The Oberlin Evangelist

LECTURE XX.

October 21, 1840.

DESIGN OR INTENTION CONSTITUTES CHARACTER

by the Rev. Charles G. Finney

Modernized by Cliff Collins

“Give to them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavors; give to them according to the work of their hands; render to them what they deserve.” (Psalm 28:4)

The word ‘endeavors’ in this passage means ‘plans’, or ‘intentions’.

In discussing this subject, I will address the following:

I. What is the difference between an intention and a willful decision?

II. What is the difference between an ultimate or supreme intention and a subordinate intention?

III. Our moral character lies mainly in our ultimate or supreme intention.

IV. The moral character of those conscious decisions and outward actions, which we direct by our intention, is the same as our ultimate intention.

V. When is our intention sinful?

VI. When is our intention holy?

VII. A person’s character, as distinguished from the character of any one of his acts, is the same as his supreme and ultimate intention.

I. What is the difference between an intention and a willful decision?

Intention is our plan, our aim, our end, or goal. It is not the outward object we aim at, but our mind’s inward plan or intention to secure a given object. A willful decision is the action of our will or those subordinate choices that our intention produces and directs. In other words, our intention is a permanent disposition or state of our will, as opposed to individual acts of our will or individual conscious decisions. Our will uses conscious decisions to obtain the goal we planned or intended.

II. What is the difference between an ultimate or supreme intention and a subordinate intention?

An ultimate intention, end, plan, or goal, is the ultimate goal that our mind has in view. All other goals are subordinate to that one ultimate goal. In other words, all these other goals are means to accomplish our ultimate goal. For example: A student may work to earn money, to purchase books, to obtain an education, to preach the gospel, to convert sinners, to glorify God. Here are several goals, subordinate to one supreme or ultimate goal. The first goal the student must achieve is to get money. But this is both a goal and a means. His second goal is to purchase books. His third goal, which is the reason why he purchases books, is to obtain an education. But his education is also a means to another end, which is to preach the gospel. This is also a means to another goal, the conversion of sinners. And the conversion of sinners is a means to his ultimate goal, which is to glorify God.

III. Our moral character lies mainly in the ultimate or supreme intention of our mind.

1. Our moral character cannot be determined from our outward actions. Our outward actions, when viewed apart from our intention, have no more moral character than the movements of a machine.

2. Our moral character cannot lie in our conscious decisions, without looking at our intention, because, depending on our intention, the same willful act can be either holy or sinful. For example: I may will to use the name of God, and the moral character of this intention depends on the reason why I am using His holy name. I may choose to go to a certain place, or do a certain thing, and this willful decision may be holy or sinful, depending on why I am going to that place or whether I am going to that place to do good or evil.

3. Everyone has a reason for choosing to do something. A person’s true character lies in his intention. It lies in the reasons why he chooses to do that thing. If a person plans to do us evil, and by chance, he does us good, we can’t thank him for it. And, if a person wants to do us good, and without any fault of his own, it results in evil, we can’t blame him.

4. Today’s scripture passage assumes that our moral character lies in the reason why we do things. In other words, our moral character lies in our intention. Let the example of the student serve as an illustration. The student works to get money. But when we learn, that he intends to purchase books with his money, we can’t decide yet on the moral character of what he is doing. Hence, we want to find out what books he intends to purchase, and what he intends to do with them. We learn that he wants to get an education; but here we still don’t know what the moral character of his conduct is, and we must ask why he wants to get an education? He tells us, that he wants to get an education so he can preach the gospel. This looks fine so far; but we still can’t decide on the moral character of his conduct. He may intend to preach the gospel to promote his own selfish interest, to gratify his ambition, or for some other selfish purpose. Therefore, we must question him further so we can know why he wants to preach the gospel. He replies that he wants to preach the gospel to convert sinners. This sounds nice, but this still doesn’t determine his moral character. Why does he want to convert sinners? Is it because people can look up to him as being intelligent and useful? Is it to promote his reputation? We must, then, question him further, and ask him why he wants to convert sinners? He tells us that it is because he loves God more than anything else in the world, and dearly loves the souls of men. He desires to promote God’s glory and the happiness of those around him, as things that are good all by themselves. Not only that, if it weren’t for this ultimate supreme goal, he would not work to get money to buy books, and so forth. He is aware, that his ultimate intention, that ultimate goal he aims at, which is the mainspring and the source of all his conscious decisions, which all those other goals are subordinate to this ultimate goal, is the glory of God and the interests of God’s kingdom. Here, and not until we arrive here, do we have any light concerning the moral character of his present occupation, which is, working to earn money.

