by the Rev. CHARLES G. FINNEY
Modernized by Cliff Collins
“Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.” (Romans 8:7)
The
law that is mentioned here is the moral law; or that law that requires everyone
to love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and body, and their neighbor as
themselves. The Apostle Paul states, as
a fact, that the carnal mind is enmity against God, and for that reason, it
will not submit to the law of God. In
other words, the carnal mind does not obey the law of God; neither can it obey
God’s law as long as it continues to be opposed to God. Enmity against God is a deep-seated hatred
of God. Paul does not claim that a sinner
cannot love God, but that a carnal mind cannot love God; because to state that
a carnal mind can love God; is the same as saying that enmity can be love. In speaking from this passage:
I.
I will show what the carnal mind does not mean.
II.
I will show what the carnal mind, as used in our passage today, means.
III.
All men who have not been born by the Spirit of God have a carnal mind.
IV.
This carnal mind is enmity against God.
I.
I will show what the carnal mind does not mean.
1.
The carnal mind does not mean that any part of the substance of our soul or
body has a natural, deep-seated hatred towards God.
2.
The carnal mind does not mean that there is anything in our physical or mental
constitution, or in the substance of our body or mind, that is opposed to
God. Our mind is not saturated, or
soaked with hatred for God.
3.
Nor does it mean that our mind or body is so constructed that, from the way
that God has created us, we are naturally opposed to God.
4.
The carnal mind does not mean that we have appetites or tendencies that are
constitutional, which naturally hate God.
5.
Nor does the carnal mind mean that all unconverted men experience emotions of
enmity or hatred towards God. A
deep-seated hatred can exist in our mind, either as something we willfully
choose to do, or as just an emotion.
When it is a willful hatred of God, we have an ongoing aversion to God’s
character and government that may be so deep and hidden, that although it may
have a continuous influence over our conduct, we may not be emotionally aware
that we have any deep-seated hatred towards God at all.
When
enmity exists in the form of an emotion, then it constitutes what we call a
feeling of hatred towards God. Enmity
then becomes something that we are aware of.
I said that enmity might exist in our will as a settled aversion to
God. Enmity can have an abiding
influence over our conduct leading us to treat God as an enemy, without that
enmity rising into an emotion that we may feel, and become something that we
are aware of. Emotions exist in our
mind only when there are those objects before our mind that are designed to
produce those emotions: and one of the main reasons why sinners don’t have
emotions of hatred to God more frequently is because they seldom think about
God. God is rarely in their thoughts. And when they do think about God, they don’t
think about Him as He really is. They
deceive themselves with worthless imaginations, they hide from their own view
His real character, and this covers up their enmity.
II.
I will show what the carnal mind, as it is used in our passage today,
means. The proper translation of this
text, is, the minding of the flesh is enmity against God. This is a voluntary state of mind. It is that state of supreme selfishness that
all men are in before their conversion to God.
Humans
are probably not born in a selfish state of mind, but they appear to develop
this state of mind soon after birth.
They make the gratification of their appetites the supreme object of
their desires and pursuits, and selfishness quickly becomes the law of their
lives; or that law in their members that wars against the law of their minds,
that the apostle Paul mentions.
They
conform their whole lives, and all their actions to this one rule of action,
which they have established for themselves.
Their will of action is nothing more than voluntary selfishness. This willful selfishness is a controlling
and abiding preference for self-gratification above the commandments,
authority, and glory of God.
Please
understand and never forget that the carnal mind, as mentioned by the apostle
Paul, is not the physical mind itself but is a voluntary action of one’s
mind. In other words, it is not any
part of one’s mind, or body, but it is a choice or preference of the mind. It is, a minding of the flesh. It prefers self-gratification to obedience
to God.
The
constitutional appetites of both our body and our mind are not wicked or evil
all by themselves; but making their gratification our goal in life, is enmity
against God. This is the direct
opposite of the character and the requirements of God. God requires us to subordinate all our
physical and mental appetites to His glory, and to aim at honoring and
glorifying Him. To love Him with all
our hearts, to bring the powers of our body and mind under obedience to the law
of love: and whatever we do, whether we eat or drink, we should do all to the
glory of God. Now the carnal mind, or
the minding of our flesh, is the direct opposite of this. The carnal mind pursues, as its goal, the
direct opposite of the requirements and character of God. This goal is a choice, a preference, an
abiding temper, or disposition of our mind; which consists in our determination
to gratify self, and to make self-gratification the high and supreme object of
everything that we pursue.
III.
Before conversion, everyone is in this state of enmity against God. The Bible speaks of men, as possessing by
nature, one common heart, or disposition.
This text does not say that the carnal minds of some people are enmity
against God; but that the carnal mind is enmity against God. In another passage, God says, “Every
imagination of the thoughts of their heart, (not hearts) is only evil
continually.” (Gen 6:5) Another passage says, “Truly the hearts of
the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live,
and after that they go to the dead”.
(Eccl 9:3) Indeed, unconverted
men throughout the Bible are mentioned as having one common heart; and we see
that what the Bible says true. This is
a fact that we can observe in this world around us. Go throughout the whole human race, from the sensitive female who
faints at the sight of blood to the hardened terrorist whose eyes flash with
fire, and present to them all the claims of God and the Gospel of His Son. Require them to repent and give their hearts
to God, and they will all claim that they are unable. Go to the refined and unrefined; the learned and unlearned; the
high and low; the rich and poor; the old and young; male and female; bond and
free, from every country and of every race; and you will not be able to persuade
one of them to embrace the Gospel without the intervention of the Holy
Ghost. Not one! Now, how can we possibly account for this
well-known fact? Because no matter how
much the external behavior of different individuals may be modified by circumstances,
no matter how much personalities may differ through education, temperament, the
state of the nervous system, and many other considerations; they still possess
the same disposition, and they will all, with one consent, begin to make
excuses for not loving and obeying God.
IV.
