Latest / Reformed Thinking / Not Ashamed of the Gospel: God’s Power to Save (Romans 1) | Charles Simeon

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Not Ashamed of the Gospel: God’s Power to Save (Romans 1) | Charles Simeon · Reformed Thinking

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You know, usually when we talk about a medical diagnosis, there
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is this expectation of absolute clinical precision.
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Right. Yeah, You expect it to be very
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cut and dry. Yeah, think about orthopedics,
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for instance. You take a bad fall, your arm
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swells up and you go to the hospital.
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And they take an X-ray. Right.
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The Doctor takes an X-ray, pulls up that black and white image on
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the screen, points to a very clear jagged white line running
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through the bone, and says, well, there is the fracture.
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It is binary. I mean, the bone is broken or it
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is intact. Yeah, it is clean.
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It is visual, and frankly it is highly comforting to the human
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mind. We really like things to be
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visible. We want to categorize the
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problem neatly. Precisely, we categorize it so
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we can prescribe A straightforward mechanical
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solution. You know, put a cast on it, wait
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six weeks and the problem is resolved.
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But. Then you step into the world of
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theology, specifically the spiritual diagnosis of the human
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heart. Oh, and that is a completely
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different landscape. It is suddenly that clinical
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X-ray machine is just completely shattered.
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We are looking at a diagnostic landscape that is incredibly
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murky and full of contradictions.
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Right, because we look at human behavior out in the world and
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what do we actually? See, we see incredible, selfless
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philanthropy sitting right next to unimaginable cruelty.
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Yeah, we see unparalleled technological brilliance
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occurring at the same time as total moral collapse.
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So trying to figure out the root cause of the human based purely
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on observation, well, it feels like an impossible task.
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It really does. We see the symptoms, but
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diagnosing the actual disease feels entirely out of reach.
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It is the absolute definition of diagnostic Muddy Waters from our
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limited finite human perspective.
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And we constantly misdiagnose the underlying disease.
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Why do you think that is? Well, the reason we misdiagnose
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it is that our own vision is compromised by the very
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condition we are trying to observe.
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I mean, a sick eye cannot accurately diagnose a sick body.
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We need an external objective diagnostic tool to tell us what
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is actually happens inside the human chest.
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Welcome to Reformed thinking. Today we are looking at a text
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that proves the spiritual X-ray machine is broken and offers the
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only accurate diagnostic tool available.
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And we are really excited to get into this material today.
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We are taking a deep dive into an incredible set of texts from
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the 19th century. Specifically, we are examining
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excerpts from Charles Simeon's Horay Homiletic A, Volume 15.
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We are focusing intensely on his sermons covering the first
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chapter of the book of Romans. Our mission here is to extract
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the core theological arguments regarding the Apostle Paul's
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pastoral heart, his unashamed confession of the gospel, and
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the inexcusable guilt of all mankind.
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And also, what might be the most shocking claim of all, the
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inherent enmity of the human mind toward God.
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For you listening, we know you want a third theological
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understanding without feeling buried under an avalanche of dry
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academic terminology. Right, we're going to break down
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these massive, weighty doctrines into clear, memorable pieces.
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We want to connect this historical exposition directly
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to your everyday faith. And we are looking at this
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through the lens of Reformed theology, adhering to the
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Westminster Confession to see how these truths apply to the
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modern world. The book of Romans is arguably
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the most systematic theological document in existence.
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Yeah. And Simeon's treatment of it
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brings out a stunning level of practical application that cuts
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right to the bone of our daily lives.
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Setting the stage for this, we really have to look at the
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source text itself and understand why we are focusing
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on an epistle rather than a gospel.
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That is a critical distinction to make right at the start.
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The Gospels, you know, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, they give
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us the historical reality of the life, death and resurrection of
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Christ. But Simeon makes a striking
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point right out of the gate. He argues that the Epistles, and
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Romans in particular, offer an unparalleled systematic look at
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justification by faith alone. Think about it.
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If you only had the historical accounts of Christ's life, you
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would have the flawless, sinless record of the Son of God.