IV. The moral character of those conscious decisions and outward actions, which we direct by our intention, is the same as our ultimate intention.

1. If it weren’t for our intention, our decisions would have no moral character at all.

2. Our ultimate intention decides our moral character. We can see this in the example of our student. We see him vigorously at work, and we know that his conscious decisions are the cause of all his outward actions. But, we can’t determine the moral character of what he is doing simply from looking at his outward actions, because his outward actions can’t tell us his intention. We next see the student buying his books, then, poring over his studies, and finally, preaching the gospel. In all these situations, we see him busily exercising his free will. However, not one of these conscious decisions, when viewed separately from his intention, would have any more moral character than the decisions of an animal. Nor does his moral character lie in any of his subordinate goals. To get money, to purchase books, to obtain an education, to preach the gospel, none of these things have any moral character when they are separated from his primary reason for doing these things. Our reason and common sense tells us this.

V. When is our intention sinful?

1. Our intention is sinful when our intention is to do wrong, although the thing we intend to do may not be wrong all by itself. If we think that what we are doing is wrong, and we intend to do it as wrong, it is wrong.

2. When our intention is to do something that we know is wrong, we usually do it, not because it is wrong, but in sprite of the fact that it is wrong. More things, that people do, fall under this category than under any other category. We seldom do wrong simply because it is wrong; but we generally do wrong, knowing that it is wrong, not because it is wrong, but for some other reason, and in spite of the fact that it is wrong.

3. Our intention is sinful when we intend to do or omit something, regardless of its moral character. Sometimes we do something without inquiring into the moral character of that act or omission.

4. Our intention is sinful when it has no respect for the will of God.

5. Our intention is sinful when it is selfish. Whenever our ultimate goal is to secure our own good, we are in a selfish state of mind. This is wrong because our own good is not the highest good in the universe. Therefore, we must not make our own good our ultimate and supreme goal. God’s glory, and the interests of His kingdom, is of infinitely more value and importance than our own individual happiness. Whenever our ultimate intention is to secure our own happiness, our whole character and conduct is sinful, no matter what means we may use. We may attend to all our religious duties with the greatest zeal. We may give all our money to feed the poor and give our bodies to be burned. But if we don’t have love, and if we are not motivated by a supreme love for God, if our ultimate intention is not to glorify Him, but to simply make ourselves happy, the foundation of our character is completely wrong.

VI. When is our intention holy?

Our intention is holy when and only when our ultimate goal, object, or intention is to glorify God and promote the good of the universe. If we plan to glorify God as the means of promoting our own happiness, this is selfishness. We must intend and seek to glorify and please God for its own sake, and on its own account. And when glorifying God is the supreme and ultimate goal that we aim at, our character is holy. In other words, only an unselfishly loving intention is holy.

If someone tells me that my planning, intending, and laboring to promote the glory of God will result in my own happiness, and therefore I can’t regard it as my most ultimate goal, I’ll answer:

1. To supremely aim at and labor to promote God’ glory will definitely increase my own happiness.

2. My happiness, in this situation, depends on the unselfishness of my intention of laboring to promote the glory of God. If, in laboring to promote the glory of God, my ultimate goal is my own happiness, I cannot be happy this way, any more than I could be happy in praying, if I should pray, not because of communion with God, but to promote my own happiness. I can only be happy doing that which my whole nature approves of. My whole moral being decides, that God’s glory and interests, are supremely important in themselves, and that I should seek to promote them for their own sake, and on their own account. Therefore, the only possible way I can be happy is by conforming to this stern and uncompromising dictate of my nature. Therefore, my happiness will result or not result, from my intending and laboring to glorify God, in proportion to the unselfishness of my intentions and labor. Therefore, although a person’s happiness is a result of his intending and laboring to glorify God; yet his intention does not terminate on his own happiness. The ultimate goal he pursues does not terminate on his own happiness, but his intention terminates on the glory of God and the interests of His kingdom, as something infinitely important all by itself.

VII. A person’s character, as distinguished from the character of any one of his acts, is the same as his supreme and ultimate intention.

1. We have seen that we determine the character of our actions by our ultimate goal or purpose in life.

2. A person’s ultimate end or goal determines his character. Thus, we speak about a greedy man, an ambitious woman, or an unselfish person. Such expressions distinguish the character of that person, from the character of any one of his or her acts.

