Given Over to Their Own Lusts
Chapter 5: Of Providence
6. As for those wicked and ungodly men whom God, as a righteous judge, for former sins, doth blind and harden, from them he not only withholdeth his grace, whereby they might have been enlightened in their understandings and wrought upon in their hearts, but sometimes also withdraweth the gifts which they had, and exposeth them to such objects as their corruption makes occasion of sin; and withal, gives them over to their own lusts, the temptations of the world, and the power of Satan; whereby it comes to pass that they harden themselves, even under those means which God useth for the softening of others.
In the previous paragraph, the Confession addresses the subject of the elect and periods of regression back into sinful behavior. The core message of that paragraph was that these periods do occur, and for various just and holy ends, such as to humble a person, to cause them to rely on God's grace more, and to put them on guard against such temptations in the future. In other words, this period of time can be seen as discipline in the life of the Christian. What do you think about that word "discipline"? does it conjure thoughts and feelings of trepidation? Do you not like the idea of God doing something so "negative"? If so, you are not alone, for the Word of God addresses this same tendency to the church in the first century.
"And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one He loves,
and chastises every son whom He receives.”
It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." -Hebrews 12:5-11
In our flesh we may want to be left to enjoy our sin like a child who calls their parents "mean" for punishing them, but think about this: would it be more or less loving of a parent to let their children continue to do something wrong, dangerous or harmful simply on the grounds that they really really want to do it? It would be horribly unloving. It is in the parents household that a child first learns of the consequences of sin. Hopefully they learn those lessons early before the consequences get to big! In the same way, God will often let the people whom He has saved experience the temporal consequences of their sinful choices--including handing them over to their sin for a time--so that they will learn the lessons now, rather than reap the ultimate consequence on the day of judgment.
The above passage also says something important about the opposite; those who do not experience God's discipline. And rather than being favorites, it is just the opposite: "if you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons."
I bring all of this up, because paragraph 6 of this chapter of the Confession discusses the subject of God's hardening of hearts. The first thing to note is that this hardening isn't arbitrary. This means that it doesn't occur simply on a whim, but is done "for former sins." This is how the Apostle Paul states the issue in Romans:
"For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts..." (Romans 1:21-24a).
I encourage you to read the whole chapter if you are not familiar with this section. The point is that humanity has no excuse before God; he cannot claim ignorance, because God has clearly communicated His existence in the created world. The problem isn't knowledge, it is man's heart: People don't want there to be a Sovereign, Moral, Holy Creator who will hold them accountable for their sin, so they "darken their minds" and reject the living God. But because humans were made to worship, they put something in His place, exchanging the true glory of God to worship something lesser. And, therefore, because they are rejected the majestic source of all light and life in the universe, they only have darkness left, therefore their minds are darkened, and they begin the downward spiral. Along with this, rather than putting a halt to this, God "gives them up" to that which they pursue. He lets them continue down the path of destruction, in which their hearts are more and more hardened to His grace, like a calloused patch of skin that no longer feels the pain of hot metal or the prick of a needle. In fact, their hearts become so calloused that those things which convict and warn others, just glance off of them without any effect, and even those graces which they have experienced in life will be stripped away.
This is harrowing, right? Which one would you rather experience? The freedom to do what you want whenever you want it, or the restraining hand of God that leads to the gift of eternal life? One of my favorite Psalms deals with this concept in a very real way. Psalm 73 begins with the Psalmist struggling with what he was seeing in the world: the godless and wicked suffering while the righteous struggle. At his worst moment, the Psalmist gives this complaint to God: "Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence." (Psalm 73:12,13). Can you identify with this man's struggle? I know I can, but eventually the Psalmist understands the truth, and comes to the following conclusion:
"But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.
Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin.
How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors!
Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms." (Psalm 73:16-20)
In a nutshell, the Psalmist realized that God isn't showering them with blessings, but giving them over to their own desires, to the darkening of their hearts, and eventually to eternal judgment. After this the Psalmist remembers where his treasure truly lies: "Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength[b] of my heart and my portion forever."(vs. 25,26).
What does this mean for the Christian? Well, it should motivate us to take a few things much more seriously: the first is the grace of God by which we experience salvation and sanctification rather than being handed over to our own sin. Second, we should take that sin very seriously for the danger it presents. Yes, the Christian is saved and preserved by God’s grace, but that doesn’t mean we can run headlong into sin, saying “It’s ok, God will forgive me.” the history of the Bible has examples of people who thought that way, and who were surprised when they experienced God’s judgment. This mindset shows a love of other things rather than God, and that is not the fruit of a softened, renewed heart, is it? And third, we should take the means of grace far more seriously; God has given them to us in order to be the preserving agents in our Christian lives. This doesn’t mean a passive agent, but one which God has provided for us to actively and intentionally engage in. We run to prayer, and the Word, and the other means of grace because we want to be preserved in our faith, and we trust that God is faithful to do so. There should always be a fear of taking these things for granted, for, that is a slippery slope that has claimed many people.
