God Loves… Himself

Jeremiah 8:8 “How can you say, ‘We are wise, And the law of the LORD is with us’? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes Has made it into a lie. 11 “They heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace.

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. 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. 29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous.

In verses 25-26 Jesus spoke to the scribes and Pharisees another “woe” upon them. The reason that He did so, in the illustration that He gave first, is that they cleaned the outside of the cup and dish while they were full of robbery and self-indulgence on the inside. This is very pointed and also very powerful words to the modern professing Church. It is easy to see how ridiculous it is to clean the outside of a cup or bowl and leave the inside part of the cup or bowl dirty. The cup or bowl is far from being clean because the part where the liquid or solid food touches (the most important part) is unclean and makes the food unclean. We can think of this in the modern day as a cup or bowl full of germs if it has not been cleaned. When you put food or drink in the cup or bowl, the food or drink does not kill the germs, but instead can become a carrier of the germs.

But of course Jesus was using that point as an analogy to point to the sinful hearts of the scribes and Pharisees. All of their external religion which consisted in external rituals and rules and external acts of morality and holiness did not make their hearts clean at all. Instead, the scribes and the Pharisees were full of robbery and self-indulgence. It is the self that must be denied and it is the self that we are to die. It is the love of self that we must be given grace to turn from that we may love Christ. But the scribes and the Pharisees, the most religious people in Israel, were nothing but hypocrites according to Jesus. These are devastating words of a devastating analysis of the most religious people in Israel and these were spoken by Jesus.

But of course the words of Jesus were not spoken just for the scribes and Pharisees, but for all people of all time. The words that Jesus spoke to the scribes and the Pharisees will not benefit modern people unless they see that they also need to have hearts that are cleansed and not just remain focused on the external. The same things that the scribes and Pharisees were guilty of are practiced in the modern day, though perhaps in principle rather than an exact ritual. It is the heart that preachers need to be preaching against and trying to reach with biblical truths. Even if a man gives up his alcohol that does not mean that he is converted. Even if a person gives up external immorality that does not mean that the person is converted. Those who turn from external sin without a cleansing of the heart can become quite proud of their righteousness in leaving external sin.

We can also see the proud person in the pew or in the pulpit who would never dream that s/he is guilty of violating a commandment and yet does not see the filth of his or her heart as a serial adulterer because of lusting in the heart. The outwardly kind person can be a serial killer because of murder in the heart. The most truthful of people on the outside can be vile liars on the inside. Men and women need new hearts given to them by grace rather than just become moral on the outside. Men and women need the life of Christ as their lives rather than just more religious externalism. While it is so hard for many to see or understand, it could be that so many of the moral movements in our day are simply external acts of righteousness and religiosity rather than true Christianity. We must have God working in us and working love in us by His Spirit that we may truly love Him and others from our hearts rather than just doing outwardly good things. We must be granted repentance from our external religion and our external morality as well as the more open sins in order for Christ to reign in our hearts. He will not dwell where inward sin reigns, but instead He must cleanse His temple in order to dwell there.

Jeremiah 8:8 “How can you say, ‘We are wise, And the law of the LORD is with us’? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes Has made it into a lie. 11 “They heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace.

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. 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. 29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous.

The problem with the scribes and Pharisees (as seen in verse 23) was not that they were overly scrupulous at all times and at all points, but that they would do the easier things and neglect what was even more important, though indeed the more important things were far harder to do and costlier as well. The scribes and the Pharisees longed to be seen as holy and righteous men and sought the honor of men for what they did. However, that honor they sought was obtained by tithing in an exact way their vegetables and herbs. That did not cost much at all. It is easier to give things than to give of self. It is easier to give things that matter little than it is to die to self and pride.

What can cost a lot in terms of personal convenience and finances, however, is the area that the scribes and Pharisees fell short in. They were not as convinced that they should seek justice, mercy, and faithfulness. There is no cost to pride and self to give herbs and vegetables, but in order to seek justice a person must die to self and pride in order to seek true justice. In order to seek true justice it must be more important than pride and self or one will not seek true justice at all times and in all ways. Self and the interests of self will come in and blind the soul to justice and it will turn the soul with many self-justifications to seek self rather than justice. Pride will seek to justify self and seek the interests of self rather than seek true justice. Pride will want to appear good when one person in an issue is rich and powerful and the other is poor and helpless, but love for God and true justice will require a person to seek justice regardless of who the people are.