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Which is glorious, obviously. Right, but you might lack the
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detailed, structured, forensic explanation of how his
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righteousness is actually imputed to flawed, rebellious
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people like us. And that distinction completely
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changes how we read the New Testament.
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Simeon actually addresses a thought that sometimes floats
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around certain intellectual circles.
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Yeah, I have heard this one before.
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It is the idea that it would have been better if only the
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historical accounts of Jesus had survived and the letters of Paul
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had perished. People who say that usually just
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want a religion of moral imitation.
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Right. Yeah, they do.
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Simeon calls that sentiment impious.
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He argues it originates in a hidden hatred of the truth.
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Wow. He does not hold back.
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Not at all. The historical accounts contain
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the truths of salvation, but the letters of Paul render them with
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forensic clarity. The epistles show us how the
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early Church wrestled with the application of justification.
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They explain the actual mechanism of grace.
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Without Romans, we would lack the definitive, incontrovertible
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establishment of justification by faith alone.
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Which, as we know from the Westminster Confession, is the
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very bedrock of the Protestant Reformation.
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Let us start where Simeon starts in his exposition, looking at
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Romans chapter 1, verses 8 through 12.
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Before getting to the heavy theological doctrines of Romans,
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we have to look at the man writing the letter.
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We have to look at his posture, cord, the recipients.
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We need to look at Paul's heart. He treats the Roman Church with
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a paternal, almost maternal affection.
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He writes that he is praying for them incessantly, which is
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fascinating because he had never seen them in person.
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Is really remarkable relational dynamic.
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Paul is writing to the capital of the known world, to a
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congregation he did not plant. To people whose faces he has
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never seen. Yet he writes that God is his
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witness, that without ceasing he makes mention of them always in
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his prayers. Simeon points out that as a
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title of honor, a minister might act as an ambassador from the
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creator. But the paternal relation is the
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most endearing. Paul compares himself elsewhere
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to a nursing mother caring for her children.
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This is not a detached academic sending a dry theological
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treatise to a university. Right.
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This is a pastor agonizing in prayer for a flock he has not
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yet met. He's carrying their spiritual
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weight on his shoulders. Simeon breaks down a minister's
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joy over his people into 3 distinct groups and this
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categorization is just brilliant.
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It really is helpful for understanding pastoral ministry.
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The first group consists of those who are just beginning to
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show concern for their souls. Simeon describes them as having
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previously lived without God in the world.
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They were completely absorbed in secular pursuits, entirely
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indifferent to eternity. Right up until God opened their
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eyes to their guilt and their danger.
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Notice the specific reformed framework Simeon uses to
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describe that first group. He says the change proceeded
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from God alone. It was God who first opened
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their hearts to attend to the things spoken, quickening them
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from the dead. And that perfectly mirrors the
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Westminster Confessions teaching on effectual calling.
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To understand the mechanics of this, you have to recognize that
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a person does not simply decide one day to care about eternity.
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No, it's not out of their own innate wisdom or superior
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intellect. The natural will is completely
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hostile. God must sovereignly implant new
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dispositions. Simeon rejoices over this first
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group because he sees the initial spark of regeneration.
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Even if their theological knowledge is tiny, right?
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Yeah, even if their retainments are small, he rejoices, because
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a supernatural resurrection has occurred in their chest.
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I like to think of it as the difference between giving a
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blind man a flashlight and actually giving him the capacity
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to see. That is a great analogy.
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The fly flight is totally useless until the eyes are
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opened. Now the second group Simeon
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mentions are those making progress in the divine life.
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Here is where his pastoral insight becomes highly
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practical. He contrasts them with people
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who fall away, drawing heavily from the parable of the sour.
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He details three specific dangers that threaten
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progressing believers. The fear of man, the cares of
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this life and the lusts of the flesh.
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We really need to analyze why those three specific dangers
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drag people down. Let us start with the fear of
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man. That is a massive stumbling
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block. Especially in the 1st century
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Roman context, but equally so today.