This carnal mind, or minding of the flesh, is enmity against God.
In
my last message on depravity, I tried to demonstrate, by an appeal to facts,
that unconverted people do not love God.
The
first point I will now establish is that impenitent sinners hate God.
I
will pursue the same method as I did in my last lecture, and I will appeal to
the same sources for proof, and go into the same field and gather facts, to
establish the truth of this position, which I did when I proved that people do
not love God. My appeal is to the
well-known laws of our mind, as we see them develop in everyday transactions.
1.
We are naturally pleased with those things that displease our enemies. Hatred is ill will. Therefore, whatever displeases, or is not
according to the wishes of our enemy, gratifies our ill will. You cannot say that we hate somebody, and
yet we have no satisfaction in things that displeases him. That would be the same thing as saying that
gratifying our desires does not please us.
We see this law of our mind develop, not only in our own situation, but
in the feelings of those people around us.
Look at that man, if something happens that is detrimental to his enemy,
he can’t hide the pleasure he gets out of what happened to his enemy. If the same event has also injured himself,
and he is in some way a partaker in the common calamity, yet, if it has done
more damage to his bitter enemy, he feels satisfied with what has happened, and
considers the ruin of his enemy to be more than compensation for his own
loss. He does not mind bearing the
portion that has fallen on him, as long as it has overwhelmed the man that he
so deeply hates. Now, no matter what he
may say, no matter how much he may pretend to hide the satisfaction that he
feels in what happened to his enemy; yet it remains certain, that his hatred is
satisfied, that he really, in his heart, takes pleasure in an event that has
satisfied his malignant opposition to his enemy.
We
see this same mental law, developing itself towards God. Sinners manifest the greatest pleasure in
sin. They live and move in sin. They roll it as a sweet morsel under their
tongue. They drink in iniquity like
water. They even wear themselves out
committing iniquity. They not only do
these things themselves, but they also enjoy seeing others commit sin. The same things that are the most
displeasing to God are the most pleasing to them. And the things that are the most pleasing to God are the most
displeasing to them. They love what God
hates, and hate what God loves. This
demonstrates that they are in a state of mind that is the direct opposite of
the character and will of God. The
whole tendency, direction, and inclination of their minds are the direct opposite
of God’s requirements; and demonstrate their hatred against Him. This is matter of fact.
We
are naturally pleased, when we see the friends of our enemy forsake and
dishonor him. If a man hates another
man, and the children, or a friend of this enemy of his does something to
grieve, dishonor, or injure his enemy in any way, the man may say that he
regrets it; but if he says or pretends to regret it, he is a hypocrite. I promise you, that he generally rejoices in
what has happened to his enemy because he hates his enemy. He rejoices in what has happened because it
satisfies his hatred. You see this same
mental law manifesting itself just as strongly and as uniformly towards the
blessed God. When those who claim that
they are friends of God forsake His cause, and do anything to dishonor God, you
can easily see that impenitent sinners are happy when they find out about
it. They will excitedly talk about it;
and while Christians mention it with sorrow, weep over what has happened, and
fall on their knees praying that God will wipe away the damage that these
people have done to God, it will become the song of the drunks, and the wicked
in bars, and on street corners. They
will laugh at it, and rejoice over it.
We
likely see, and magnify the faults of the friends of our enemies. Politicians will scrutinize, looking for the
faults of the friends and supporters of their opposing candidate. How eagle-eyed that person is in searching
out all the shortcomings of those people who support his enemy. Politicians and others, will not only see
their real faults, but they will also greatly magnify those faults, and dwell
on them until they fill everybody’s field of vision. They focus their attention so much on their faults, that they
forget that those people have any virtues.
Their faults appear so great and overwhelming that whenever they display
anything that appears like virtue, they think that they are phony.
Now,
you see this same spirit often manifesting itself towards God. With a searching and an evil gaze, the eyes
of unconverted men are focused on those who say that they are friends of
God. How eagerly they notice every one
of their faults! How enormously they
magnify them, and how quickly they want to believe that every appearance of
virtue in them is bigotry and hypocrisy!
We
tend to misinterpret the motives, and put the worst construction on the conduct
of the enemies of our friends. If they
are favoring the interests, and trying to promote the happiness of our hated
enemy, we look at all their conduct using biased and warped judgment. We often attribute the best things in them
to the worst motives; and those things in them that deserve the most praise, we
often treat as deserving the harshest rebuke.
Your knowledge, of your own hearts and the way people around you behave,
will instantly provide more than enough proof of what I say. This feature of human character often
develops itself towards God.
Frequently, we hear unrepentant sinners attributing the most
praiseworthy deeds of God’s professed friends to the most unworthy
motives. Often, Christian acts of great
self-denial, those things they do when they most humbly serve God and when they
most closely resemble God, are misrepresented and attributed to the most
selfish motives, and these good deeds become the very reasons they base their
stubborn opposition to them. It is
impossible to account for this on any other principle than the fact that, down
deep, they hate God; for the people against whom this hatred is vented, are
often complete strangers to them; individuals against whom they can have no
personal hostility. They definitely
don’t see their own behavior as hatred against God; they believe that their
concept of God demands these expressions of hatred. Their behavior reveals the cause they are engaged in and the
master whom they serve.
We
naturally shun the friends of our enemies.
We naturally avoid socializing with anybody we consider particularly
friendly to our enemy. Being with him
and having to talk to him annoys us. We
see this same spirit manifested by impenitent sinners toward the friends of
God. They avoid them. They feel uneasy when they are around
them. The presence of true Christians
seems to place restraints on sinners, and they cannot abuse God with quite as
much freedom when Christians are present.