The living God is full of mercy and is merciful to His people and to sinners. However, the scribes and the Pharisees were not as interested in mercy as they were in keeping some of the minutiae of the laws that they had come up with themselves. They were interested in self and the things of self in terms of following laws which enabled them to make excuses to get out of doing what mercy would call for (an important part of the law) and of doing anything that would cost them money. True mercy flows from true love and wants to help those in misery who cannot help themselves, but the religion of the Pharisees was to help themselves and to hate their enemies rather than to help the miserable and love their enemies. Jesus called for humbled and broken hearts and the things that would flow from them, but the Pharisees were proud and hard of heart and so did not pursue Christ and the things that would come from hearts that He required.

Jesus pronounced a woe upon the scribes and Pharisees because they would tithe in a scrupulous manner as the law required, but they would not do the greater things that the law required. Jesus required faith and faithfulness, but the Pharisees did not have faith in anyone but themselves and they were only faithful to themselves and their passion for money and honor among men. True faith in God and faithfulness to Him requires that people seek His face and to honor Him rather than to honor self. Out of seeking His honor and glory before others rather than self one will seek to be just and show mercy. But the scribes and Pharisees were focused on self and the things of self rather than God and the things of God. Religious pride leads to the deception of self and others. Humility bows low before God and looks to the strength of grace to do what He requires in order to glorify Him and does not water it down in order to be proud of self.

Jeremiah 8:8 “How can you say, ‘We are wise, And the law of the LORD is with us’? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes Has made it into a lie. 11 “They heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace.

Matthew 23:2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. 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. 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. 29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,

In some denominations evangelism is considered to be a sign of salvation and the greatest work that a person can do. People who are not trained and have no theology at all are sent out to evangelize. Others will stand on the streets preaching through various instruments which project their voices calling people to say a prayer and make a choice. It seems to matter little whether a person believes in a confession or a creed or not, evangelism is thought to be what spiritual people do. It would appear from the text above that the scribes and Pharisees thought much the same thing as well.

When we look at the matter of evangelism, there are but a few approaches that can be taken. In fact, there are only two approaches (broadly speaking) that can be taken. There is the approach that teaches men that they can do something and then there is the approach that teaches men that God must do something. While there are similarities between the two in many ways, the reality of the matter is that they are vastly, vastly different. The approach that focuses on man and teaches man that he must do something essentially leaves man in his own power and ability. The approach that focuses on teaching men that they are in the hands of God and that He must do something attempts to show men that they are in the hands of God at all points and in all ways.

Those who go to great efforts at missions and evangelism and yet leave men in their own hands are going to have a lot of false results and will actually be doing just what the scribes and Pharisees did. They will make men twice the sons of hell as they are. The devil is proud and self-sufficient, so he is always working that in his children whether they are religious or not. The devil wants his destiny to be in his own hands and so he works that in his own children. The devil wants to do things his own way and make his own choices, so he works that in his own children. This is precisely what those forms of evangelism did in the days of the scribes and Pharisees and that is precisely what that form of evangelism does today. It leaves all the power and ability in men and tells them that they are sufficient to do what God wants them to do. In other words, it leaves men with the same fallen nature that they had and simply tries to make them religious. A man can be the most religious person in the world and yet apart from a new heart that person is as vile as anyone on the planet if not more so.

True evangelism does not look to have great numbers and does not look for particular results that can be seen by men. True evangelism teaches men that God must change their hearts if they are to be converted. As Jesus taught Nicodemus in John 3, a person must be born from above (again) if that person is going to see or enter the kingdom. Who can cause this new birth? It is God alone by His Spirit who can do this. Who alone can work a new work of creation and make men new creatures in Christ? It is God and God alone. True evangelism points men to God who alone can give them new hearts and make them new creatures. False evangelism points men to their own choices and wills and so men are left to their fallen natures to become religious according to those fallen natures. This is to say that men become more and more like the devil as they become more and more reliant upon self and pride to be religious. False evangelism makes men like the scribes and Pharisees in that they persuade men to trust in themselves and their own religion rather than look to the Sovereign God to save them by grace alone.

Jeremiah 8:8 “How can you say, ‘We are wise, And the law of the LORD is with us’? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes Has made it into a lie. 11 “They heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace.

Matthew 23:2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. 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. 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. 29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,

What we must see from verses 13-15 is that the way we evangelize, whether from the pulpit or from other methods and ways, matters. It is not that we can throw theology out of the window when we evangelize, for if we are wrong in our theology and our Gospel we can shut off the kingdom of heaven from people and be part of making people twice the son of hell as we are (if we are hypocrites). If we are hypocrites, whether we are orthodox or not, then woe to us. If we are hypocrites, whether we have the right creed or not, then woe to us. If we are hypocrites and evangelize in a way that makes people twice the sons of hell as we are, then more woe to us.