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Simeon notes how many thousands turn aside because they cannot
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bear the social cost of adhering to Christ.
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Then you have the cares of this life.
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Yeah. Career ambitions.
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Financial worries? The desire to maintain a certain
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lifestyle. These cares act like gravity,
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constantly dragging the mind down to this perishing world and
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choking out spiritual fruit. Finally, there are the lusts of
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the flesh, the internal corruptions that people refuse
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to mortify. For a minister to see believers
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successfully bypass those massive hazards and actually
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make progress, well, it produces an exalted joy.
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It proves that the Creator is holding them up in His
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everlasting arms. Preserving them through a very
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hostile environment. The third group consists of
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those walking worthy of their high calling.
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These are the believers whose faith is spoken of throughout
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the whole world. Which was literally true of the
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Roman congregation at that time. Simeon says We thank God for
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them because they bring glory to their Creator.
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They do good for mankind and they are ripening for the
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blessings of a better world. He asserts A fascinating point
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here. He says without these zealous
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believers, works of humanity might go on, but works of
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religion would stagnate altogether.
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That observation requires some careful thought.
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It does. General civic goodness, like
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building hospitals, funding orphanages, or feeding the
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hungry, can be motivated by general human empathy.
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Or even just a desire for a legacy, right?
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But the specific work of advancing the gospel, of
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laboring intensely for the spiritual salvation of fellow
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humans. That requires A zeal that only
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comes from a regenerated heart. A secular society can build a
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well functioning city, but it will never build a mechanism for
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spiritual rescue. Simeon looks at the Roman
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Christians and sees the people who are functioning as brilliant
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lights in a thoroughly dark empire.
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Sustaining the only mission that has eternal consequences.
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I want to push back on something Simeon argues here, though, or
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at least raise a question about the necessity of the epistles
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regarding human piety. OK, what is your thought?
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Simeon argues that the letters of Paul show us heights of piety
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attainable by fallen humans that we would not see in the
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historical accounts of Christ alone.
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He does say that. But why is that distinction
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necessary? If the historical accounts give
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us Christ's flawless example, should that not be enough of a
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template for human piety? You mean we see perfection so we
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should just aim for it? Yeah, exactly.
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I mean, it seems straightforward.
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You might assume the perfect example would be enough, but
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here is the critical difference between unattainable perfection
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and flawed redeemed nature. OK.
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Lay it out for me. Christ was sinless.
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He did not have a carnal, rebellious nature to war
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against. His obedience was the flawless
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submission of the God man. Right, he had no internal
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corruption. When we read his life, we see
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the absolute standard of divine holiness.
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But if we only had that perfect standard, we would inevitably
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fall into total despair. Because we could never match it.
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We would look at our own hearts, see the indwelling sin and say,
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well, I have a corrupt nature, I cannot possibly live like that.
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The gap is just too wide. So the letters give us the
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gritty reality of sanctification in the trenches.
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Precisely. The epistles show us applied
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theology. They show us how justification
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by faith actually plays out in the lives of men and women with
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passions and flaws identical to ours.
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We see Paul agonizing over his own internal struggles in Romans
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7. Describing the war between his
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mind and his flesh. We see him correcting church
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factions dealing with false teachers.
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And displaying this intense protective love for his
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congregations. The epistles show us what it
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looks like for a desperately flawed human being to be
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progressively sanctified by the Spirit.
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They give us a realistic, attainable model of Christian
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maturity while constantly pointing back to Christ as the
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sole source of imputed righteousness.
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Let us take a moment to extrapolate this into our modern
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context. What would modern local churches
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look like if this level of incessant, unseen prayer and
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mutual comfort became the standard?
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It is hard to even imagine, honestly.
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So often we treat church as a weekly event.
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We show up, sing a few songs, listen to a sermon, and go home
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to our private lives. But Paul's desire to visit Rome
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was not for religious tourism. He did not want to go to the
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capital of the world to see the Coliseum.
