all they need to do is state a belief in a creed or certain beliefs in order to be saved? Do they know (beyond an intellectual awareness) that they must have a new heart in order to be converted? Jesus taught that a person must be born from above to enter the kingdom. Do we stress that or do we stress agreeing to certain beliefs? Do they know that all their righteous deeds are as filthy rags (Isa. 64:7)? Do they know the difference between religious activities done in the power of self and those done in the power of grace? Do they know that all religious activities done apart from a true love for God and the neighbor (I Cor. 13:1-3) is of no benefit?

We must return to a true and experiential adherence to the doctrine of total depravity. This is the biblical teaching that man is dead in sin and cannot give himself a new heart. This is the teaching that man is born in a state of self-love and that all he does is for himself out of pride and self-centeredness. Combined with the teaching of the new birth, we can see how a person must repent of selfcenteredness, self-love and pride to a centeredness upon God and love for Him. Man can grasp many things by the intellect and love them for how they relate to self and pride, but that is not a true conversion. Intellectual conversion is simply one way of man deceiving himself and of pastors being deceived as well. We must teach this doctrine until man gives up all hope in himself and lays down at the foot of the cross asking only for grace. We must never settle for such things as intellectual or moral conversion or we will be part of deceiving the people we are to be spiritual guides for.

We must begin to deal with people as spiritual beings instead of just mental beings. We must be searchers of souls and not just informers of minds. We must learn what it means to get to the depths of the heart even when people call us names. Beware; to get to the depths of people’s hearts and self-deception is to tap into the power of self-love, which flows out in anger. Jesus was treated harshly and with anger when he exposed the heart sins of the Pharisees. We should not expect to be treated any differently. When the heart of man is exposed by the Word of God, especially people who consider themselves good and moral, the reaction is one of anger toward the one speaking the Word. The reaction is especially ferocious when a person who is deceived as to salvation begins to have that confidence cracked by a person who is dealing plainly with his soul. But a true concern for souls will not allow us to take an easier route. Jesus, the Chief Shepherd, did not take the easy route and those who are faithful to Him will not take it either. Evangelism is not easy when it strives to deal with the hearts of men as Jesus did. However, if we are to carry out the Great Commission, we must deal faithfully with the hearts of men. Jesus requires no less.

Two weeks ago we looked at the dangers of a moral conversion and last week we looked at the dangers of an intellectual conversion. This week I would like to continue to think through the dangers of intellectual conversion and its impact on the methods of evangelism. Clearly, I think, if we want to avoid the terrible danger of intellectual conversion in our evangelism, we must have certain things in mind when we evangelize. If we are interested in undeceiving people who are deceived, and possibly ourselves, we need to see how vital this really is along with some of the ways that this can function. The way evangelism is practiced determines in some way how many people view salvation and Christianity for the rest of their lives.We must ask ourselves if our evangelism is primarily the imparting of information that can readily be understood by the natural man. If so, what is there that would prevent our evangelism from being conducive to intellectual conversions? Paul spoke of the mystery of the Gospel (Eph 6:19) and the mystery of Christ (Eph 3:3-4). He prayed “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him” and that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Eph. 1:17-18). He said that “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God ( I Cor. 2:12). Clearly the Spirit is necessary in order to understand the things of God who is spirit. It is only if believers know the things of God given by the Spirit that they can speak with spiritual understanding. “Which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised (I Cor 2:13-14).

Now if in our practice of evangelism all that we say is understood by the natural man, then what we are saying can be accepted by the natural man and turned into an intellectual conversion. To put this in a different way, we can say that the Gospel does have many things that the natural man cannot understand. So if we only preach and evangelize in such a way that the natural man can understand it, then the natural man might respond to it with his unregenerate nature. The natural man will respond to the Gospel if he is convinced that God loves him enough to die for him and give him eternal life. A man does not need a new nature for that; he can love those who love him from his prideful and selfish heart. The mystery of the Gospel is to be preached in such a way that the natural man does not and cannot understand it in a comprehensive way. This is why Paul said that the word of the cross was foolishness to those who were perishing (I Cor 1:18). We are to make the basics understandable, but that is not the whole of the Gospel. When we water down the glory of the cross and the Gospel to a set of intellectual propositions that the natural man can understand, we are not preaching the cross and the Gospel in its glory. “For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe (I Cor 1:21). The wisdom of God must be preached if the Gospel is to be declared. The wisdom of God appears as foolishness to the natural man since it is so far above His natural mind that he cannot reach it. It is much like a person who does not understand something and laughs at the things that are above him rather than admit that he cannot understand it.