They are therefore glad to avoid their company. How often do you observe unrepentant
sinners, in planning a party at a meeting hall or in a banquet room, so arrange
matters as to exclude a minister, or any devoted Christian from their
company. They feel uneasy when a
Christian is present, and the demonstrate the same behavior that we would see
if some distinguished friend of their greatest enemy came to the party. How can we account for this type of behavior
on any other principle, than that this behavior stems from a deep down hatred
of God? They may not even know these
ministers or professing Christians; they may never have had any
misunderstandings with them, nor do they have any personal controversy with
them. Their rejection of Christians can
only be because of the cause that Christians are engaged in. It is because the Christian loves and serves
God, that they want to avoid them.
We
naturally admire; in fact we even magnify the virtues and overlook the vices of
the enemies of those we hate. How
enthusiastic and quick a politician is to admire the talents, wisdom, and
virtues of those who take sides with him, and are opposed to the election of
his political enemy. He considers the
fact that that person has an enemy as evidence of wisdom as long as that person
is opposed to the same man that he is opposed to. He is inclined to exaggerate the number, the talents, and the
influence of those who are opposed to his enemy. If he hears about a few people that oppose him, and among them
are some who have more than ordinary talents; he tends to imagine that almost
everybody is opposed to him, especially the talented and virtuous part of the
community. He thinks that nobody favors
him but the weak, the servile, and the interested.
The
same is true concerning religion. How
often do you hear unrepentant sinners boasting about the talents, the numbers,
and the virtues of other sinners, and those that claim that they have little or
no religion? They boast about the
excellent characters, the high standing, and the great influence of the leaders
among secular people. While, at the
same time, they depreciate both the numbers and the talents of the friends of
God. They often consider them as
sickly, bigoted, and too religious: and they come to these conclusions without
any definite knowledge of how many Christians there really are, their
characters, or their influence. What is
this, but the manifestation of hatred against God, and the cause that that
Christians love?
We
naturally hate to think about our enemies.
The way our human mind is composed, evil emotions distress our mind, and
them become the source of our misery.
Whenever we focus our thoughts by thinking about someone we hate, those
evil emotions, which our conscience condemns, will naturally rise up within us
and produce misery. For this reason,
unless it is for the purpose of studying revenge, or in some way to gratify our
hatred, we naturally turn our thoughts away from an object that we hate. Meanwhile, we naturally dwell on an object
we love. We just as naturally avoid
thinking about objects we hate. Let’s
now look at how this mental law develops in how it acts towards God. Sinners banish God from their thoughts. They are “unwilling to retain God in their
knowledge” (Rom 1:28); and if at any
time the thought of God enters their mind, they become uneasy, and they
immediately divert their attention away from God. If they are really convinced that they are sinners and are in
danger of God’s wrath, their selfish regard for their own happiness may lead
them to reflect, and persuade them to think about God, for the purpose of
devising some means of escaping God’s just wrath.
We
don’t like to talk about those people and things that we hate, and unless it is
to make false statements about someone and to pour forth our hostility against
them, we would rather keep our mouths shut say nothing about them. You often hear someone say about his enemy,
“I don’t even want to talk about him”.
As I showed earlier, we love to talk about our friends, because talking
about our friends immediately enkindles and expresses our love for them. Such conversation gratifies us. But we hate to talk about our enemies. Although there is a kind of satisfaction in
giving vent to our enmity, it is, at the same time, the source and the essence
of our pain. Who has not witnessed this
law of our mind manifested on the subject of religion? Who does not know that sinners don’t like to
talk about God? They rarely talk about
Him, and if they do, they are reserved, and talk in a manner that shows that
they have no pleasure in it. The truth
is, such conversation gives them pain.
We
are naturally pained to hear our enemy praised. For example, here is a group of ladies and gentlemen, and all of
them but one are particularly friendly to a distinguished and absent
individual. The other one is his bitter
enemy. His enmity, however, is unknown
to the rest of the group, and they, of course, start talking about their friend
during their conversation. They spend
time enthusiastically praising their absent friend, and are delighted with the
common bond of sympathy that exists among them on this subject. But notice the embarrassment and distress of
this enemy. While they, without paying
any attention to his agony, continue talking about their friend in the most
favorable light, this enemy is filled with irrepressible distress and
indignation. He looks at his watch;
takes out some gum; walks to the window; tries to read a newspaper; paces up
and down the room: tries to divert the attention of the company, and tries to
introduce some other topic of conversation.
Now, suppose that one of the ladies turns to him and asks for his
opinion because she notices his mind seems to be wandering, and he is not
enjoying the conversation. If he is a
gentleman, he may try to be very polite to the lady, and try to evade an answer
to her question. But suppose she
presses him, and questions his hesitancy until his conduct attracts the
attention of the other members of the group.
Suddenly, the attention of the whole group is focused on him, and they
insist that he expresses his opinion.
Now, even in spite of his manners, he will most likely manifest the
hatred in his heart, and clearly reveal to the group his intense feelings of
hatred.
Under
similar circumstances, you may often witness the manifestation of hatred
against God. Let a company of
Christians, on a train, or on a cruise, engage in conversation on their
favorite topic. Let them talk about
Jesus Christ; and after a warm conversation, let them appeal to those
unrepentant sinners that are around them, for an expression of their
opinion. Or if, in public, the
Christians propose to conclude their fellowship together with prayer, how often
are sinners offended? Go and visit a
family, some of whose members are Christians, and others not. Sit down and talk warmly with the pious wife
on the subject of religion in the presence of her husband and unconverted
family. Look around the house. Do you see how they are looking at you? Perhaps one will walk out one door, and
another may walk out into another room, and if any of the unrepentant remain,
turn and direct your conversation to one of them. If it is the husband, perhaps he will almost forget that he is a
gentleman, and abuse you to your face.
Perhaps he will say that his religion is a matter between him and
God. He may criticize you for your rude
behavior. That it is none of your
business, and he is not happy that you came to his house to disturb him and his
family on the subject of religion. Now,
why does he consider this a disturbance?
Why does he look on it as being rude?
