Dearly Beloved, my heart has been very heavy of late. As I continually look at my heart and my life, I see so much hypocrisy, so much luke warmness, so much filth. I can speak of the Scriptures and cary on conversations about godly matters, but my inward being is wicked. My heart is deceitful. This post came directly out of my utter disgust for the depravity of my own soul. Hypocrisy is in us all. Please examine yourself as you read this.
"What good will it do you when you are in hell that others think you have gone to heaven?" [Thomas Watson] Brethren, "Counterfeit piety is double iniquity." As a side note, for all those people that own The Godly Man's Picture, you should read the third chapter on this Lord's Day. It is very painful as it strips away at our religious show and leaves our true self naked and open, but it is also very helpful. Remember, "God resisteth the proud but giveth grace to the humble."
Brethren, God declares in His Word: "I would that you were either cold or hot, but since you are luke warm, I will spue you out of my mouth." You see, we are on the brink, we sit on the fence, we are almost Christians. With one voice we speak of God, with the other, we are caught up with the cares and concerns of this world. We have one foot in this world and one foot in Heaven. We want both. I declare to you, "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways."[James 1:8] "You are either for God or you are against God." There is no neutrality.
Brethren, do you go to church, do you believe in God, do you fast and pray? You know, "the devils believe and tremble." The Devil never eats. Are you making a show of religion? Is your piety just a facade? Do people think much of your Christianity, when you know full well that you do not love God? Are you the same man in private as you are in public? Yes, there is a degree of hypocrisy in us all, but to what level does your filth extend? Are you content to live a godly life just as long as it is not too demanding? Are you ready to forsake all for Christ? Do you die daily? Do you take up your cross and follow after God? I do not. I am a hypocrite. O Lord, take my hypocrisy from me. Make me to be on fire for Thee and Thy kingdom work. May I love Thee with my entire being.
Where is your heart? You cannot serve two masters. James compares such people as clouds without water. They promise rain, but they have none. "Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead." [Revelations 3:1] Please do not say, "Well, this is not referring to me. I am not all that bad. I love the Lord. I serve God. I pray and read my Bible. I even go to church." So what? Where is your heart? You may go to church, but where are your thoughts while you are in church? What makes you happy? What gets you excited? Does talking about God get you excited? Can you say, "O Lord, it has been my delight to speak and think on your name"? Are you more concerned about what is going to happen tomorrow or next week or next year than about meditating on the things of God? What do you do with your time? Where do you invest your money? If you have no time for God, he will have nothing to do with you.
What are you investing in? "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." [Matthew 6:21]
Here is another application. Are you doing things your way and not taking head to the Word of God? Are you living for yourself and what you like? Oh, so often we do things because they are fun for us. We do things because we want to do them, when they have nothing to do with Christianity. We despise the man that works hard, provides for his family, is content and quiet at home, and that loves the Lord in simplicity. We want more. We want to be "doing things" with our life. We want to see the world. Where is your heart? If your heart is right, than go see the world, but make your heart right before God first, and take the world captive for Jesus Christ.
Furthermore, we look for the approval of man. We want to be noticed of others. We say our long prayers, we do "good deeds." All of it is to be seen of man. Examine your heart. Yes, there are small glimpses of true piety in us. There is small glimpses of true religion, by the grace of God. Thank God for this, but please do not take comfort in this. You must scrub the garment until it is clean. You must put off the former deeds and press forward to what lies ahead. Lay hold on eternal life. No hypocrite will enter the kingdom of Heaven.
Brethren, take heart. If you show signs of hypocrisy, this does not mean you are a hypocrite; however, you should continually seek to purge all hypocrisy from you and press on. You need to examine yourself. I don't really know how to wake you up. You are so comfortable. Please take head. I pray that you will take head to these words. I am pleading with you. "It is high time to awake out of sleep."[Romans 13:11] Put aside your counterfeit piety, your ridiculous mask. Live uprightly. Live according to the Scriptures. Live Coram Deo.
The Godly Man's Picture:
Question: But why do persons content themselves with a show of godliness?
Answer: This helps to keep up there fame: "honor me now before the people" (1 Sam. 15:30). Men are ambitious of credit, and wish to gain repute in the world, therefore they will dress themselves in the garb and mode of religion, so that others may write them down for saints. But alas, what is one the better for having others commend him, and his conscience condemn him? What good will it do a man when he is in hell that others think he has gone to heaven? Oh, beware of this! Counterfeit piety is double iniquity.
"What good will it do you when you are in hell that others think you have gone to heaven?" [Thomas Watson] Brethren, "Counterfeit piety is double iniquity." As a side note, for all those people that own The Godly Man's Picture, you should read the third chapter on this Lord's Day. It is very painful as it strips away at our religious show and leaves our true self naked and open, but it is also very helpful. Remember, "God resisteth the proud but giveth grace to the humble."
