Self-obsessed sanctification

[Solparvus]

This born from my own heart-searching.

Is your sanctification all about you?

There is such thing as self-obsessed "sanctification." The great concern is your growth, your holiness, your faithfulness. While it is legitimate to be concerned for one's own personal holiness, the two Great Commandments--the essentials of holiness--are framed in reference to others:

• "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind."
• "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

If others (whether God or neighbor) are rarely in the picture in your pursuit of holiness, you're missing what makes holiness to be holiness.

This is why the Pharisees, though great scholars, were terrible disciples. Their holiness was all about them. So concerned for ritual purity they'd rather leave the man crippled, the Jew half-dead, parents dishonored, widows destitute. No wonder such behavior infuriated Christ.

It's good to be air-tight and precise in our obedience, if the Two Great Commandments lie at the heart... but without love to others, there is no holiness (1 Corinthians 13).

This from a (hopefully) repenting brother.

 

[Ryan&Amber2013]

Thanks brother! That is really good stuff to be thinking about. Although I do believe the Bible is very personal about our own holiness and growth in grace, you are very right, that there is a big focus on loving God and others.

 

[MyCrows]

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

John 15:1-9

 

[Ed Walsh]

This is why the Pharisees, though great scholars, were terrible disciples. Their holiness was all about them. So concerned for ritual purity they'd rather leave the man crippled, the Jew half-dead, parents dishonored, widows destitute. No wonder such behavior infuriated Christ.

It's good to be air-tight and precise in our obedience, if the Two Great Commandments lie at the heart... but without love to others, there is no holiness (1 Corinthians 13).

This from a (hopefully) repenting brother.

Very insightful, Jake. Many people have gotten where you're concern was have never returned. We are naturally self-righteous, proud, self-obsessed, independent-thinking sinners. The Pharisees and the Sadducees hadn't a clue that they weren't as holy as they thought. Yes, Jake, very insightful indeed.

I think Jesus showed us how sinister and dark self-righteousness is when he said to the disciples something he said about no other group in the world. He told them not even to be afraid of those that kill the body. But of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, he said,

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16:6‭-‬12‬ ‭KJV‬‬
[6] Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
[7] And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread.
[8] Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?
[9] Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
[10] Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
[11] How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?
[12] Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

As God is my judge, there is no name or a face on my mind in what I say next. But it seems that Jesus considered nothing more dangerous than self-righteousness in religion. And nothing more addictive. Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to be nice to them, either. They are hypocrites and don't even know it themselves.
These super Christians we all admire often are not even believers themselves -- they are themselves dead and deadly.
There's a great book by Welsh Theologian pastor and lover of Jesus named Michael Reeves entitled,

Evangelical Pharisees:
The Gospel as Cure for the Church's Hypocrisy​

These are the opening sentences to the book:

 Beware of the Leaven What is the most urgent need of the church today? Better leadership? Better training? Healthier giving? Orthodoxy? Moral integrity? Each of these are undoubtedly needs, but underneath them all lies something even more vital: gospel integrity. In Luke 12, when thousands had gathered together to hear Jesus, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (v. 1). That might have been unsurprising had he been warning the people as a whole, but he said it to his disciples first, to those who had already left all and followed him. Clearly, hypocrisy—a lack of integrity in both head and heart—was a danger even for them. Matthew records Jesus saying to his disciples, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (Matt. 16:6). Seeing this, J. C. Ryle commented that Christ “foresaw that the two great plagues of His Church upon earth would always be the doctrine of the Pharisees and the doctrine of the Sadducees.”1 So it is not that Pharisaism was the only threat to the church that Jesus foresaw, but it was perhaps the primary one. Pharisaism, after all, is the sort of heartless formal religion that marks the first subtle step in the spiritual decline of a church before it ever slides into outright apostasy. It is the perpetual internal menace we can overlook as we dissect and bemoan the failure of others.

 

[Joshua]

Good thoughts, Brother. Thank you.

The other shoe dropping (as commensurate with, not contrary to, your expression), also, is thinking our “secret” sins have no bearing on the body as a whole. Meditating on many thoughts strewn throughout (but all connected) 1 Corinthians this morning. Many Achan tendencies to root out, on the one hand, but our endeavors after sanctification to be taken up, by faith, and covenantally, on the other hand. Both, and each, for the glory of our God.

 

[TheInquirer]

Excellent thoughts. Understanding “the glory of God” as your chief purpose/meaning of life helps correct the twisted, selfish corruption sin brings to holy things. I love how the Longer and Shorter Catechisms put the glory of God as the first statement - its as if they knew what we needed first and foremost .

Then, making the next step to love helps us understand the primary relational component of what glorifying God looks like. Its object is both God and others. However, to love oneself is both natural and good if such love is defined by God in doing what is truly best for ourselves - which is to glorify Him and love Him above all other things.