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Or to gain popularity in the imperial court, he explicitly
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states he wanted to impart spiritual gifts and enjoy the
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mutual comfort of shared faith. If modern congregations adopted
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this posture, it would radically alter the landscape of Christian
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community. Intercessory prayer would cease
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being a mere formality. It would become the actual
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engine of the church. Furthermore, the relationship
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between pastors and congregants would shift entirely from a
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service provider model to a family model.
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Paul explicitly states he wants to be comfortable together with
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them by their mutual faith. There is such an incredible
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humility in that statement. The great apostle, the man who
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wrote half the New Testament, needs the comfort of the Roman
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believers just as much as they need his instruction.
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It completely destroys the modern hierarchy of professional
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clergy versus passive laity. But this tight knit community
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accountability you are describing, well they are going
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to need that immediately. Oh, without a doubt.
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Because Paul is not just sending a polite greeting to a group of
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friends, he is sending a message that will make them social
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outcasts in Roman society. And that leads directly into
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Romans chapter one verse 16, where?
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Paul makes his famous declaration.
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I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.
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We have to understand the intense cultural friction
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happening here. Paul is stepping into an arena
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of massive intellectual and cultural pride.
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Rome was the seat of empire, the apex of architecture, law and
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military might. They viewed themselves as the
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absolute pinnacle of human achievement.
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And the Gospel, on the other hand, was a message of absolute
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disgrace to the Roman mind. It's centered entirely on a
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Jewish Carpenter who was executed via crucifixion.
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Crucifixion was a punishment reserved exclusively for the
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lowest slaves and the worst rebels.
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It was considered so shameful that polite Roman society deemed
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it inappropriate to even mention the word in casual conversation.
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And yet Paul is saying he is not ashamed of this message.
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Simeon points out that while few people today might verbally
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admit to being ashamed of the gospel, multitudes actually are.
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He outlines 3 specific ways people demonstrate this shame in
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their actions. The first way is by avoiding
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instruction. He uses the historical example
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of Nicodemus, the religious leader who came to Jesus by
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night under the cover of darkness.
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People might have a secret conviction that the gospel is
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true, but they avoid evangelical churches or religious
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instruction because they fear the stigma attached to it.
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They do not want their friends or intellectual colleagues to
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think they are embracing obnoxious, outdated tenets.
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The psychology of intellectual pride plays a massive role
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there. The second way Simeon mentions
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is avoiding open profession people.
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Want the crown without the cross?
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They might mentally agree with the truth of salvation, but they
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refuse to publicly align themselves with a group that is
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socially mocked. The third way is not walking
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worthy of the message. This involves making worldly
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compliances to screen themselves from criticism.
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They intentionally lower their moral standards to blend in with
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their secular environment. Hiding their light under a
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bushel to avoid the friction that holiness inevitably causes
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in a corrupt culture. Let me paint a picture based on
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Simeon's text to bring this into the present day.
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Please do. Imagine someone sitting at their
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desk in a modern corporate office reading their Bible
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during a lunch break. OK, I can picture that.
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Suddenly, highly secular, perhaps aggressively anti
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religious executive colleague knocks on the door.
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The immediate, almost reflex like instinct for many believers
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would be to quickly shove the Bible off the desk into a
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drawer. Or throw a Manila folder over
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it. Why do we do that?
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What is the mechanism driving that change?
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From a reformed perspective, is it just the fear of a socially
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awkward conversation, or is something much deeper happening?
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It is so much deeper than social awkwardness.
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The friction occurs because the gospel inherently insults human
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achievement. Which is the currency?
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The corporate world, the academic world and polite
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society. The Reformed doctrine of total
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depravity tells the wealthy CEO and the destitute beggar that
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they are equally bankrupt before a holy God.
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Equally incapable of saving themselves and equally in need
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of divine charity. The natural ego hates that
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leveling of the playing field. It strips away every resume and
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every bank account. It absolutely strips them away.
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So when a person shoves the Bible in a drawer out of a
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sudden spike of anxiety about their reputation, they are
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making a theological statement. They are declaring functionally
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that the approval of mortals is superior to the Majestic plan of
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the Trinity. Simeon notes that if you make
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sacrifices to avoid instruction or profession, you are deciding
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that your temporary social comfort is more valuable than
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eternal truth. You are choosing the praise of
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men over the praise of your Creator.