Evangelism is a very serious issue and it does not make one a Christian and it does not prove one to be a Christian. In fact, when reading the text above evangelism is a dangerous issue for both those doing the evangelism and those being evangelized. Evangelism, rather than proving that we are Christians, can be demonstrative evidence (for those with eyes to see) that we are not Christians. It seems from the text above that false evangelism can be instrumental in making people twice the sons of hell as those who wrongly evangelize. For the sake of emphasis, it needs to be repeated that we must understand that evangelism is a very serious business.

The Gospel is not an easy message as it requires balance. If one goes off on one side, one is a legalist. If one goes off on the other side, one teaches easy believism. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is indeed a Gospel of grace alone, but it is also a Gospel that requires true repentance and a change of heart. However, it must be clearly stated that it is grace that grants the repentance and it is grace that changes the heart. When evangelism leads to false professions of faith, it will produce either legalists, moralists, or easy believism of some sort. When evangelism is practiced in a false way, it will encourage people to do what God requires in their own strength rather than look to grace alone to do the work.

In a very interesting and important work from years past, it was pointed out that when men are deceived about salvation and come to a form of assurance of their salvation in their deceived state, it is rare for them to come out of that deception. This deception is incredibly dangerous. “Picture to yourself the deceived professor on his death-bed. He fears no evil—even to the last he retains his confidence and remains calm. He dies. It may be, exulting in hope—but where is he? Instead of finding himself in heaven, he is in hell! Instead of mingling with the spirits of the blessed, he is associated with the lost!” (Self-Deception: Its Nature, Evils, and Remedy).

The book from the previous paragraph goes on to show us that we are prone to self-deception because of the state of our own hearts. By nature we are children of wrath and are given to self-reliance and a trust in our fallen nature. While we are dead in sins and trespasses, we are so prone to judge ourselves by those around us rather than the truth of God. In our pride who choose self instead of God and love self rather than God. We want to hear a message where we can retain our sufficiency and control, so we are so prone to deception. But a false gospel that gives false hope can never truly convert souls. Instead of converting souls, false gospels leave sinners in the death and darkness of their own hearts. Those who are in that condition now have religious pride to keep them chained in the dungeon of death and darkness. False evangelism, which builds on the pride and self, is a deadly delusion and it is found in so much religion today.

Jeremiah 8:8 “How can you say, ‘We are wise, And the law of the LORD is with us’? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes Has made it into a lie. 11 “They heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace.

Matthew 23:2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. 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. 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. 29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,

The words of Jesus in the Scriptures are so clear that pride is such a danger in the religious realm that one would think that all who read the Bible would grasp the great danger of it. The scribes and the Pharisees did not, though they did not have the New Testament Scriptures, but they did have the Old Testament Scriptures which are crystal clear on the subject as well. For example, Proverbs 8:13 gives us the mind of God on this issue: “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.” Jesus spoke directly to the scribes and Pharisees and told them that they were shutting off the kingdom from others and that they were not entering in either. How politically incorrect and intolerant would that be thought of in our day?

Just after Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees that they were not entering the kingdom and keeping others out, He revealed the real issue with their evangelistic practices. He started off by telling the scribes and Pharisees that they were hypocrites. He said “woe” to them because they were hypocrites and because of what they were doing. These men who were proud of their religion would travel across land and sea to make one convert. But when the person became a convert, Jesus said that they made that person twice the son of hell that they (scribes & Pharisees) were. These were and are harsh words (in any day) except that they were spoken by love incarnate. Those men needed to have an arrow pierce their hearts and reveal the truth of all their proud works. These men needed to see just what their evangelism produced. Their evangelism (so to speak) did not produce lovers of God and true converts to God, but instead their evangelism simply made men worse in terms of growing in their being sons of hell.

Here we see what the pride of the heart of man does when it is not broken and changed by God when it is granted a position as a leader and/or what it does in evangelism. A proud man cannot preach the true grace of God and a proud man cannot tell other men how the heart must be humbled and broken because God only gives the humble true grace. Oh how this should teach us that men must have some true humility and not a false humility of pride when they become teachers and leaders in the professing Church. A false or pseudo-humility is nothing more than a proud heart covering its pride in a false and deceptive humility. Jesus, who was perfectly humble, was thought to be proud by the proud religious leaders. We must beware and seek the Lord so that we can see the true differences between these things. The world and the flesh twists and changes these things and when worldly and fleshly thinking controls in the professing Church, those things are twisted there as well.