Isn‘t it tragic irony that we can take something good and holy like sanctification and make it into something self-glorifying, thus making it evil and harmful to ourselves and others? Sin is truly devious.

 

[Ed Walsh]

This is why the Pharisees, though great scholars, were terrible disciples. Their holiness was all about them. So concerned for ritual purity they'd rather leave the man crippled, the Jew half-dead, parents dishonored, widows destitute. No wonder such behavior infuriated Christ.

It's good to be air-tight and precise in our obedience, if the Two Great Commandments lie at the heart... but without love to others, there is no holiness (1 Corinthians 13).

I had another thought that I did not mention. It's about the current view of evangelism in the Church in America. I'm not implying that this is your case. It might all be you. I know quite often the problem is only been me. But you said a few things that made me wonder. Maybe you're getting a raw deal and you don't know it.
~~~~~~

Evangelism in our day has become so very often a work of man. I don't know if I have the heartbeat of the nation, but I suspect that most of us, when drafted into some Evangelistic program, have just felt creepy. Like our heart isn't in it. Sometimes, the method itself is wrong, contributing to your uneasy feeling, but often, your heart doesn't feel the zeal the Bible speaks of when sharing the gospel. And that, in turn, often leads to personal guilt and sadness as if your disappointing the Lord.

I'll mention only this about me. For several years now, the fear of man is gone; the joy of the Lord has been here. I have shared the gospel practically every day, and usually more than two or three people. And I'm having the time of my life. But I had to wait nearly 45 years to be free. I have the advantage of having looked at both sides now. And the side where you fear Jesus and love man is Where We Belong.

 

[jwithnell]

I've been thinking about this topic and appreciate this discussion.

The OP question is difficult because we come before God as individuals but he has placed us in the church. We must repent of our personal sins which can lead to an inward focus. We are told to examine ourselves before coming to the Lord's Table, but that instruction is also placed in the context of any wrong we might have with another in the church.

I suspect that evangelicalism since the 1830s -- which can downplay the church -- pushes us too far into individualism.

 

[Solparvus]

You all have given me things to ponder too. Thank you. I'm speaking from real experience: this self-obsession has in some ways resulted in the sins I've tried to prevent.

@Ed Walsh I'd appreciate some clarity on your second post when you get a moment. However, Christ's words dawn on me as critical, because you do not always know when you've been infected. Peter and his company may not have even realized it until Paul gives them a sharp rebuke (Gal. 2). And that was post-Pentecost. Along with @jw and his exhortation, Prov. 4:23, there's no end of reasons to guard the heart. Whether leaven, Achan, or some other pollution, any of it imperceptibly taints the work of the Spirit. Especially when the pollution is veneered as holy.

 

[Ed Walsh]

Hi Jake,

@Ed Walsh I'd appreciate some clarity on your second post when you get a moment. However, Christ's words dawn on me as critical, because you do not always know when you've been infected. Peter and his company may not have even realized it until Paul gives them a sharp rebuke (Gal. 2). And that was post-Pentecost. Along with @jw and his exhortation, Prov. 4:23, there's no end of reasons to guard the heart. Whether leaven, Achan, or some other pollution, any of it imperceptibly taints the work of the Spirit. Especially when the pollution is veneered as holy.

You asked for some clarifications. Here are a few, but perhaps my primary purpose is to understand better what you are questioning.

Here's my second post:

I had another thought that I did not mention. It's about the current view of evangelism in the Church in America. I'm not implying that this is your case. It might all be you. I know quite often the problem is only been me. But you said a few things that made me wonder. Maybe you're getting a raw deal and you don't know it.
~~~~~~

Part of my problem in responding to your request above is that I am unsure now what I was responding to. It seems like I was responding to another post. I think I was so in love with the book Evangelical Phariseeism by Michael Reeves that all subjects led to the book. Please pardon the confusion.

If you still have a question about something I said, please ask again.

Ed

Evangelism in our day has become so very often a work of man. I don't know if I have the heartbeat of the nation, but I suspect that most of us, when drafted into some Evangelistic program, have just felt creepy. Like our heart isn't in it. Sometimes, the method itself is wrong, contributing to your uneasy feeling, but often, your heart doesn't feel the zeal the Bible speaks of when sharing the gospel. And that, in turn, often leads to personal guilt and sadness as if your disappointing the Lord.

This part paragraph is a testimony of how good God has been to me in my later years.

I'll mention only this about me. For several years now, the fear of man is gone; the joy of the Lord has been here. I have shared the gospel practically every day, and usually more than two or three people. And I'm having the time of my life. But I had to wait nearly 45 years to be free. I have the advantage of having looked at both sides now. And the side where you fear Jesus and love man is Where We Belong.

