A Change in Affections
If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a hundred times. A pastor or a speaker shares “the Gospel”. It goes something like this:
“Are you struggling today? Do you feel lost and alone? Jesus can help you. He will meet your needs and be there for you in this life. And, if that’s not enough, remember that you get to spend eternity in heaven if you ‘accept Him’.”
Okay, so I am being a bit facetious but, in a nutshell, that is basically how the Gospel is presented.
But that isn’t the Gospel. This kind of “gospel” can be more likened to a self-improvement course.
The Gospel isn’t about accepting a god who will help us fulfill our dreams and fix our problems. It isn’t about a golden ticket to heaven.
And, while Jesus does love us and He will help us and He most certainly is the only way to spend eternity in heaven, He died for our sin. He died so that we can be right with our just God. He died so that we may LIVE. Not to live for self but to live for GOD. And He rose again to give us victory over sin and death.
He did not die and rise again so that we can have a happy life with less problems and fulfilled dreams.
About sin… do we even think we really sin all that much? And if we think about our sin, do we think it is that big of a deal?
Let’s look at sin from a different perspective, shall we? The root of all sin is selfishness. Anything done out of selfishness is sinful.
Now think about yourself in light of this truth. Do you, like me, grow a bit squirmy when sin is thought of in that light?
The tricky thing is that selfishness can masquerade as goodness. Many people are nice because it furthers their own goals. Many choose to be outwardly moral for their own selfish reason. They can look “holy” for their own selfish gain. They can be “cooperative and kind” because of their hatred of conflict and how uncomfortable it makes them feel.
Not all selfishness presents itself as ugly or negative.
And therein is the issue. SIN is far deeper and far broader than most of us have been taught.
I picked up a book this morning entitled Selfishness: The Essence of Moral Depravity written by a pastor who lived a few centuries ago named Nathanael Emmons.
The following quote is from the introduction of this book. It is worth sharing here, as I do believe that the church has been greatly deceived as a whole and has turned to a false Gospel—the Gospel of self-love to improve one’s temporal life—
The message of what is called the Gospel today is really nothing more than appeals to self-love which, in reality, is what people must repent of in order to be truly saved. We must repent of our selfishness rather than try to be religious and moral based on selfish motives (i.e. what helps me or benefits me the most.)…
…All over the world we encourage people to turn from sinful actions because it is good for them. But if they turn from sin from a principle of selfishness, then sinful self is being strengthened even as people are appearing more holy on the outside. We need to understand the true nature of sin in order to show people what true repentance is. Jesus told us that “if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). The Pharisees were not willing to do that. They were willing to be very religious but they would not deny self. Instead they prayed for self, gave alms to self, and fasted for self (Matthew 6:2, 6, 16). They did all of their religious actions out of love to self rather than love for God. They were their own idols and all that they did in the outward practice of religion was moved by acts of self-love rather than love for God. If we do not have a true understanding of what sin really is, we cannot truly repent from the heart. We must understand the truth about sin or we will not be saved from sin. (Emphasis mine)
We can see then how…
The very system of the devil has been set up as orthodoxy in America in many places. We can see how the thinking of many, if not most within the professing Church has swallowed the teaching that self-love is the essence of morality when in fact it is the very essence of immorality and is living in the likeness of the devil. His (the author’s) next point is devastating: “If sinners are constantly under the governing influence of selfishness, then they must experience an essential change in their affections, in order to be saved.” In modern America it is taught that the very essence of sin is what moves us to be moral and yet those are the things that must be repented of in order to be saved. How diabolical and deceptive of the devil to set up his kingdom in the hearts of men and women by the teaching of many who are externally orthodox and actually use the Bible to justify their false teaching. How utterly deceptive to use the pulpits and the classrooms in America to preach and teach rebellion against God as the cure for sin. (Emphasis mine)
This has really got me thinking. If self-love and self-preservation are what turn us to Jesus, then do we really get salvation at all? If we are simply turning to Him to improve our lives and to give us a future that is pleasant, do we understand the heart of the Gospel?
I don’t think we can. And, while I think we all struggle with examining our hearts and our motives, true salvation means coming to the place where we recognize the wickedness of our own hearts and we fall on our knees at the feet of Jesus, begging His forgiveness and grace.
Some of us will come to that realization as we grow in the Lord and others have that happen immediately. But true salvation will eventually lead to this place. It has to.
The transformation of a true believer is the change in their affections. A change from self-seeking to seeking the Lord. A change from self-glory to God’s glory. Oh, not perfectly, but there is a recognition of our waywardness and there is a desire to seek God first before self, although we fail so often.
Where there is no change of affections nor even a recognition that there should be any change, there is not salvation. Scripture makes this so clear and yet so many hate this truth.
And can I be honest for a moment? I don’t particularly care for this truth, either. For its ramifications are truly terrifying. And yet truth is truth.
Truth is truth. Whether we like a certain truth or not is irrelevant. And that is hard for us “feelings-oriented” people to swallow, isn’t it?
May we pray for wisdom as we search for the truth and may we pray that God will help us to yield our selfish feelings and desires to His truth.