Brethren, God declares in His Word: "I would that you were either cold or hot, but since you are luke warm, I will spue you out of my mouth." You see, we are on the brink, we sit on the fence, we are almost Christians. With one voice we speak of God, with the other, we are caught up with the cares and concerns of this world. We have one foot in this world and one foot in Heaven. We want both. I declare to you, "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways."[James 1:8] "You are either for God or you are against God." There is no neutrality.
Brethren, do you go to church, do you believe in God, do you fast and pray? You know, "the devils believe and tremble." The Devil never eats. Are you making a show of religion? Is your piety just a facade? Do people think much of your Christianity, when you know full well that you do not love God? Are you the same man in private as you are in public? Yes, there is a degree of hypocrisy in us all, but to what level does your filth extend? Are you content to live a godly life just as long as it is not too demanding? Are you ready to forsake all for Christ? Do you die daily? Do you take up your cross and follow after God? I do not. I am a hypocrite. O Lord, take my hypocrisy from me. Make me to be on fire for Thee and Thy kingdom work. May I love Thee with my entire being.
Where is your heart? You cannot serve two masters. James compares such people as clouds without water. They promise rain, but they have none. "Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead." [Revelations 3:1] Please do not say, "Well, this is not referring to me. I am not all that bad. I love the Lord. I serve God. I pray and read my Bible. I even go to church." So what? Where is your heart? You may go to church, but where are your thoughts while you are in church? What makes you happy? What gets you excited? Does talking about God get you excited? Can you say, "O Lord, it has been my delight to speak and think on your name"? Are you more concerned about what is going to happen tomorrow or next week or next year than about meditating on the things of God? What do you do with your time? Where do you invest your money? If you have no time for God, he will have nothing to do with you.
What are you investing in? "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." [Matthew 6:21]
Here is another application. Are you doing things your way and not taking head to the Word of God? Are you living for yourself and what you like? Oh, so often we do things because they are fun for us. We do things because we want to do them, when they have nothing to do with Christianity. We despise the man that works hard, provides for his family, is content and quiet at home, and that loves the Lord in simplicity. We want more. We want to be "doing things" with our life. We want to see the world. Where is your heart? If your heart is right, than go see the world, but make your heart right before God first, and take the world captive for Jesus Christ.
Furthermore, we look for the approval of man. We want to be noticed of others. We say our long prayers, we do "good deeds." All of it is to be seen of man. Examine your heart. Yes, there are small glimpses of true piety in us. There is small glimpses of true religion, by the grace of God. Thank God for this, but please do not take comfort in this. You must scrub the garment until it is clean. You must put off the former deeds and press forward to what lies ahead. Lay hold on eternal life. No hypocrite will enter the kingdom of Heaven.
Brethren, take heart. If you show signs of hypocrisy, this does not mean you are a hypocrite; however, you should continually seek to purge all hypocrisy from you and press on. You need to examine yourself. I don't really know how to wake you up. You are so comfortable. Please take head. I pray that you will take head to these words. I am pleading with you. "It is high time to awake out of sleep."[Romans 13:11] Put aside your counterfeit piety, your ridiculous mask. Live uprightly. Live according to the Scriptures. Live Coram Deo.
The Godly Man's Picture:
Question: But why do persons content themselves with a show of godliness?
Answer: This helps to keep up there fame: "honor me now before the people" (1 Sam. 15:30). Men are ambitious of credit, and wish to gain repute in the world, therefore they will dress themselves in the garb and mode of religion, so that others may write them down for saints. But alas, what is one the better for having others commend him, and his conscience condemn him? What good will it do a man when he is in hell that others think he has gone to heaven? Oh, beware of this! Counterfeit piety is double iniquity.
Soli Deo Gloria
Very timely words, Benjamin. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI came to Christ after a major conviction by the Spirit of God back in July of last year, that I was a quite thorough hypocrite with no true grace, one who trusted in his awfully futile attempts at self-made religion to earn favor in God's eyes. The next two or three months were very spiritually intense, and somewhere after the beginning of that period and before the end of it I came to true and complete assurance of faith in Christ by the Spirit of God. I fear there are many, many professed Christians who know nothing of the joy of seeing the glory of the love of Christ in contrast to the darkness and deceitfulness of one's sin, because they have never been truly converted. It is good to hear a brother speak so candidly on this matter.
It is the knowledge of the love of Christ that frees us from sin. Benjamin, I would heartily encourage you to read this treatise by the Scottish presbyterian preacher Robert Murray McCheyne (1813-1843), entitled The Love of Christ:
www.newsforchristians.com/clser1/mccheyne_004.html
I read it about a month and a half ago, and since I have been recommending it to just about every brother and sister in Christ I speak to. It's nothing short of awesome.
Stand Fast,
Andrew R.
Here's a link to a pdf of the same treatise:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.chapellibrary.org/files/archive/pdf-english/loch.pdf
Stand Fast,
Andrew R.