REMARKS.

1. The ultimate intention, which a person has in view of his conduct, may not always occupy his thoughts, and his conduct may be sinful or holy without him being aware of or thinking about his ultimate intention at the time. The student’s thoughts may be, for the time being, completely focused on working to earn money to buy his books; and yet his ultimate goal may influence him without him realizing it. He is only aware that the immediate goal before him influences him. His ultimate goal could be either selfish ambition or unselfish love for God. Although the immediate object before him is the subject of his thoughts, still his labor or his study is only as holy or sinful, as his ultimate intention is.

2. There can only be two groups of people concerning moral character. There is only one right, ultimate goal, or intention, which is the glory of God and the interests of His kingdom. This should be the ultimate intention of every moral being in the universe. Every other ultimate goal or intention is wrong. Therefore, concerning moral character, there cannot possibly be more than two groups of moral beings in the universe.

3. From this subject it is easy to see that sinners, without exception, are completely depraved. We have seen that a sinner’s character is the same as his ultimate intention. Every sinner has a selfish ultimate or supreme intention, and therefore, is in a state of total depravity.

4. From this subject we can see what regeneration is. Regeneration consists in the change of the sinner’s supreme or ultimate intention of his mind.

5. We can see that two people may do the exact same things. They may be engaged in the same business transactions, and, in every respect, they can be the same outwardly, and yet possess completely opposite moral characters. In fact, they may be alike both outwardly and inwardly, with the exception of their ultimate intention, and still possess opposite characters. They may both want to pray, go to Church, and perform every religious duty. They may will, do, and be exactly alike in everything; but if their ultimate goal or intention is different, their moral characters are completely different in the sight of God.

6. An action may be morally right, because the intention is right, and yet there may be a sinful ignorance connected with it. A man may be wrong in using certain means to glorify God. If he honestly intends to glorify God, the action itself is not sinful, yet, if his negligence in obtaining the necessary information is blameworthy, and he has used improper means because of this ignorance, his ignorance is a sin.

7. From this subject we can see what the sin of ignorance means. Ignorance itself is a sin, when we neglect the proper means of obtaining information. If I act wholly from right intentions, that act can’t be sinful all by itself; yet, if I am in error because of my ignorance, that ignorance all by itself may be sinful.

Now, some may object, saying that Paul blamed himself for doing many things that he truly thought he should do “contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth”. (Acts 26:9)

It is true, that in his situation, Paul was to blame for doing what he truly thought he should do, because he was an impenitent sinner at the time, and his ultimate intention was not to glorify God; but he thought he should do it in obedience to the superstitious and persecuting notions of the Jews. Had he been a converted man at the time, and had his heart been set on glorifying God, he could not have thought as he did, that he “should do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth”. Therefore, in spite of the fact Paul thought he should do it, his conduct was sinful, because his ultimate purpose or goal of doing it was not to glorify God, but to gratify his Jewish prejudices.

8. Can you see the difference between true saints and hypocrites? The difference does not lie in the fact that they pursue opposite courses in life, but they can pursue substantially the same course in life, with opposite ultimate intentions. The true Christians’ ultimate intention is to glorify God; the hypocrite’s intention is his own happiness.

9. It is easy to see that there is a great danger of delusion here, because we overlook people’s ultimate intention so often and so easily. For example, here we have two students, just completing a course of study. Now, the immediate goals they must pursue are many, and the ultimate goal they aim at seems so hidden and remote. They work hard, exercise economy, study hard, and may preach zealously, and be equally useful; and yet their moral characters are completely opposite. Their thoughts are so occupied with all their immediate goals that they may easily overlook and keep out of view their ultimate goal, or the mainspring of all their actions. But, the moral character of all their conduct lies in their ultimate intention. And if they are ignorant or mistaken concerning this, some time during their ministry, they may suddenly fall into eternity with a false hope. There they are, standing before the Lord, but they are in a state of such deep delusion that they cry out, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?” Then Jesus will answer them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness”! (Matt 7:22-23)

10. From what I have said today, it is easy to see that the sins of true Christians are accidental, in opposition to deliberate and habitual. In other words, they consist in conscious decisions rather than in deliberate intentions. I mentioned earlier, that the moral character of those conscious decisions and actions that our ultimate intention causes and directs, is the same as the moral character of our ultimate intention. This implies that some actions and conscious decisions are not in obedience to an ultimate intention, but in opposition to it, and these actions and conscious decisions cause the desire for present gratification. In other words, they may not be according to, but in opposition to our supreme and ultimate intention. We must determine the moral character of these acts by the particular plan or intention that gave them birth.