 

[Alan D. Strange]

This from a (hopefully) repenting brother.

Most encouraging, brother.

This is just what I was getting at recently in speaking about the chief marks of genuine religious affection. It's not a particular private spiritual experience that becomes the touchstone for true godliness. Instead, it is the love of God and neighbor.

To put it another way, real sanctification results not in greater self-obsession but in the unselfing of the self, especially in the way that B.B. Warfield described it in his masterful sermon, which I commend to all, "Imitating the Incarnation" (here is part of the ending paragraph):

"He was led by His love for others into the world, to forget Himself in the needs of others, to sacrifice self once for all upon the altar of sympathy. Self-sacrifice brought Christ into the world. And self-sacrifice will lead us, His followers, not away from but into the midst of men. Wherever men suffer, there will we be to comfort. Wherever men strive, there will we be to help. Wherever men fail, there will be we to uplift. Wherever men succeed, there will we be to rejoice. Self-sacrifice means not indifference to our times and our fellows: it means absorption in them. It means forgetfulness of self in others. It means entering into every man’s hopes and fears, longings and despairs: it means manysidedness of spirit, multiform activity, multiplicity of sympathies. It means richness of development. It means not that we should live one life, but a thousand lives,—binding ourselves to a thousand souls by the filaments of so loving a sympathy that their lives become ours. It means that all the experiences of men shall smite our souls and shall beat and batter these stubborn hearts of ours into fitness for their heavenly home. It is, after all, then, the path to the highest possible development, by which alone we can be made truly men. Not that we shall undertake it with this end in view. This were to dry up its springs at their source. We cannot be self-consciously self-forgetful, selfishly unselfish. Only, when we humbly walk this path, seeking truly in it not our own things but those of others, we shall find the promise true, that he who loses his life shall find it. Only, when, like Christ, and in loving obedience to His call and example, we take no account of ourselves, but freely give ourselves to others, we shall find, each in his measure, the saying true of himself also: “Wherefore also God hath highly exalted him.” The path of self-sacrifice is the path to glory."

You'll not want to miss any of this, as Warfield so richly sets forth Christ's work in all its incomparable glory and then sets forth how we are truly to imitate it as those called to follow after Him while we walk in our humiliation.

Peace,
Alan

 

[Ed Walsh]

Most encouraging, brother.

Agree completely.

The piece you posted by B.B. Warfield is beautiful.
Thanks,

Ed

 

[Solparvus]

@Ed Walsh no worries on uncertainty with how to respond. I've now got that book in hand, and I'm interested to hear what Reeves has to say.

@Alan D. Strange I'm keeping that quote in a place where I will certainly not lose it. We are so easily given to pride over small things, but Christ in His humiliation hardly seemed aware at times of how truly great He was.

Relatedly, Dr. Gamble has employed in class Warfield on Christ's emotional life. It's an incredible work. What a real person--a real man--it shows Christ to be. Warfield seems to be one of those men whose piety kept pace with his academic learning. What a find, when you do find this.

 

[Ed Walsh]

@Ed Walsh no worries on uncertainty with how to respond. I've now got that book in hand, and I'm interested to hear what Reeves has to say.

Reading Reeves is great, but you must hear him speak to hear his voice as you read.
Even in his book Evangelical Phareese – The Gospel as Cure for the Church's Hypocrisy, where Reeves deals with a subject that deserves some hard language, he never seems harsh or censorious once. But instead, he seems sad and personally humbled. Dr. Reeves is one of the dearest saints I know.

Here is a link to Delighting in the Trinity. It's a Spotify podcast with maybe 50 recent messages.

I have three versions. I.e., Logos, Audible, and Kindle (I didn't get the print version. My eyes...)

@Alan D. Strange I'm keeping that quote in a place where I will certainly not lose it. We are so easily given to pride over small things, but Christ in His humiliation hardly seemed aware at times of how truly great He was.

Amen, @Alan D. Strange You couldn't have said it better.

ed

 

[Alan D. Strange]

Relatedly, Dr. Gamble has employed in class Warfield on Christ's emotional life.

I did so just the other day when lecturing on the Incarnation in my Ancient Church class. There's nothing like Warfield on that subject.

Now here's the part that Rick (Dr. Gamble) may or may not like: he taught me that subject (ancient church) when he was a quite young professor at Westminster Theological Seminary (almost 40 years ago!).

Keep passing on the good stuff!

Peace,
Alan

 

[Solparvus]

@Alan D. Strange I guess this means I'm in good hands

@Ed Walsh I've barely cracked into the book you mentioned, but it relates to some real recent wrestlings. Thanks for providing.