Imagine what would happen to a professing church when its evangelism would produce nothing but false converts and make them twice the children of hell as they were before. Think of the horrors of pride that would lead men to increase their own damnation by their evangelism and blind others and contribute to their damnation as well. Oh, we think today, anyone can evangelize. That is true, but can just anyone evangelize in ways that point people toward the true Christ in true ways? When even the most religious men in the days of Jesus were hypocrites who practices a false way of evangelism, do we really think we can escape that as well? Are men less proud today? Has external religion lost its ability (so to speak) to make the proud heart even prouder, though perhaps the real question is whether the human heart has lost its ability or not to use religion to grow and increase its pride. Can it be denied by any true seeker of Christ that the evangelism of our day has made men stronger in their being children of hell? Can we really deny that the modern practice of evangelism has blinded proud hearts to the truth and many have been hardened to the true Gospel of Jesus Christ? We must be concerned about true evangelism and not just because it gets people in the door of the professing churches and so they can give money, but because false evangelism contributes to the damnation of all concerned. It is that serious.

Jeremiah 8:8 “How can you say, ‘We are wise, And the law of the LORD is with us’? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes Has made it into a lie. 11 “They heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace.

Matthew 23:2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. 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. 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. 29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,

In the passage in Matthew 23 we see the very heart of the scribes and Pharisees as Jesus takes them to task for their false and proud religion. He exposes it for what it is and exposes them for what they were. The truth of the matter is that He also exposes every human heart as well. Each human being has something in it that is like the scribes and Pharisees. How proud the human heart is by nature, though that natural pride is often hidden underneath civility and niceness. How proud the human heart is of its intellect, its morality, its religiosity, and of any other thing that it thinks can distinguish it from others. The proud heart thinks that it has done what it has done and does what it does by its own strength, smarts, morality, and endeavors.

In verses 2-3 we see the great dangers of those who trust in church leaders and false theology. Those who trust in church leaders can be seen by millions who trust in popes, cardinals, and priests to tell them what the Bible says and to give them grace in the sacraments. While it is true that God has given the Church leaders, He has not given it rulers who are to be trusted in. He has given it teachers and leaders who are to point to Christ. This is why leaders must be humble rather than proud. A proud leader will use the position to point to himself and will exalt in the power and attention. A proud leader will use his position to obtain money and seek more authority. A proud leader will seek self in all he does and use the name of God to do so. The proud leader takes the set of Moses (teacher and leader) and think of himself and his position as a way to exalt his wisdom and learning. The proud leader, on the other hand, may be blinded by pride to his pride and even deceive himself into thinking that he is humble. When the proud person takes pride in his humility, oh how dangerous that man is.

What the proud leader does not care to notice, however, is that Moses was the most humble man on earth (Numbers 12:3). A man who takes the chair of Moses should be more like Moses in humility than the devil in pride. The humble leader recognizes who he really is and so he seeks the Lord in prayer for wisdom and more humility. The humble leader recognizes the pride in his heart and labors against it. The humble leader seeks the Lord for understanding of the Scriptures because there is no one else who can give it to him. The humble leader seeks the true good of the flock as opposed to his own exaltation. The humble leader seeks the humble Christ to live in him and manifest His glory through him.

A huge problem with proud leaders is that in their pride there is blindness and in that blindness of pride they will twist the Scriptures and give the people false ways of salvation and/or how to please God. This is exactly what the scribes and Pharisees did. They were blinded by their pride and so set out ways of salvation and of seeking God for themselves and were ways to exalt their pride rather than ways to save them. Those ways were set out for the people as well and as such those ways kept the people from seeking the Lord in truth. It is true that proud men deceive themselves, but proud men deceive others as to the Gospel of grace alone as well. God opposes the proud, most certainly, and one way He does that is by blinding the proud to the Gospel and of grace. Apart from grace alone there is no Gospel and the proud are blinded to that. As the scribes and Pharisees were blinded to the true Gospel of grace alone in their day, so are so many blinded to the Gospel of grace alone in our day. Yes, there are many who manage to bring a work or works into the Gospel, but there are also those who cry up free grace and have no clue as to what the grace of God really is and how it works. There is great danger in pride for all on the earth, but pride in the professing Church is so wicked and dangerous. Oh how men should seek the Lord to show them their pride that they may be delivered from deception themselves and then from deceiving others.