Why is he so upset? Certainly,
he has no reason to fear that you will harm him or his family. If he loved the subject of religion, and loved
God, isn’t it certain that he would thank you for your visit, and be happy with
the conversation? This proves that he
hates God and religion when he considers the friendly introduction of religion
into his household as intrusive and vexing.
We
naturally become upset and skeptical when we hear about the prosperity of our
enemy. If we hear that our enemy is
gaining friends, popularity, property, or influence, it distresses us. We don’t want to believe it. And, if there is any room for doubt, we are
sure to raise our doubts on every debatable point. See that man with his hypocritical face; he has heard about the
prosperity of his enemy, and he says that he rejoices in it. But he only mentions it on occasions when he
cannot avoid it; and then he will only pretend to rejoice in it. However, a discerning mind will observe the
spirit and manner of his conversation and see the deep hypocrisy of his
heart. But if there is a possibility of
calling the truth of what he heard into question, he will latch onto the
littlest seed of doubt to disbelieve what he heard altogether. You will find him dwelling on, and greatly
magnifying, any little circumstance that will make what he heard improbable;
while he depreciates and hides the weighty considerations that demonstrate its
truth. Who has not witnessed this
principle exhibited on the subject of religion? Let reports of religious prosperity and great revivals circulate
through the community. See how
Universalists and other impenitent sinners will manifest uneasiness, and try to
disprove all of it. They will question
the evidence, and try to pour contempt on the report; and on those who believe
it. They cannot believe that so many have
been converted. “You will see”, they
say, “that those professed converts will all go back again, and be worse than
ever.” “The reports”, say they, “are
greatly exaggerated, and if there are any Christians in these revivals, there
are probably ten hypocrites to one Christian”.
Such facts as these speak for themselves. They manifest a state of mind that nobody can mistake. They are boiling over with enmity against
God.
We
naturally hate efforts to promote the interests of our enemies. We will probably object at the measures that
they use. We call their motives into
question; and find a great deal of fault with the spirit and manner of their
efforts when we are opposed to the end that they have in view. If it is to promote the interests of our
enemy, we are naturally looking for objections, and are cautious, and
ill-natured concerning their movements.
We will likely ridicule and oppose such efforts; and we consider
anything like zeal as enthusiasm and madness.
Now, let’s look at the conduct of sinners towards religion. If any efforts are made to promote the
interests of the kingdom of God and to honor and glorify Him, they are
offended. They rise up in
opposition. They often ridicule
Christian meetings. They speak evil of
those who attend them. They denounce
Christian zeal as enthusiasm and madness; and something that deserves the
hatred of all their neighbors. People
may get together, drink, and party all night long, and sinners don’t think that
it is objectionable. The nightclub may
be open every night at great expense, the singers and many others may be
engaged all day in preparing for the evening’s entertainment; thus the devil
may sponsor a series of meetings that continues nightly for years, and they see
no harm in it. Ladies may go and stay
out until midnight every night. Poor
people may go and spend their time and money, waste their health and lives, and
ruin their souls; and they never object to any of this. But let Christians do anything like this,
and exercise one tenth as much zeal in promoting the honor of God and the salvation
of souls; why, it would be talked about from Dan to Beersheba. Sinners may go to a ball, or party, or a
bar, and stay out nearly all night long; but how awful it is for women to go
out to evening church meetings.
Imagine! Christians having a
series of meetings and praying until 10 o’clock at night! Abominable!
Why, I have seen such things spoken against in newspaper articles! They are subjects that are talked about and
ridiculed on boats, trains, in barrooms, and wherever unrepentant sinners are
assembled.
Politicians
may demonstrate the greatest zeal concerning politics. They hold their caucuses. They post their handbills. They place editorials in public journals and
newspapers. They appoint their
ward-committees. They ransack every
nook and cranny, parade through the streets with their music, fire their guns,
show their flags, haul their floats through the streets on wheels, and send
their vehicles up and down the streets with handbills posted on their sides to
bring men to the polls. Millions of
dollars may be spent to win an election, and all this is just fine. But, Oh, let Christians, begin to serve God
with the same kind of zeal, and make as much effort to build up God’s kingdom,
and save the souls of men; and I would be surprised if the wicked did not mob
them, and cry out that such efforts would ruin the nation. They would brand such activities as the most
overly enthusiastic, even downright madness.
Is
it because politics are so much more important than the salvation of
souls? Is it, because no effort is
necessary to arouse a slumbering world, and bring sinners to act, think, and
feel as they should on the subject of salvation. No! There is plenty of
reason for the most serious and intense Christian effort, and sinners know it
very well; but their hatred against God is so great that such efforts cannot be
made without arousing all the hell there is within them.
We
easily believe bad news about someone we hate.
If a man hears any bad news about an enemy, he believes it on the
slightest amount of evidence. He doesn’t
want to ask if the report is reliable, but he eagerly listens to every word of
gossip and willingly accepts almost any and every falsehood that helps blacken
the reputation of his enemy. The reason
for this is that his ill will is satisfied with those kinds of reports. He wants those rumors to be true, and
therefore easily believes them. We
often see this feature of the human heart developing itself on the subject of
religion. Sinners eagerly listen to
every false and slanderous report that may circulate about the friends of
God. It is surprising to see what
absurd and ridiculous things they will believe. They show the sincerest desire to believe the worst things about those
who say they are friends of God. It is
amazing to see the hatred in their hearts manifesting itself to such a degree
that often, there is nothing too absurd, ridiculous, and contradictory for them
to believe if it has a tendency to cast contempt and ridicule on the cause of
God.
We
naturally love to share and spread any evil report about our enemies. We desire to have others feel towards them
as we do. We are happy to hear and to
circulate those rumors that harm the enemy we hate. Listen to that man. He
meets with his neighbor and says, “Have you heard what that individual said or
did?” “No, I have not.” “Ah, I thought you already knew about it, or
I wouldn’t have said anything about it”.
