Pride, Humility, Truth, Mercy

In some ways, nothing is more humbling than reality itself. A proud man must in some measure be deluded about his own nature, the nature of God, the nature of sin, or the nature of truth itself. Nevertheless, merely knowing the facts about everything would most likely serve to ENHANCE a person's pride! This reveals the practical invincibility of this foundational vice: it is immune to the light that should rightly vanquish it. Knowledge puffs up the very soul that ought to be humbled by it.

So, what can possibly slay the self-regenerating root of pride? Only this: experiencing the mercy of God. The soul that experiences utter dependence on God's sheer kindness - and finds itself undeservedly shielded from His wrath - has a genuine hope of being freed from the straitjacket of pride. The person who daily and gratefully receives the gift of grace is being taught real humility. This person is the one who can benefit from a wider knowledge of the truth and the reality of things.

The very skies and fields and trees look different when once you have found yourself flat on your back, defeated and desperate, and then have felt the extended hand of healing mercy laying gentle on your shoulder. God gives grace to the humble, indeed, but it is all by grace He makes us humble.

"Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble."
- Daniel 4:37

Is Calvinism Irrational?

I posted the following in response to an article called "Why Calvinism is the Least Rational Option," that was posted on Truth Matters, and the ensuing debate which erupted in the comments on that site . . .

The issue here is not whether God is logical. God is the basis of all truth, logic, wisdom, etc. However, man is not utterly logical, and therefore we are incapable of fully comprehending some of the things God has revealed. God has clearly revealed both divine election and human responsibility, divine sovereignty and human choice. In God's mind, these do not contradict one another at all. But in our tiny, finite pea-brains there is no way to fully reconcile them. This does not accuse God of irrationality, it simply exalts God and humbles us. It forces us to admit that He is smarter than we are. Some . . . have gone too far in saying that because God is totally logical we can understand everything He says. It's an oversimplification of the issue that forgets just how fallen we are, and just how exalted God is. Historic Calvinism has generally bowed its best logic before God's higher wisdom and acknowledged a great deal of mystery. We should do the same.

I have to bow my best logic to Psalm 145:3 "Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised, And His greatness is unsearchable."

The Believer's Battle with Pride

Highly Recommended:

Tony Hayling recently posted one of the best articles I've ever read on the believer's battle with pride . . .

A Saint's/Sinner's Prayer (click to view article)

Contained here is a sublime paradox about the sins we commit before and after conversion, and the power of God's grace to remedy our most obnoxious failures. Tony demonstrates that we are practically MORE GUILTY of sin after conversion than before conversion - but we also receive MORE GRACE. In this way, God greatly humbles us, and He is greatly glorified through the display of His mercy. And all of this is used by God to create within us a hatred for sin and a hunger for holiness that only He can fulfill.