Faith of my own? Nonsense!!!
How can the Arminian say that his own faith, or some universal ability to have faith, brought him into the Kingdom? And what can the Muslim really bring to God by way of good deeds so that, somehow, they will outweigh all the sin in his heart? In my own heart, I can see how my "own" faith, my own desire for God, is tainted. There are many reasons I might come to God for salvation, but none of them are for God:
· Hell. I don't want to burn forever. I don't want to live for all eternity in misery, in flame, in smoke, in anguish
· Purpose. I don't want to live a meaningless life on earth. I want to be part of something great. I want to leave a legacy ( I hear this garbage all the time; all this means is I want my name to be glorified) and for people to remember me as someone good. If I come to Christ, I might be able to do this. I want to give MY life away to a good cause.
· Loneliness. This Christianity might meet my personal longings and fill my loneliness. I have so many needs and Christ can fill them.
The list goes on and on, but at the heart of all these motivations is me! God is not glorified when I make a decision to follow Him based on these selfish motives. God is most glorified in us only when we are most satisfied in Him, when He is the center of our affections, not us!
As I pray this morning, I see myself having regressed in holiness since last week. Saturday, I was filled with so much pride, and I could see so evidently the loveless prejudice still festering in me. Yesterday I was slothful, prayerless and gluttonous. And as I sit here, I see how much this grace of God saves me, for there is nothing I can bring to God.
If God could only see my outward appearance, and that qualified me for heaven, I could probably fool Him. But even my unknown thoughts and motives are judged by God's perfect standards. No, I am a dead man on my own, if not for grace. And as I draw closer to God, the more I see just how miserable a creature I really am. When I think I am strong, the sinful nature comes and shows me just how wicked my heart really is. No, when it comes down to it, if God left it up to my own faith to bring me to salvation, and if this faith were weighed based upon all the secret motives and desires of my heart, I could not "get" salvation because my desires without Christ are always desires for my own preservation and glorification. Escape from loneliness, insignificance, and ultimately hell; desire for fame, name, contribution, legacy; all these are nothing more than debased desires for self-preservation and self-glorification.
If this isn't evidence enough for total depravity and unconditional election, there is none. When I stand before God and am judged based on every thought and motive, not merely every action, if the faith I have is my own and not a gift from God, then I am lost. I am lost! And so, in seeing my own failures and sinfulness in regard to holiness, I am more unashamedly a Calvinist today than I was yesterday.
1/29/07 - 2/2/07
· Hell. I don't want to burn forever. I don't want to live for all eternity in misery, in flame, in smoke, in anguish
· Purpose. I don't want to live a meaningless life on earth. I want to be part of something great. I want to leave a legacy ( I hear this garbage all the time; all this means is I want my name to be glorified) and for people to remember me as someone good. If I come to Christ, I might be able to do this. I want to give MY life away to a good cause.
· Loneliness. This Christianity might meet my personal longings and fill my loneliness. I have so many needs and Christ can fill them.
The list goes on and on, but at the heart of all these motivations is me! God is not glorified when I make a decision to follow Him based on these selfish motives. God is most glorified in us only when we are most satisfied in Him, when He is the center of our affections, not us!
As I pray this morning, I see myself having regressed in holiness since last week. Saturday, I was filled with so much pride, and I could see so evidently the loveless prejudice still festering in me. Yesterday I was slothful, prayerless and gluttonous. And as I sit here, I see how much this grace of God saves me, for there is nothing I can bring to God.
If God could only see my outward appearance, and that qualified me for heaven, I could probably fool Him. But even my unknown thoughts and motives are judged by God's perfect standards. No, I am a dead man on my own, if not for grace. And as I draw closer to God, the more I see just how miserable a creature I really am. When I think I am strong, the sinful nature comes and shows me just how wicked my heart really is. No, when it comes down to it, if God left it up to my own faith to bring me to salvation, and if this faith were weighed based upon all the secret motives and desires of my heart, I could not "get" salvation because my desires without Christ are always desires for my own preservation and glorification. Escape from loneliness, insignificance, and ultimately hell; desire for fame, name, contribution, legacy; all these are nothing more than debased desires for self-preservation and self-glorification.
If this isn't evidence enough for total depravity and unconditional election, there is none. When I stand before God and am judged based on every thought and motive, not merely every action, if the faith I have is my own and not a gift from God, then I am lost. I am lost! And so, in seeing my own failures and sinfulness in regard to holiness, I am more unashamedly a Calvinist today than I was yesterday.
1/29/07 - 2/2/07
posted by Ron | 9:57 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home