Ed Walsh
Puritan Board Senior
Greetings Pilgrims,
The following text, taken from the Authors' intro to their commentary on Isaiah 1:2–2:9, is a simple statement of a profound truth. They speak about a subject near and dear to the world of our day that believers are bombarded from all sides. I'm talking about one's self-image. I have heard prayer requests and advice-seeking by members of the PB that seem to be related.
It is suggested you read the Bible text first, which is at the bottom of the page.
Paul Tournier, the Swiss psychiatrist, observed, "A diffuse and vague guilt feeling kills the personality, whereas the conviction of sin gives life to it." [1] Isaiah begins with life-giving conviction of sin. It's our first step back to God.
We may feel good about ourselves. But what if God thinks we've done wrong, a lot of wrong, and not much right? What if he wants to talk to us about it because he also has a remedy for us? What if he can see that our self-protection is really self-imprisonment? God lovingly confronts us with truths embarrassing enough to save us.
What is conviction of sin? It is not an oppressive spirit of uncertainty or paralyzing guilt feelings. Conviction of sin is the lance of the divine Surgeon piercing the infected soul, releasing the pressure, letting the infection pour out. Conviction of sin is a health-giving injury. Conviction of sin is the Holy Spirit being kind to us by confronting us with the light we don't want to see and the truth we're afraid to admit and the guilt we prefer to ignore. Conviction of sin is the severe love of God overruling our compulsive dishonesty, our willful blindness, our favorite excuses. Conviction of sin is the violent sweetness of God opposing the sins lying comfortably undisturbed in our lives. Conviction of sin is the merciful God declaring war on the false peace we settle for. Conviction of sin is our escape from malaise to joy, from attending church to worship, from faking it to authenticity. Conviction of sin, with the forgiveness of Jesus pouring over our wounds, is life.
In Isaiah chapter 1, God is telling us the truth about ourselves. Let's not be fooled by our polished appearances and our stylish theories of the darling self. They'll be the death of us. The unflattering portrait of Isaiah 1 is God's way of disturbing us until we start asking the courageous Godward questions that can breathe life back into us.
_Ortlund, R. C., Jr., & Hughes, R. K. (2005). Isaiah: God saves sinners (pp. 24–26). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
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1 Paul Tournier, Escape From Loneliness (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1962), p. 163.
2 William Kilpatrick, "Faith & Therapy," First Things, February 1999, p. 23.
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Isaiah 1:2–2:9 (KJV)
2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: For the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, And they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox knoweth his owner, And the ass his master's crib: But Israel doth not know, My people doth not consider.
4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, A seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: They have forsaken the Lord, They have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, They are gone away backward.
5 Why should ye be stricken any more? Ye will revolt more and more: The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; But wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: They have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
7 Your country is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire: Your land, strangers devour it in your presence, And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, As a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, As a besieged city.
9 Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, We should have been as Sodom, And we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
The following text, taken from the Authors' intro to their commentary on Isaiah 1:2–2:9, is a simple statement of a profound truth. They speak about a subject near and dear to the world of our day that believers are bombarded from all sides. I'm talking about one's self-image. I have heard prayer requests and advice-seeking by members of the PB that seem to be related.
It is suggested you read the Bible text first, which is at the bottom of the page.
Our Urgent Need: A New Self-Awareness
Isaiah 1:2–9
Isaiah 1:2–9
Paul Tournier, the Swiss psychiatrist, observed, "A diffuse and vague guilt feeling kills the personality, whereas the conviction of sin gives life to it." [1] Isaiah begins with life-giving conviction of sin. It's our first step back to God.
We need a sense of sin. We shouldn't fear it or resent it. It is not destructive. It is life-giving, if we have the courage to let Christ save us. We are often told—or just whispered to—that what we need is more self-esteem. That is false. What we need is more humility and more Christ-esteem.
William Kilpatrick distinguishes self-esteem, with its non-judgmentalism, from self-awareness, with its clear consciousness of sin:
A colleague at Boston College … once asked members of his philosophy class to write an anonymous essay about a personal struggle over right and wrong, good and evil. Most of the students, however, were unable to complete the assignment. "Why?" he asked. "Well," they said—and apparently this was said without irony—"we haven't done anything wrong." We can see a lot of self-esteem here, but little self-awareness.[2]
We may feel good about ourselves. But what if God thinks we've done wrong, a lot of wrong, and not much right? What if he wants to talk to us about it because he also has a remedy for us? What if he can see that our self-protection is really self-imprisonment? God lovingly confronts us with truths embarrassing enough to save us.
What is conviction of sin? It is not an oppressive spirit of uncertainty or paralyzing guilt feelings. Conviction of sin is the lance of the divine Surgeon piercing the infected soul, releasing the pressure, letting the infection pour out. Conviction of sin is a health-giving injury. Conviction of sin is the Holy Spirit being kind to us by confronting us with the light we don't want to see and the truth we're afraid to admit and the guilt we prefer to ignore. Conviction of sin is the severe love of God overruling our compulsive dishonesty, our willful blindness, our favorite excuses. Conviction of sin is the violent sweetness of God opposing the sins lying comfortably undisturbed in our lives. Conviction of sin is the merciful God declaring war on the false peace we settle for. Conviction of sin is our escape from malaise to joy, from attending church to worship, from faking it to authenticity. Conviction of sin, with the forgiveness of Jesus pouring over our wounds, is life.
In Isaiah chapter 1, God is telling us the truth about ourselves. Let's not be fooled by our polished appearances and our stylish theories of the darling self. They'll be the death of us. The unflattering portrait of Isaiah 1 is God's way of disturbing us until we start asking the courageous Godward questions that can breathe life back into us.
_Ortlund, R. C., Jr., & Hughes, R. K. (2005). Isaiah: God saves sinners (pp. 24–26). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
–––––––––
1 Paul Tournier, Escape From Loneliness (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1962), p. 163.
2 William Kilpatrick, "Faith & Therapy," First Things, February 1999, p. 23.
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Isaiah 1:2–2:9 (KJV)
2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: For the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, And they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox knoweth his owner, And the ass his master's crib: But Israel doth not know, My people doth not consider.
4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, A seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: They have forsaken the Lord, They have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, They are gone away backward.
5 Why should ye be stricken any more? Ye will revolt more and more: The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; But wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: They have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
7 Your country is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire: Your land, strangers devour it in your presence, And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, As a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, As a besieged city.
9 Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, We should have been as Sodom, And we should have been like unto Gomorrah.