For example, a young man may set out to go on a foreign mission, with the ultimate intention of glorifying God. Yet, under the force of strong temptation, he may be driven off his course, and commit either a single act or a series of acts, not in obedience to or according to his ultimate intention. Yet, he doesn’t perform these acts with or according to the intention of abandoning his missionary enterprise either. He doesn’t perform these acts in obedience to any ultimate intention, either to glorify God, or to promote his own ultimate interests. But, if I may so speak, they fall out and leave a chasm in his usual course of conduct, through the force of temptation, without any change of his ultimate intention. And the reason for his behavior is that, for the time being and under the circumstances, the temptation has more power over his conscious decisions than his ultimate intention has. This is indeed a deep mystery, but it is a deep mystery no matter how we try to explain it. I repeat, then, that the sins of true Christians, while they are voluntary, are accidental, in opposition to deliberate and habitual.

11. We now see why God does not and cannot deal with people in this world according to their true characters. Universalists have vainly proclaimed that He does; but everyone knows, in their own experience, that God has not dealt with them according to their character in this life. Now it would create vast confusion, if God were to deal with people according to their ultimate intentions, as they appear to Him. The Bible says, “The plowing of the wicked is sin”. (Proverbs 21:4) Now on what ground is it sin? The conscious decisions that regulate the muscles in holding the plow are not sinful. Therefore, it must be that his plowing is sin, simply because his ultimate intention is selfish. Should God punish people in this life according to their real character or ultimate intention, it would require the confidence of angels to believe that God was right in punishing those people, and it would require the confidence of angels to not stumble because of what God has done. God would punish one man for plowing, another for praying, another for preaching, and others for many things that people would look at and view as good and praiseworthy. While, on the other hand, God would reward many actions that people would look at and view as sinful. Therefore, it must be true, that God does not and cannot deal with people in this world according to their true character, without perplexing and perhaps ruining the universe.

12. You can see from this subject, why there must be a General Judgment, when God will disclose the real character of all humanity before the whole universe, and deal with every person according to his works.

13. God will reward the human race according to their ultimate intentions, whether they have been able to carry them out or not. “Give them”, says the Psalmist, “according to their deeds”. This is the language of inspiration. Here is a man, who wants to be a missionary, who desires to save souls and glorify God. But his health, in the providence of God, has prevented him from accomplishing his Goal. Be of good cheer, my brother. God will carry on His work without you, and reward you according to your intentions. Here is another man, who has planned and intended to do many things for Zion, but his expectations have been blasted, and he has been unable to succeed according to his endeavors. Well done, good and faithful brother; you have done well that it was in your heart to glorify God. God will reward you according to all that was in your heart.

14. We can see what permanent sanctification is, and when saints are permanently sanctified. They are permanently sanctified, when they arrive at that state in which they are not drawn aside in heart and in life, to will or to do what is inconsistent with their ultimate intention of glorifying God.

15. How many professing Christians will go down to hell with a lie in their right hand?

16. You can now see the secret of the sinners’ self-righteousness. Sinners don’t judge themselves by their ultimate intention, which is where their moral character lies, but by the subordinate goals that they aim at. If a sinner plows, he thinks, “surely, there is no harm in this”. In fact, he takes credit for it, since it is part of his duty. He maintains his family, goes to church, does thousands of things that professing Christians do. He believes that these things are commendable and virtuous all by themselves, irrespective of his ultimate intention, which lies at their foundation, and is the cause of everything he does. This is the sinner’s sad and deadly mistake.

17. In this same neighborhood lies the ruinous delusion of deceived professing Christians.

18. A person can do wrong, without planning to do wrong. Indeed, it is not common for people to aim at the wrong they do, and do things because they are wrong.

19. So also a person may do wrong, without planning to do a thing, in spite of the fact that it is wrong, but not because it is wrong.

20. A person sins unless he desires to do right, unless he desires to act according to his duty.

Now, beloved, when tried by this standard, is MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN written on your Christian character? (See Daniel chapter 5) Will you honestly go down on your knees before God and spread your whole heart out before Him? Will you honestly look into the foundation of your conduct, and ask what is your ultimate and supreme intention? And, will you remember, that according to your intention, God will solemnly deal with you on Judgment Day?