Now hear him dive into the whole subject, relate, and aggravate every
little detail that he has heard, maybe add a few little touches of his own, and
comment on them as he goes along. After
exhausting the subject, he closes by saying “I hope you will not mention this,
but it is true”. Then he moves on. Later he comes across another neighbor and
tells him the same things as if it is a big secret. Again, he hopes his neighbor will keep his mouth shut, but he
still thinks the fact cannot be disputed.
Everywhere
he goes, he does and says the same thing.
He hopes these rumors will not spread to the person himself and harm
him. Isn’t what happened so sad and
unfortunate? He is truly sorry that any
such thing has happened. In all this,
he is a hypocrite, and he knows it. He
is glad the event has happened, and he delights to tell everybody he can about
it. He enjoys the exclusive privilege
of being the one to carry the knowledge of the situation to every door. How often do we witness this same principle
used against God. If something takes
place that is disgraceful among the professed friends of God and damages the
interests of religion, how ready sinners are to give it universal publicity.
They
will talk about it, publish it every chance they get, announce it in distant
newspapers and public newsletters, and send it in every direction on the wings
of the wind. If anyone becomes deranged
in connection with a religious revival, alas, they make a terrible fuss about
it. Thirty thousand citizens of the
United States may die every year using alcohol. Drugs may result in untold damage to lives and families. Homicide, and suicide, and all manner of
abominations may be the result of selling alcohol, and yet the indignation of
sinners is not aroused. However, if
some nervous individual becomes deranged, in view of his abominable crimes
against his Maker, in connection with a revival or an extended meeting; the
press groans under the burden of the sad complaints that are poured out on the
public ear.
2.
Impenitent sinners hate God with MORTAL HATRED.
That
is, if they had the power, sinners would destroy His very existence. Probably very few sinners are aware that
they have this degree of hatred towards God, and you may be shocked at my
statement. Nevertheless, it is
true! There are several reasons why
they don’t know that their heart is in such a state. Most of them have never even dared to entertain feelings of
hatred towards God. Many don’t desire
to destroy God, because they don’t think that destroying God is possible. Sinners never plan or desire to do many things
because they never think that it is possible.
Does anybody here plan to become a king? Have you ever entertained any thoughts of being a king? Have you ever felt any ambition to be a
king? You probably never have because
you don’t think that it is possible.
Suppose a throne, a crown, and a scepter, were placed right in front of
you; and the robe of royalty was handed over to you for you to accept; do you
now think that you have enough incentive to want to be a king. Suppose that, after you accept the crown,
and swayed the scepter over one nation, you had the opportunity to extend your
empire, and make your dominion universal over all nations. Don’t you believe that you would instantly
desire to do it? And now, suppose that
after all the governments of this world became subject to your scepter; you
were offered the opportunity to extend your dominion over the entire universe
of worlds, and if you thought that it is possible, you would include God
Himself under your control. Are you too
good, under such circumstances, to aim at exercising dominion over the universe
and over God himself? Sinners, who
would trust the best sinner among you?
You don’t know your hearts if you think that under such circumstances
there would be any limit to your ambition.
Sinner,
you do not realize the greatness of your hatred against God, because, so far,
God has let you go unpunished, and you don’t believe that God will send you to
hell for your sins. If God will let you
have your own way, as long as He does not interfere to punish you for your
sins, or disturb you from your sinning ways, your hatred remains comparatively
at rest. But who among you would not
rise up and murder Him if you had the power, if He should attempt to punish you
for your sins.
No,
they would rather see God in hell, than consent that He should justly deal with
them in justice.
It
is clear that the enmity of sinners against God is MORTAL from the fact that
they are in rebellion against Him, and in league with devils to oppose His
government and undermine His throne.
Sinners do not obey God. The
whole weight of their influence and example is opposed to His government. They do everything under the circumstances
they are in to annihilate His authority and destroy His government. Rebellion is always aimed at the life of the
sovereign they are rebelling against, and it is impossible for sinners to be
more absolutely in rebellion against God than they already are.
This
question has already been tested. God
once placed Himself in the hands of men.
The second person in the Godhead took to Himself a human nature, and placed
His human nature at the mercy of men.
And what happened? They did not
rest until they had murdered Him. Do
you say, that those who murdered Christ were Jews? Do you say that you have a different spirit? This has always been a favorite plea of sinners.
The
ancient Jews persecuted and murdered the prophets. The Jews of Christ's day claimed that they honored the prophets
and built their sepulchers. These Jews
insisted that, if they had lived in the days of the prophets, they would not
have persecuted them. But they
persecuted and murdered Christ; and Christ Himself informs them, that by
persecuting Him, they showed that they approved of the deeds of their
fathers. Now sinner, suppose that you
lived under a monarchy. Suppose your
fathers had rebelled against the rightful king, and placed one of their friends
on the throne. You are their
children. And although you did not
participate in the original rebellion, yet now you maintain the same ground
that they took. You support an
imposter, and you refuse to obey your rightful sovereign. Now, is not this, in law and in equity, for
all practical purposes, justifying the conduct of your fathers; partaking in
their crimes, incurring the same guilt, and deserving the same
condemnation. Suppose, you did not
originally murder Christ; still, isn’t it true, that you now refuse to obey Him
as your rightful sovereign. By
withholding your service and your heart from Jesus Christ, you support the
authority of Satan, who has usurped the government of this world by refusing to
repent. Don’t you, for all practical
purposes, become a partaker in the crime of those who murdered Christ? He claimed their obedience; and they rose up
and washed their hands in His blood. He
claims your obedience, you completely refuse it; and thus, you show that you
approve of the deeds of those who rose up and murdered Jesus. It shows that, if Christ were alive today,
and His destiny were in your power, rather than submit to His authority, you
would murder Him again. This conduct makes
you in the eye of common law, a partaker in their crime. In the eye of conscience, of reason, and of
common sense; in the eye of God and in the judgment of heaven, earth, and hell,
you are guilty of the blood of Christ, and this demonstration proves, that if
it were in your power, you would dethrone and murder the Almighty.