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Which makes Simeon's reasons for not being ashamed so compelling.
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He gives 3 massive weighty reasons why the Gospel should be
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our absolute boast regardless of the cultural temperature.
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First, he says, it is a revelation of grace orchestrated
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by the entire Trinity. We are talking about the
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covenant of redemption here. The Father elects the people and
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sends the sun. The Sun takes on human human
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nature and acts to secure reconciliation by his blood.
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And the Holy Spirit actively applies that salvation to the
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individual, making them fit for the inheritance.
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When you view salvation as the coordinated, eternal action of
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the Triune God, the idea of being ashamed of it becomes
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utterly absurd. Simeon asks A piercing question.
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Is that in which all the wisdom and might of God are
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concentrated an object we should blush to acknowledge?
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This plan is the 1 theme of adoration for all the hosts of
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Heaven. For a tiny, finite human on
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earth to veil it simply for fear of a colleague's reproach is
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extreme folly. His second reason is that it is
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God's singular instrument for salvation throughout all of
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human history. It saved Adam when the promise
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was given that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent's
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head. It saved Abraham, who believed
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God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.
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It is the only mechanism that has ever successfully saved a
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human soul. And this leads to an incredible
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vivid illustration Simeon uses regarding the brazen serpent in
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the wilderness. That illustration from the Book
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of Numbers is brilliant for explaining human psychology.
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Set the scene for us there. The Israelites were dying from
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venomous snake bites. As a judgement for their
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rebellion, God commanded Moses to make a serpent of brass and
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put it on a pole. And the promise was simple.
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Anyone who looked at the Brass Serpent would live.
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It was a completely irrational cure to the human mind, looking
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at a piece of metal to cure deadly venom, but it worked
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because God ordained it. Later in Israel's history, as
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recorded in the Second Kings, the people actually started
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worshipping that piece of brass. Burning incense to it, turning
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the instrument of their physical healing into a permanent idol.
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They named it Nahushton and treated it like a deity.
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Yes, they did. Simeon uses this history to make
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a devastating point about our modern embarrassment.
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He says if the ancient Israelites ended up venerating a
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mere piece of brass simply because it was a temporary
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instrument of physical healing. How shocking is it when modern
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people treat the eternal gospel, the instrument of everlasting
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spiritual salvation, with embarrassment and contempt?
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That comparison hits hard. We look at the Israelites and
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think they were foolish for worshipping a brass snake.
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Yet we will hide the message that cures eternal death because
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we are worried about losing a promotion.
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Simeon's third reason not to be ashamed is simply that the
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gospel actually works. It is entirely effective.
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It leaves no believer under guilt or pollution.
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The forensic justification it provides gives the believer a
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pure and perfect standing before the bench of divine justice.
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But this raises a massive question.
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Why do we need this cure? Why is humanity in such a
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desperate state? That brings us to Paul's
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argument in Romans 1, verses 20 through 21, where he establishes
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the universal, inexcusable guilt of mankind.
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Paul bills his legal case systematically, like a
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prosecutor laying out evidence. Before he can offer the cure of
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the gospel, he has to prove the diagnosis is terminal for every
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single person. He starts with the Gentile
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world, the Pagan nations who did not have the written law of
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Moses or the covenants of Israel.
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Simeon points out that while they did not have the written
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book of Divine Revelation, they possessed the Book of Creation.
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The book of creation. Let us untack that concept.
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We are talking about natural revelation here.
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By observing the heavenly bodies moving in precise orbits, the
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earth providing seasonal food and resources.
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And the staggering intricacy of the human body.
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The Gentile world should have deduced the existence of an
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eternal self existing creator. Simeon argues this using a
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teleological framework. He says a person cannot look
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upon any work of art, a well constructed house or a complex
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watch with all its gears and mainsprings without knowing
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instantly that there was a maker.