For the unbeliever who may be reading this, what will you do? Have you heard the warning found in this passage? Have you heard the message of the gospel that you too can know God's love and forgiveness? Christ offers the free gift of salvation to everyone, to trust in Him and find forgiveness for your sins. What will you do with that message? Will you listen to it today, or will you harden your heart and begin that downward spiral that has been described above?
"And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one He loves,
and chastises every son whom He receives.”
It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." -Hebrews 12:5-11
In our flesh we may want to be left to enjoy our sin like a child who calls their parents "mean" for punishing them, but think about this: would it be more or less loving of a parent to let their children continue to do something wrong, dangerous or harmful simply on the grounds that they really really want to do it? It would be horribly unloving. It is in the parents household that a child first learns of the consequences of sin. Hopefully they learn those lessons early before the consequences get to big! In the same way, God will often let the people whom He has saved experience the temporal consequences of their sinful choices--including handing them over to their sin for a time--so that they will learn the lessons now, rather than reap the ultimate consequence on the day of judgment.
The above passage also says something important about the opposite; those who do not experience God's discipline. And rather than being favorites, it is just the opposite: "if you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons."
I bring all of this up, because paragraph 6 of this chapter of the Confession discusses the subject of God's hardening of hearts. The first thing to note is that this hardening isn't arbitrary. This means that it doesn't occur simply on a whim, but is done "for former sins." This is how the Apostle Paul states the issue in Romans:
"For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts..." (Romans 1:21-24a).
I encourage you to read the whole chapter if you are not familiar with this section. The point is that humanity has no excuse before God; he cannot claim ignorance, because God has clearly communicated His existence in the created world. The problem isn't knowledge, it is man's heart: People don't want there to be a Sovereign, Moral, Holy Creator who will hold them accountable for their sin, so they "darken their minds" and reject the living God. But because humans were made to worship, they put something in His place, exchanging the true glory of God to worship something lesser. And, therefore, because they are rejected the majestic source of all light and life in the universe, they only have darkness left, therefore their minds are darkened, and they begin the downward spiral. Along with this, rather than putting a halt to this, God "gives them up" to that which they pursue. He lets them continue down the path of destruction, in which their hearts are more and more hardened to His grace, like a calloused patch of skin that no longer feels the pain of hot metal or the prick of a needle. In fact, their hearts become so calloused that those things which convict and warn others, just glance off of them without any effect, and even those graces which they have experienced in life will be stripped away.
This is harrowing, right? Which one would you rather experience? The freedom to do what you want whenever you want it, or the restraining hand of God that leads to the gift of eternal life? One of my favorite Psalms deals with this concept in a very real way. Psalm 73 begins with the Psalmist struggling with what he was seeing in the world: the godless and wicked suffering while the righteous struggle. At his worst moment, the Psalmist gives this complaint to God: "Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence." (Psalm 73:12,13). Can you identify with this man's struggle? I know I can, but eventually the Psalmist understands the truth, and comes to the following conclusion:
"But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.
Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin.
How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors!
Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms." (Psalm 73:16-20)
In a nutshell, the Psalmist realized that God isn't showering them with blessings, but giving them over to their own desires, to the darkening of their hearts, and eventually to eternal judgment. After this the Psalmist remembers where his treasure truly lies: "Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength[b] of my heart and my portion forever."(vs. 25,26).
What does this mean for the Christian? Well, it should motivate us to take a few things much more seriously: the first is the grace of God by which we experience salvation and sanctification rather than being handed over to our own sin. Second, we should take that sin very seriously for the danger it presents. Yes, the Christian is saved and preserved by God’s grace, but that doesn’t mean we can run headlong into sin, saying “It’s ok, God will forgive me.” the history of the Bible has examples of people who thought that way, and who were surprised when they experienced God’s judgment. This mindset shows a love of other things rather than God, and that is not the fruit of a softened, renewed heart, is it? And third, we should take the means of grace far more seriously; God has given them to us in order to be the preserving agents in our Christian lives. This doesn’t mean a passive agent, but one which God has provided for us to actively and intentionally engage in. We run to prayer, and the Word, and the other means of grace because we want to be preserved in our faith, and we trust that God is faithful to do so. There should always be a fear of taking these things for granted, for, that is a slippery slope that has claimed many people.
For the unbeliever who may be reading this, what will you do? Have you heard the warning found in this passage? Have you heard the message of the gospel that you too can know God's love and forgiveness? Christ offers the free gift of salvation to everyone, to trust in Him and find forgiveness for your sins. What will you do with that message? Will you listen to it today, or will you harden your heart and begin that downward spiral that has been described above?