3.
Sinners hate God supremely.
That
is, they hate Him more than they hate anything, everything, anybody, and
everybody else in the universe. Don’t
be shocked at this. Don’t think that
this is a rash and extravagant statement.
It is a sober, but an awful truth.
Look at this. All other hatred
can be overcome by kindness. The
greatest enemy you have on earth may subdue your hatred by kindness, and win
you over, and you become his friend.
But how can it be that all the kindness of God, kindness that is
infinitely greater than any human being has had in his power to show you, has
not overcome your enmity, but you still remain in rebellion against Him.
A
mere change of circumstances, in any other situation where hatred exists, will
change your heart. For example, suppose
we have two political opponents; between whom a hereditary hatred exists. Their fathers were bitter enemies. They have always been enemies. They have both believed and spoken nothing
but evil against each other. Now, let a
change of politics bring them both on the same side of a political question,
and they instantly become friends. Let
them have an opportunity to play into each other's hands. Let both their hearts be set on the election
of the same candidate and see how cordially they will co-operate. See how warmly they will take each other by
the hand. They will walk, sit, dine
together; and even attend political meetings together. They will defend each other’s reputation;
they will magnify each other’s virtues, and throw the kind mantle of charity
over each other’s vices. And all this
they will do heartily. Their real feelings
towards each other are changed. Their
hearts are really changed towards each other, and they can truly say, that
although they were once mortal enemies, they now love each other. They are the best of friends.
All
this has taken place simply because of a change of circumstances, without any
interference by the Holy Ghost. Let the
President of the United States appoint his greatest political opponent to the
first office in his cabinet, and he makes him his friend. Suppose the greatest enemy of the president
in this city, who has said and done more than any man in the United States to
prevent his election, should be reduced to poverty, and had no means to support
himself and his family. Now suppose,
when the news of his plight reaches the president, he appoints that man to a
post of high honor that also pays very well, wouldn’t this change his
heart? Would he complain that he could
not become the president’s friend until the Holy Ghost somehow miraculously
changes his heart? No. Such kindness from the president would be
like pouring coals of fire on his head.
It would melt him down in an instant.
It would change the whole current of his soul.
Here
you are today. All the offers of heaven
and all the threats of hell are poured out on you. All of God’s boundless love and compassion is manifested in
giving His only begotten and well beloved Son to die for you. Mercy stoops down from heaven with bleeding
hands and offers to save you. Hell
roars from beneath and threatens to devour you when God approaches you with a
world of moving, melting motives gathered from earth, heaven, hell, and rolls
their mountain-sized weight right on top of you. How can it happen that none of these considerations will change
your heart, unless the Holy Ghost makes these considerations effective?
If
men did not hate God supremely, they would INSTANTLY REPENT.
Suppose,
that when you go home tonight, at the deep hour of midnight; when you are all
asleep in an upstairs bedroom of your
house; suddenly, the cry of fire wakes you up.
You look up, and find your house completely wrapped in flames. Fire rages all around you. You jump from your bed, and find the hot
floor under your feet just about ready to give way. The roof over your head is beginning to give way, and ready to
fall in on you with a crash. Your
little ones wake up, and they are screaming and clinging to your pajamas. You see no way to escape. In this moment of unutterable anguish and
despair, someone comes dashing through the flames with his hair and clothes on
fire. He seizes you in your fear with
one hand, and he puts his strong arm around your little ones and gathers them
close to him, and, risking his life, he rushes through the flames and down the
stairs to safety. You faint in
terror. In a few moments, you open your
eyes. You are lying in the street, and
find yourself supported in the arms of your deliverer. He is rubbing your temples with a moist
towel and fanning you, to gently ease you back into consciousness.
You
look up and see the scorched and smoky features of the person who rescued
you. It turns out, that the person who
rescued you is the person you have supremely hated. He smiles in your face, and says, “Please do not fear, your
children are all alive; they are both here, standing next to you”. Now, would you, could you look coldly at
him, and say, “Oh I wish I could repent because I have hated you so much, but I
can’t. I wish I could be sorry for my
sin against you.” Could you say
that? No! If you could, you would instantly roll over on your face, wash
his feet with your tears, and wipe them with the hair on your head. This scene would change your heart in a
moment, and after this, the name of that man would be music in your ears. If you heard him slandered, or saw him
abused, you would rise up with grief and indignation. You would immediately tell that slanderer how loving and kind
that person is.
And
now, sinner, how come you complain that you cannot repent of your sins against
God? Look! See His loving kindness and His tender mercy. How can you look up? How can you not repent? How can you keep from dissolving in
broken-hearted penitence at His blessed feet?
Look at His bleeding hands! See
His wounded side! Listen! Hear His deep dying groan, when He cries,
“it is finished”, and gives up His life for your sins. Sinner, is your heart like marble or
cement? Is your heart that
unyielding? Has your heart been
casehardened in the fires of hell? Is
that why you don’t repent? Surely,
nothing but hatred, as deep as hell itself, can be proof against God’s
infinitely moving inducements to repent.
But
perhaps you will say that you do not like to hear about hell and damnation,
that you love mercy, and if ministers would present the love and mercy of God,
and present God as a God of mercy, then sinners would love Him. But, this is not true. Sinners are just as opposed to God’s mercy,
as they are to any of His other attributes.
This is matter of fact and everyday experience. Listen!
What is that outcry I hear? I
can hear a large crowd of people crying, “crucify Him, crucify Him”! It is carried down the winds of time, and we
can faintly hear it from a distance of more than 1800 years! Why, God has revealed His mercy and the
whole world is outraged against him.
Jesus Christ came on the kind errand of saving a lost and dying world,
and the world rises up to silence Him.
Mercy is the very attribute of God that the whole human race violently
opposes. For thousands of years, the
sword of vindictive justice has slept in its sheath, and God has been unfolding
and holding out His attribute of mercy.