In our day we see people trying to simplify the Gospel so that everyone can understand it. In one sense it is commendable to make the effort to make things clear, but in another sense to simplify the Gospel so that the natural man can understand it is to essentially preach something other than the Gospel. When we have lowered the Gospel enough so that the natural man can understand it, we have essentially just given a false gospel and provided the opportunity for people to be deceived. I know that it hard, but I am not sure that the Bible allows us any other way of understanding the situation. Our churches are filled with intellectual converts because we have watered the Gospel down to where even the natural man can understand and respond to it in his own strength. Somewhere I have read John MacArthur’s words that we are not presenting the Gospel well enough for the non-elect to refuse it. Those are powerful words to meditate on.

Within the SBC there is a huge push for baptisms. The natural man can understand something of baptism and can be motivated to be baptized. But isn’t that a way of leading people to a state of deception? True evangelism is not focused on baptisms; it is focused on declaring the glory of God in the Gospel. Well, Reformed people say, that is atrocious (it is) and we need to teach people the truth (we do). But when we teach people the truth in a way that only the mind is changed, what are we doing that is accomplishing something that is substantially different? Intellectual conversions appear to be widespread in both Arminian and Reformed camps, though they are accomplished a bit differently. Even if the Gospel or doctrines of the faith are taught at a high intellectual level, they are still able to be understood and obeyed by some natural men. So some people have an intellectual conversion at a higher intellectual level than others. The difference between Reformed evangelism and others in terms of these results is negligible. A higher form of intellectual conversion is still an intellectual conversion.

Let us look at three examples where correct doctrine can be taught in a way that leads to intellectual conversions. The first example is the new birth. We can imagine a pastor who is preaching on the new birth and tells the people the utter necessity of being born again. The people listening hear his words and they believe what he says. In other words, they intellectually believe in the new birth. The next step in this is that they become intellectually convinced that a belief leads to a changed life. So the people know that they believe in the new birth and that they have become more moral. When these people are interviewed for membership they state that they believe that a person must be born again and this is evidenced by a changed life. These people are simply intellectually convinced of certain truths and have become more moral. What a great deception. The second example is justification by faith alone. We can imagine that this truth is set out with a great deal of precision in terms of forensic justification and imputed righteousness set out with clarity. The teachings of grace versus law are also set out clearly. So when people come to intellectually believe these things as being what the Bible teaches, are they really converted? Surely we must posit something other than an intellectual belief of a doctrine as needed for salvation. Nothing more is needed to believe this doctrine as true than the faculties that a natural man has. So are we sure that a person is converted who intellectually adheres to this truth?

Example three is that of faith in Christ. All across America people have been accosted in various forms and told that they must believe in Christ. Okay, but what does that mean? In Reformed circles we are told that people must pray a prayer and believe in Christ too. So many people are told Sunday after Sunday and at door after door that if they will believe in Christ they will be saved. In one sense that is correct. But have these poor people been told that to believe in the biblical sense is something different than to believe that it is raining outside? Have they been told that this is beyond their natural powers to believe in the biblical sense? Have they been told that they must repent and believe? Are they told that they are supposed to repent from outward acts of sin that any natural man can do if he really wants to?

In these examples we have seen the great danger of teaching the Gospel in a way where these doctrines are simply believed to be taught in the Bible and the person counted as a believer. Is there a huge difference between believing that something is true and being saved? Can one believe that these doctrines are true and not be saved? Jesus and Paul never taught that a person must only intellectually believe these doctrines are true in order to be saved. It is true that a person must be born again to be saved, but it is not true that the intellectual belief is the same as being born again. While it is true that a person must believe in justification by faith alone to be saved, it is not true that just because a person believes the doctrine is true that the person is justified.

To boil things down in an effort to end quickly, a person must be born from above to see and enter the kingdom and not just believe that one must be. A person must really be justified by a declaration of God based on Christ alone and that received by faith alone in order to be saved and not just believe that it is a doctrinal truth. To practice evangelism in a manner that is consistent with the Gospel, we must evangelize in a way that the natural man cannot accept. The heart is deceitful above all else so some will slip through. But to be faithful to the Gospel we must not present it in a way where the natural man can simply accept it as true teaching and become more moral on his way to hell. This is, as John Montgomery wrote years ago, to be “Damned Through the Church.” May God deliver us all from the practice of an evangelism that is conducive to that. Do you practice evangelism that is addressed to the mind alone and acceptable to the natural man? Remember, even the devil believes that there is one God and that the Gospel is true. An intellectual understanding is not enough.