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The human mind is necessarily led to contemplate the builder
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when viewing the building. Therefore, looking at the
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immensity and Excellency of the universe, the ancient world
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should have recognized a first 'cause whose wisdom and might
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are infinite. The invisible attributes of the
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creator are clearly seen in the visible world.
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But instead of glorifying him as God, instead of offering
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gratitude, what did humanity do? They suppress the truth.
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They made idols. They traded the glory of the
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incorruptible God for images resembling mortal men, birds, 4
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footed animals, and creeping things.
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They showed 0 gratitude for the constant succession of
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blessings. They received the rain, the
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harvest, the from their lungs. And as a direct result of that
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idolatry, they plunged into horrifying moral degradation.
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Simeon references Paul, quoting the Cretan poet.
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The Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.
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It was a wretched compound of falsehood, cruelty and
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sensuality. And lest we look at the ancient
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gentiles with a smug sense of chronological snobbery, Simeon
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brings the application directly to the modern era.
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We have infinitely superior advantages compared to the
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ancient world. We have the completed written
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revelation of Scripture. We have the historical reality
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of the Incarnation. Yet without the intervening
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grace of God holding us back, we act precisely the same.
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We commit socially acceptable sins, envy, deceit, backbiting,
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corporate greed. And we create a false, sanitized
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concept of God in our minds to justify our behavior.
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I. Want to focus on that false
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concept of God? Simeon says.
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We construct a God solely of mercy, a deity who never
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punishes. We want a grandfather in the sky
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who hands out blessings, winks at our indiscretions, and never
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demands A strict accounting for our actions.
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But Simeon makes a stark assertion.
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A God all mercy Is a God unjust? That phrase is a huge
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theological anchor. Think about a human judge in a
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modern courtroom. If a judge pardons every
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murderer, thief and embezzler that comes before his bench
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simply because he wants the public to know him as a merciful
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guy. We would not call him a good
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judge, we would call him entirely corrupt.
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We would demand his removal from the bench because he is actively
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failing to uphold justice and protect the innocent.
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He would be a menace to society. The victims would receive no
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justice. Precisely so when we imagine a
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deity who simply waves away human rebellion, cruelty, lying
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and idolatry without requiring any legal satisfaction for those
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crimes. We are imagining an unjust,
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corrupt judge. We are exalting our personal
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preference for comfort over his attribute of absolute holiness.
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We divest him of all the authority that belongs to him as
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the righteous governor of the universe.
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This is why penal substitutionary atonement is not
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just a theological theory. It is a logical necessity if God
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is to remain just while justifying the Sinner.
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Let us stay on that watchmaker analogy for a minute, because I
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want to push back using our reformed theological framework.
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OK, let us hear the pushback. You see a watch, you know there
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is a watchmaker. The evidence is clear, but from
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a reformed perspective, we believe in total depravity.
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Yes, we do. We believe that human minds,
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emotions and wills are entirely broken and corrupted by the fall
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of Adam. That is correct.
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If our faculties are that corrupted, if we are born
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spiritually dead, how is it fair that God holds humanity totally
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responsible for failing to read the book of creation accurately?
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I see where you were going. If a person is born physically
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blind, you do not throw them in prison for failing to describe
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the sunset. That is the classic historical
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objection to the doctrine of total depravity, and it requires
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careful, nuanced distinction. Break it down for us.
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The reformed view of free agency, which Simeon outlines in
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the text, distinguishes heavily between physical constraint and
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moral corruption. This is often referred to as the
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difference between natural inability and moral inability.
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Humans act according to their desires.
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The will is like a scale. It tips toward whatever the mind
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desires most in that moment. Humans are not forced to sin
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against their will by some external cosmic dictator pushing
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them around like just pieces. They choose to suppress the
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truth because they actively love the darkness.
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So the blindness is not a lack of physical capacity.
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The blindness is willful refusal.
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Accurately stated, it is a moral inability.
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They do not lack the brain cells or the logical capacity to
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comprehend a Creator. Their will is just entirely
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hostile to the truth. Simeon states that they were
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perfectly free agents in all that they did.