All
the opposition in the world, all the opposition to God, and to religion, is
aimed particularly at His mercy. What
is Christianity? What is the Bible? What are religious revivals? What are all those things that have caused
so much opposition on earth and in hell?
Only demonstrations of the mercy of the blessed God! When justice ascends the throne, the
faultfinding mouths of sinners will be stopped. Justice, will soon silence the turmoil and the loud opposition of
sinners against their Maker. Then,
every mouth shall be stopped, and the whole world will be found guilty before
God. Now, God dispenses His mercy; and
the whole earth is outraged against it.
And why are you such a hypocrite by pretending to love the mercy of
God. If you truly love God’s mercy, why
don’t you accept it? If you love a God
of mercy, why haven’t all the moving manifestations of God’s mercy that have
passed before you melted you down and subdued your heart? O sinner, sinner, don’t say one more proud
word! Don’t boast that you love any
attribute of God, because as long as you remain impenitent and you say you love
Him, you are a liar, and the truth is not in you.
REMARKS.
1.
You can now see why Universalists and other sinners get so upset with religious
revivals. It is because God manifests
Himself so boldly in exercising His mercy.
They cannot bear such a manifestation of God. It disturbs and stirs up
all the sediment and lurking enmity that lies deep at the bottom of their
hearts. These professed friends of God
and men, as soon as God displays Himself, and men become the recipients of His
mercy; they are greatly offended by it.
2.
Can you now see the importance of preaching clearly and frequently about the
hatred of sinners’ hearts against God?
There is, and has been for ages, a noticeable defect in presenting this
most important subject. Ministers seem
to have been afraid to charge people in their audiences with being enemies of
God. Before I was converted, I never
heard this doctrine mentioned, not even once, in such a way that I understood
it. Many ministers seem to think that
total depravity consists in nothing more than the simple absence of love to
God.
The
church does not seem to realize, or believe, that the carnal mind is absolute
enmity against God, even though there is no other truth more clearly taught in
God’s word, or more unanswerably evident from events that take place around us
every day; yet so few sinners have been made to see and believe it. I have talked with people hundreds of times
who have sat under Gospel preaching their whole lives, and who never had been
made to see this fundamental truth of the Gospel.
The
need for a new birth and the influence of the Holy Spirit, are based on on this
truth. Without understanding and
believing that the carnal mind hates God, how can we expect the world to be
converted to God?
3.
From this subject, we see that if sinners took an oath proclaiming they hate
God, it would not make it any more obvious.
If every person in the universe should take an oath that the sun shines
at noon, it would not add one particle of evidence to the fact that the sun
shines, or make it any more obvious to others.
The fact that the sun shines is a simple matter of fact, and we can have
no higher testimony of that fact than our own senses. In the same way, it is matter of fact that sinners are enemies of
God. They act it out, for everybody to
see. It is as obvious, as the fact that
they exist. How it ever came to be
questioned, or forgotten, or overlooked, is, to me, most mysterious.
4.
As I said this morning, many professing Christians today could not make it more
obvious that they really are enemies of God, even if they should take an oath
declaring that they are truly enemies of God.
They speak out against revivals, and those engaged in promoting
them. They publicize the faults, real
or supposed, of those who are the friends of God. They slander, and manifest their opposition to God in so many
ways, that their hypocrisy and hatred against God can be clearly seen by many
around them.
5.
Those people, who do not realize by their own experience that they are enemies
of God, are not converted. In fact,
they haven’t even been truly convicted.
What have they repented of? Have
they repented merely of their outward sins?
This is impossible, unless they have understood, and condemned the
fountain of iniquity that all those abominations have come from. The source of their offending is the simple
fact that they have been enemies of God.
In fact, their paying attention to their flesh is enmity against God all
by itself. And how can they talk about
having repented, when they have never even known the origin of their
guilt? Impossible!
6.
Those sinners who deny that they are enemies of God will probably not be
converted until they confess that they have hated God. “He who covers his sins will not prosper,
but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” (Prov 28:13) Many people will admit that they are sinners, but they will deny
that they are enemies of God. Thus,
they cover up most of their sins, they acknowledge their outward acts of
wickedness, but they deny the hatred from which those acts flow. Beloved, as long as they do this, God will
never forgive them.
7.
These messages, that I have shared with you today, reveal a very different view
of total depravity than the view that regards depravity as something physical,
or constitutional, or something that belongs to the substance of our body or
mind. All depravity is voluntary, and
consists in voluntary transgressions.
Depravity is the sinners’ own willful act. It is his own decision.
It is something that he has created and he has a perfect control over,
and he is completely responsible for it.
Oh the darkness, the confusion, and the complete and total nonsense of
that view of depravity that presents it as something that lies behind and is
the cause of all actual transgressions.
Oh, how silly and damaging is the idea that depravity is something that
is created within the sinner, and he is born with it. Oh, how tragic it is to claim that depravity is some physical
pollution transmitted from Adam through the agency of God or the devil, or
somebody, before the sinner is old enough to exercise his free will; that this
physical pollution is sinful and it deserves God’s wrath. This is absurd and impossible.
In
fact, the idea that depravity is something that is placed in everyone who is
conceived is not only absurd and impossible, but is virtually
charging God with every sin that is committed in the world, and if you firmly
believe in this nonsense, you, turn repentance into something that is naturally
impossible. As long as the sinner
believes that he should be condemned not only for his conduct, but also for his
nature, and as long as the sinner believes that his conduct is the natural and
necessary result of a depraved constitution, and that God must change his
nature before he can obey his Maker, it is clearly impossible that he can
honestly blame himself for his sins. He
must not only cease to be a reasonable being, but he must throw away all his
common sense, before he can justify God and condemn himself on these
principles. It is not surprising that
those who maintain this view of depravity also maintain that sinners are unable
to repent. The truth is, based on these
principles and views of depravity, sinners cannot repent all by themselves; nor
can God make them repent. The only way
that God can bring a sinner, who believes this stuff, to repent is by
correcting his views. The only way that
God can bring him to repent is by showing him what sin is; and causing him to
see that it is because of his conduct, and not because of his nature, that he
must repent; and that it is his conduct and not his nature that needs
changing. Anyone who teaches physical
or constitutional depravity, not only teaches heresy and nonsense: but that
person leads the sinner to inevitably justify himself and condemn God. This makes repentance impossible, as long as
the sinner believes that he is physically or constitutionally depraved.
