by Mike Ratliff
It is evident that man never attains to a true self-knowledge until he has previously contemplated the face of God, and come down after such contemplation to look into himself – John Calvin
Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in light of God’s holiness and our sinfulness.
That’s the twin reality that all genuine humility is rooted in: God’s holiness and our sinfulness. Without an honest awareness of both these realities…, all self-evaluation will be skewed and we’ll fail to either understand or practice true humility. We’ll miss out on experiencing the promise and the pleasures that humility offers. – C.J. Mahaney (from Humility – True Greatness page 21-22)
One of the first shots fired across the bow of our opponents in “disagreements” with other believers over doctrine (or really any other topic that is based in scripture interpretation) is the accusation that they are not humble. The fact that we would make such a charge at all should, in fact, cause us to question our own humility. We should never make that charge because the person we may be accusing may very well be humble if we use the definition above. He or she may know to their core that they are not holy and are very sinful in comparison to God’s perfection. However, that does not mean that he or she will not also be able to stand firm against false accusations. Please take the following devotional by Oswald Chambers to heart the next time you become involved in a “discussion” with another brother or sister in Christ in whom you are in disagreement who tells you the truth from their heart about their right standing before God and men.
"By the Grace of God I Am What I Am"
by Oswald Chambers from My Utmost for His Highest
By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain . . . -1 Corinthians 15:10
The way we continually talk about our own inabilities is an insult to our Creator. To complain over our incompetence is to accuse God falsely of having overlooked us. Get into the habit of examining from God’s perspective those things that sound so humble to men. You will be amazed at how unbelievably inappropriate and disrespectful they are to Him. We say things such as, "Oh, I shouldn’t claim to be sanctified; I’m not a saint." But to say that before God means, "No, Lord, it is impossible for You to save and sanctify me; there are opportunities I have not had and so many imperfections in my brain and body; no, Lord, it isn’t possible." That may sound wonderfully humble to others, but before God it is an attitude of defiance.
Conversely, the things that sound humble before God may sound exactly the opposite to people. To say, "Thank God, I know I am saved and sanctified," is in God’s eyes the purest expression of humility. It means you have so completely surrendered yourself to God that you know He is true. Never worry about whether what you say sounds humble before others or not. But always be humble before God, and allow Him to be your all in all.
There is only one relationship that really matters, and that is your personal relationship to your personal Redeemer and Lord. If you maintain that at all costs, letting everything else go, God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purposes, and yours may be that life.
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Mike,
Thank the Lord that He knows our hearts. What a person says may mean they are prideful or humble depending on their standing with God at that moment, only He knows!
Love in Christ,
Rachel
Hi Mike, Great article! You know there are times when we don’t ‘feel’ like we are what God says we are. But we are not suppose to go by ‘feelings’ for the most part. Yes He gave us emotions, but if He says we are such and such, then we are, even if we don’t ‘feel’ like it that day. We are so eternally greatful with every part of our being that He is Sovereign! What he says goes
And we all know that He knows best and is always right.
I’m so glad you posted this! What an encouragement! Jesus walked upon this earth for 33yrs in perfection for a reason…so that we may claim His righteousness as ours! Our salvation and sanctification and glorification is all His doing and none of our doing. To look down upon this is to not understand what He has done for the saved sinner and to always live in despair. We can, instead, lift our heads to Christ and glorify Him for what He has done and with a broken and contrite heart ask for forgiveness for our sins with full assurance that He does forgive us and does wash us clean and rejoice in the fact that it is His righteousness that God peers upon and says, “Well, done thou good and faithful servant. Enter into my rest!”
One can be doctrinally humble by espousing God’s holiness and man’s sinfulness and still be pridefull in the interaction with others. Knowing our abject sinfulness does not provide us with a carte blanche when it comes to the demonstartion of humility.
One can be doctrinally correct about humility and not translate that knowledge into their speech and behavior. Our speech should be filled with grace and seasoned with salt, always as Paul said considering the things of others more important than our own.
It is an important issue, especially as the evangelical world crumbles before our very eyes, we must speak the truth in conviction, boldness, and always love. But humility, it is a very elusive fruit of the Spirit. He who claims he has it, doesn’t.
Much of the church world has long since given up on the journey to humility. Some would ask, “Where does it end, and how long must we endure persecution and falshoods?”.
The answer: All the way to the cross.
Amen Rick. Thank you for the reminder.
Love in Christ,
Rachel
Mike,
I have benefited so much from OC’s writings, but having read quite a bit of them, I wonder what he meant by “sanctified” , as it seems like he believe a Christian could attain complete sanctification in this life. Therefore, with that meaning in mind, what OC said would probably sound arrogant, not humble.
Please correct me if I am wrong.
Jodi
Mike,
I believe that Oswald meant that if we believe what Jesus said to be true we should boldly claim it, for His Glory. God doesn’t lie . To claim that you are a sanctified Christian by the blood of Christ past,preasent, and future is believing by faith. To say your not would make you an unbeliever and Jesus blood has no real power. You may correct me if I am wrong.
All,
We are positionally sanctified and are being sanctified. If I died today God would see me as completly sanctified and it is His opinion that counts, not ours. However, as long as I live in this body in this life I will continue to be sanctified. Does this make sense?
In Christ
Mike Ratliff
Good point, Mike. Humility towards God is saying what He said and confessing that it is all His doing. And isn’t it wonderful in our eyes!!
Amen Rick!
Thanks Mike… I love CJ’s book. Sobering and timely
Mike… Sounds like you’re talking about the “already and not yet” of our being In Christ. We are already “clean” by virtue of Christ’s work on our behalf, while in the process of being made like Jesus in our “not yet.”
You are very welcome James. Yes, I read that book over a year ago then loaned it out. I got it back yesterday just in time for this post.
James,
Yes, that is right. Who we “already” are in Christ is something that most of us “don’t get” very well. It is somewhat hidden from us. However, it is real and I find that much of the “sanctification” I am going through now is to bring that to light in Him.
In Christ
Mike Ratliff