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They could not plead ignorance because the evidence of the
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created order was overwhelming. And they could not plead
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necessity because they were under no external physical
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compulsion to fashion idols out of wood and stone.
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They violated the law written on their own consciences.
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Therefore, the light they resisted actually constitutes
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the heaviest aggravation of their guilt.
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They saw the light, hated it, and chose the shadows.
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Which brings us to the climax of Paul's indictment in Romans
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chapter 1. It is not just that humans are
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passively ignorant. It is not just that we casually
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excuse our sins or prefer comfort over truth.
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Simeon highlights Romans one verse 30 where Paul drops the
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most staggering offensive accusation of all.
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He calls the natural human heart haters of God.
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It is a phrase that completely arrests you.
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Haters are gone. Simeon anticipates the
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immediate, visceral reaction of his audience.
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He says if you go around to all the people you can find in
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polite society and ask them, are you a hater of God?
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They will spurn the idea immediately.
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They will consider it a gross insult to their character.
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The moral, philanthropic part of mankind would be filled with
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indignation. Even the most immoral person on
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the street might say, well, I do not obey him as I should, and I
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have my flaws, but I certainly do not hate him.
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But Simeon, following Paul's logic, insists this is a
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universal, undeniable fact. Every single unconverted person
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falls into the category of a hater of God.
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And he offers proof for this massive claim.
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He says the proof is found in our daily choices.
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We consistently prefer the lowest gratifications over his
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explicit commands. Any vain, worthless thing.
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A moment of gossip, A small financial gain, A fleeting
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physical pleasure. Is sufficient to draw us
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entirely away from our allegiance to him.
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And here is the psychological test Simeon proposes, which cuts
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right through our polite defenses.
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He asks his listeners to imagine a hypothetical scenario.
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Supposing we were told from an undoubted absolute authority
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that there was no God to control us, no God to inspect our secret
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ways, no God to call us to a final account.
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And that we were at complete liberty to follow our own
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desires without any fear of an afterlife or judgment.
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Would it not, on the whole, be an acceptable, joyful report to
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the natural man? The natural mind would feel
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massive, overwhelming relief. Let us use an analogy to explain
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this mechanism. Imagine an employee who
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absolutely resents the company owner.
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The owner is strict, demands perfection and misses nothing.
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The employee might smile, smile to the boss's face, meticulously
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follow the dress code, and do just enough work to avoid
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getting fired. They maintain a polite veneer.
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But the second they hear the owner's car leave the parking
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lot for a month long vacation, they throw a party in the break
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room. The rules are gone.
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The strict oversight is gone. If you pulled people on the
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street, 99% would violently deny being a hater of God.
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How does the Gospel tear down this polite moral veneer and
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expose the party in the break room?
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The Gospel tears it down by exposing the psychology of our
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modern idolatry. People do not hate the God they
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invented in their own minds. They love the grandfatherly
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figure who lowers his standards for them.
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Who winks at their minor sins and who exists purely to assist
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them in achieving their personal, career and
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relationship goals? A cosmic Butler.
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But when they are confronted with the actual God of the
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Bible, the one who is infinitely holy, who demands perfect
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justice. Who sees every hidden thought in
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the dark, and who cannot look upon sin without absolute
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abhorrence? The natural heart recoils in
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disgust. Simeon points out the causes of
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this hatred. He says there is an an absolute
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contrarity between his holy nature and our fallen nature.
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It is the violent friction between light and darkness.
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We do not naturally seek conformity to His image.
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In fact, if we see genuine, uncompromising holiness in
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another person, the natural human reaction is often intense
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irritation, mockery, or outright hostility.
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And the ultimate historical test case for this theory is the
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incarnation. When perfect holiness literally
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took on flesh and walked the earth in the person of Jesus
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Christ, how did humanity react to Him?
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They did not elect him king. They did not throw a parade to
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celebrate his pure morality. They tortured and crucified him.