8.
You can see why sinners find it so hard to be religious. The problem is that they are unwilling to
give up their selfishness.
9.
You can’t reasonably pretend that what I have shared with you today denies
moral depravity. I have purposely
denied physical depravity; but certainly, today’s messages strongly maintain
moral depravity; and the sinner is entirely responsible for this moral
depravity. He must repent of it, in all
its length and breadth. It seems some
people think that denying that our nature is depraved all by itself virtually
denies all depravity. In other words,
they seem to think that denying that our nature is depraved, virtually denies
the guilty source of all our actual transgressions. I have tried to show you, that the cause of sin is not to be found
in a sinful constitution, or in a sinful nature, but in a wrong original
choice. The sinner prefers
self-gratification to the will of his Maker; and this choice becomes the
settled preference of his soul; and constitutes the deep fountain, from which flows
the putrid water of spiritual and eternal death. I am unable to see how you can call moral depravity anything that
either consists in a depraved physical constitution, or is the natural result
of it. Why should that be called moral
depravity? Certainly, a physical
depravity can have no relationship to moral law, that anyone can deserve
eternal punishment simply because they are physically depraved. It is indeed remarkable, that in the 19th
century, that if you call sin a transgression of the law and that it must be
the act of a voluntary agent, many will accuse you of heresy. Has it come to this: that those who
virtually deny all moral depravity, and virtually blame God with all the sin
that is in the world today; gravely complain that those who maintain moral
depravity in all its length and breadth but who deny a sinful physical or
constitutional depravity are heretics?
What’s next? If it is heresy to
say that sin is a transgression of the law, then the apostle Paul must have
been a heretic.
10.
From what I have shared with you today, it is clear that sinners must either be
annihilated, converted, or lost forever.
With a mind that hates God, it is impossible that they can be truly
happy. Infidels have no reason to sneer
at the doctrine of the new birth. If
Bibles did not exist, the doctrine of total depravity, as presented in today’s
messages, would still be established as fact.
And you cannot deny, that unless people pass through that change of
mind, that the Bible calls the new birth, or a change of heart, those people
must be annihilated or damned for all eternity.
11.
Sinners are not almost Christians. We
sometimes hear people say about some impenitent sinners, that they are almost
Christians. The truth is, the most
moral impenitent sinner in the world, is a lot closer to a devil than to a
Christian. Look at that sensitive young
woman! Is she an impenitent
sinner? Then, all she has to do is to
die, to reveal who she is closer to.
Any tragedy that destroys her life will make her a devil. No, she doesn’t need to be influenced to
turn her into a depraved individual; just remove all her restraints, and the
very enmity of hell will immediately boil over in her heart. Let God remove His supporting hand from
under her. Let Him hold back, for only
a moment, her breath of life, and she will open her eyes in eternity, and if
she dares, she will curse Him to His face.
12.
It would be impossible for sinners to enjoy heaven if they were permitted to go
there in their present state of mind. Break
down the body. Let their mind burst
forth into the presence of God. Let
them look around, behold His glories, and see “holiness to the Lord” inscribed
on everything around them. Let them
listen to the songs of praise. Let them
perch on the loftiest tower in heaven.
Let them hear the song of ‘holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty’, and so
great would be their enmity, if they were unconverted, that, if you allowed
them, they would dive into the darkest cavern of hell, just to escape from the
presence of the infinitely holy Lord God.
13.
As long as sinners refuse to repent, they don’t obey God any more than the
devil does. Their carnal mind is not
subject to God’s law. It can’t be. As long as they remain in this state of
mind, until the supreme preference of their mind is changed, until they have
given up minding their flesh, and choose to obey God, it is worthless to talk
about obedience. The first act of
obedience that you ever will or can perform is to stop minding your flesh, and
give your heart to God.
14.
You see the wickedness and folly of those parents who think their unconverted
children are friendly toward religion.
You cannot teach them a greater heresy, than to teach that these
children are friendly to religion or to God.
I have often heard Christian parents say that their children were never
enemies of religion. Are you surprised
that those children were never converted under that kind of teaching? This is exactly what the devil wants those
parents to teach their children. If you
give your children the impression that they are already friendly towards
religion, they will never know why they need a new heart. As long as they are in this state of mind,
and they are living under this delusion, they cannot even be convicted, let
alone converted.
15.
You can see from this subject, the foolishness, and the falsehood of saying
that a sinner who refuses to repent is a good-hearted person; when the fact is,
there is hatred against God deep down in his heart.
Finally. Can you now see how necessary it is that
there must be a hell? If you are an
enemy of God, what shall God do with you if you die in your sins? Heaven is no place for you. It would be worse to you than hell if you
were allowed to go there. A hell is
deserved by sinners, and is evidently needed for those who die in their enmity
against God. Now, sinner, right now
your heart is revealed. You must be
convinced of the truth of what I have said.
Remember that your enmity is voluntary.
You have created this enmity all by yourself. It is something that you have cherished and exercised for a long
time. Will you give it up? What has God done that you should continue
to hate Him? What is there in sin that
you should prefer it to God? Why, Oh
why, will you indulge for one moment longer in this spirit of horrible
rebellion and enmity against the blessed God?
Go just a little further. Cling
to your enmity just a little longer; and the knell of eternal death will toll
over your damned soul, and all the corners of that eternal pit of despair will
echo with your groans.