The Spring of Hypocrisy and Apostasy
Aug 6th, 2008 by Nathan White
Below is an excerpt from The Almost Christian Discovered, by the Puritan Matthew Mead. The subject he discusses is how to determine whether conviction of sin is from conscience or from the Holy Spirit. But before we get to his words, I’d like to share what stuck out to me in this passage.
Under point 5 below, you will read where Mead distinguishes between a troubled conscience and the conviction wrought by the Holy Spirit. And typical of Puritan theology, he points out that the work of the Holy Spirit leads to and points us to Jesus Christ. Thus, in this particular subject, when we are convicted of sin, we can look at the effect and determine whether it’s simple conviction of conscience (which leads to a false repentance), or if we are cut to the heart by the Holy Spirit.
Speaking from personal experience, I can certainly attest that I have often attributed conviction and or other work in my life to the Holy Spirit, when instead, according to scripture, the Spirit leads and points us to Christ each and every time, and ending up anywhere else besides a running to and resting in Christ proves that it is our fancy and not the Spirit who is at work. A sobering thought indeed.
Now onto Mead: note here that he is explaining why so many profess to be Christians when in fact they’re not truly converted, and then he goes on to distinguish between natural conscience that can accompany any natural man versus that conviction that comes from the Holy Spirit. All emphasis mine:
Why is it that many are but almost Christians when they have gone thus far? What is the cause of this?
First, it is for lack of right and sound conviction. If a man is not thoroughly convinced of sin and his heart truly broken, whatever his profession of godliness may be, yet he will be sure to miscarry.
Question [objection]: Suppose I am at any time under conviction; how shall I know whether my convictions are only from a natural conscience or whether they are from the Spirit of God?
Answer:
1. Natural convictions reach chiefly to open and scandalous sins, sins against the light of nature, for natural conviction can reach no further than natural light. But spiritual conviction reaches to secret, inward, and undiscerned sins such as hypocrisy, formality, lukewarmness, deadness, and hardness of heart, etc.2. Natural convictions deal only with a man’s conversation, not with his state and condition; with sins actual, not original…but spiritual conviction reaches all sins…to the sin that is born in us as well as the sin that is done by us.
3. Natural convictions carry the soul out to look more on the evil that comes by sin than on the evil that is in sin. So that the soul under this conviction is more troubled at the dread of hell, wrath, and damnation than at the vileness and heinous nature of sin.
4. Natural convictions are not durable; they are quickly worn out…the convictions of the Spirit are like a deep wound…When it is healed, it leaves a scar behind, that, when the patient is well, yet he can say, ‘here is the mark of my wound which will never wear out’.
5. Natural convictions make the soul shy of God. Guilt works fear and fear causes estrangedness. Thus it is with Adam; when he saw his nakedness, he ran away and hid himself from God. Now, Spiritual convictions do not drive the soul from God, but unto God.
Till the sinner is convinced of sin, he can never be converted from sin…slight and common convictions, when they are but skin deep, are the cause of much hypocrisy.
I know no other rise and spring of hyprocrisy like this of slight convictions; this has filled the church of Christ with hypocrites. Nay, it is not only the spring of hypocrisy, but is also the spring of apostasy.
How the last words cut so deep! Even in Mead’s day the chief spring of apostasy and hypocrisy was shallow convictions and shallow, empty professions. How much more so in our day!
As some have said: Even though the fruit of certain sin has long passed from view as time goes by the darkness of the source of sin grows ever more evident.
Such sins that are resolved by the will are all slight. It is when confronted with that sin that will not abate that we can only do what Paul instructs, serve God with our mind knowing that the knives our circumcision are never able to cut so deep as to remove the cause. If we persist in slicing, we can in the end become idolators of our selves when we finally ween pride to matured arrogance. Supposing that it is we and not the Spirit that puts to death the deeds of the flesh leads us further and further from the throne room of grace. What is it that man can offer to God? Is it not the blood of Christ and his righteousness. I then will desire to be found not having a righteousness which is my own.
We have all found ourselves able from time to time to eliminate from our lives some sin. In the end though, if we have found that it is that which has made us content with ourselves we have only white washed the tomb since none of us is able to give life to the dead man inside.