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Simeon notes that this was not just the action of an ignorant,
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uneducated mob. It was the kings, the religious
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priests, the educated elite and the common people all joining
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together in a unified coalition. The human heart, when confronted
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with the unvarnished physical presence of the Creator,
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responded with premeditated murder.
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The cross is the absolute ultimate proof of total
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depravity. That is a chilling reality to
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sit with, and it explains the reformed understanding of human
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depravity so clearly. We consciously dread his coming
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judgment, and we deeply resent his moral authority over our
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private lives. Simeon even makes the point that
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hell is not just a torture chamber.
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Hell is simply the human heart, left entirely to its own
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devices, completely stripped of God's restraining common grace.
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In the eternal state, the enmity of the human heart is no longer
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held back by social norms. Fear of prison or the common
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grace of education? It leads to eternal blasphemy,
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malice and anguish because the heart is finally free to express
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its absolute hatred for the Creator.
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The individuals in that state do not suddenly humble themselves
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and ask for forgiveness. They carry their hostile
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dispositions with them, manifesting the full malignity
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that was previously restrained during their earthly lives.
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This entire diagnostic progression forces us to realize
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how massive our humiliation before God should be.
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If we only look at specific overt sins like lying, stealing,
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we miss the underlying disease. We have to probe our hearts to
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the very bottom and realize what monsters we would become if God
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simply abandoned us to our own inclinations.
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This entire progression through Romans chapter 1 is a systematic
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dismantling of human pride. Paul starts by showing his deep,
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agonizing love for the church, ensuring they know his pastoral
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heart. Then he declares his unashamed
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boldness for a scandalous, socially unacceptable gospel.
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Then he systematically proves why that gospel is absolutely
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necessary by exposing the universal guilt of mankind.
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Starting with the failure to read the Book of Creation and
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ending with a terrifying reality that the natural mind actively
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hates the creator. It is a devastating sequence of
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arguments, but it is entirely necessary.
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You cannot appreciate the magnitude of the cure until you
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understand the absolute fatality of the disease.
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God does not just offer to be reconciled to a group of neutral
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people who made a few mistakes. He actively pursues hostile
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rebels. The gospel follows us with
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invitations and entreaties to lay aside our weapons and our
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enmity. And when a person actually
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receives that gospel through effectual calling, it slays the
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enmity. It brings the soul into peace
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with God, removing the indisposition to what is good.
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And actually writing the law of God upon the heart, so that
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Ogilians becomes a joy rather than a burden.
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Which allows us to synthesize this entire lengthy discussion
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and leave you with a totally new thought.
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Someone that builds on everything Simeon has laid out
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regarding the depravity of man and the grace of God.
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If the natural, unregenerate human heart inherently and
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universally hates the true holy God of the Bible.
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If it recoils at his strict justice and rebels against his
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absolute sovereignty. Then any flicker of genuine love
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for him in your heart changes the entire equation.
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It changes everything if you find within yourself any genuine
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gratitude toward God for His Holiness.
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Any sincere desire for His glory to be magnified, or any real
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piercing grief over your sin simply because it offends Him.
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You must realize that those feelings did not originate in
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your natural intellect. They are not the product of your
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own reasoning or your own moral superiority.
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They are absolute, concrete proof that a supernatural
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miracle, the new birth, has already occurred within your
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chest. A dead heart cannot beat with
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affection for a holy God. Only a resurrected heart can do
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that. If you mourn your sin and love
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His Holiness, the Spirit has already done the impossible work
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within you. So as we close this deep dive,
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we want to challenge you to evaluate your own view of the
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divine. Look closely at the deity you
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envision when you close your eyes to pray.
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Are you worshipping the holy, just and sovereign God of the
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Scriptures, the one who demands absolute perfection and deals
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severely with sin? Or have you constructed an idol
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of your own making in your mind? A sanitized, comfortable deity
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designed to make you feel good without requiring your
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submission. The true God demands everything
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from you, but He also provides everything you need through the
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perfect imputed righteousness of Christ.
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Thank you for joining us for this rigorous look into the
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truth. We will see you next time on
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reformed thinking.