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Authors: Jerry Bridges
BOOK: The Practice of Godliness: Godliness has value for all things
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TREMBLING AT HIS WORD
The person who is truly humble before God is also humble before God’s word. God says He esteems the person who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at His word. When King Josiah heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes, saying, “Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book ...” (2 Kings 22:13). Josiah realized that the word of God was the expression of the will of God, that it was to be obeyed, and that failure to obey would incur the judgment of God. Because Josiah trembled at the word of God, his heart was responsive, he humbled himself, he acknowledged the sin of his people, and God heard him. He did not dispute the word of God; he simply obeyed it.
We also must develop this kind of humility toward the Bible. As we search the Scriptures, we must allow them to search us, to sit in judgment upon our character and conduct. We must not treat the Scriptures only as a source of knowledge about God, but also as the expression of His will for our daily lives. As someone has said, “The Bible was given not just to increase our knowledge, but to guide our conduct.” Far too often it seems we approach the Bible just to increase our knowledge of the facts of the Bible. We do need to increase our spiritual knowledge, but it should be for the purpose of obeying God’s will. Paul prayed that God would fill the Colossian Christians with the knowledge of His will in order that they might live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way. He wanted them to know God’s will so that they would obey God’s will and thus please God.
Not only must we develop a spirit of humility toward the Bible in regard to our
conduct,
we must also develop such a spirit in regard to our
doctrines.
We evangelicals are not noted for our humility about our doctrines—our beliefs about what the Bible teaches in various areas of theology. Whatever position we take in a specific area of theology, we tend to feel our position is airtight, and that anyone holding a different view is altogether wrong. We tend to be quite impatient with anyone who differs from us. Ironically, the more our views come from the teachings of someone else instead of from the Bible itself, the more rigidly we tend to hold those views.
conduct,
we must also develop such a spirit in regard to our
doctrines.
We evangelicals are not noted for our humility about our doctrines—our beliefs about what the Bible teaches in various areas of theology. Whatever position we take in a specific area of theology, we tend to feel our position is airtight, and that anyone holding a different view is altogether wrong. We tend to be quite impatient with anyone who differs from us. Ironically, the more our views come from the teachings of someone else instead of from the Bible itself, the more rigidly we tend to hold those views.
It is one thing to be persuaded that what we believe is correct as we understand the Scriptures; it is quite another to believe that our views are
always
correct. Twice in my life I have had to make significant changes in my doctrines as a result of additional understanding of the Scriptures. This is not to suggest that we are to be wishy-washy in our beliefs so that we are “blown here and there by every wind of teaching,” but that we are to hold our beliefs in a spirit of true humility. We must remind ourselves that God has not seen fit to make our minds, or even a particular church, the depository of the sum total of His teaching.
always
correct. Twice in my life I have had to make significant changes in my doctrines as a result of additional understanding of the Scriptures. This is not to suggest that we are to be wishy-washy in our beliefs so that we are “blown here and there by every wind of teaching,” but that we are to hold our beliefs in a spirit of true humility. We must remind ourselves that God has not seen fit to make our minds, or even a particular church, the depository of the sum total of His teaching.
At one time in His ministry Jesus prayed, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure” (Luke 10:21). Commenting on this passage, Norvel Geldenhuys has aptly remarked,
The contrast pointed by the Savior is not that between “educated” and “non-educated” but between those who imagine themselves to be wise and sensible—and those who live under the profound impression that by their own insight and their own reasonings they are utterly powerless to understand the truths of God and to accept them.
1
May God help us to be humble enough toward the Scriptures to be found in that group that Jesus called, “little children.”
HERE BY THE GRACE OF GOD
When a believer is truly humble before God and His word, he will also be humble about his own gifts, abilities, and attainments. He will realize and gratefully acknowledge that all that he is and all that he has comes from the hand of God.
This aspect of humility actually begins with our understanding of personal salvation. All evangelicals agree that we are saved solely by the grace of God, apart from any works of our own. But do we believe, even in some undefined way, that we did contribute something to our salvation, something that implies that we were a little bit wiser, or a little smarter, or a little more responsive to God than others?
Some time ago I read a statement in which the writer said he realized that the only difference between himself and another group of people was that perhaps he had a little more reliance upon the grace of God. I am sure the writer meant this as an expression of humility, but it left me uncomfortable. Somehow I cannot imagine the apostle Paul finding any distinguishing difference in himself, even a little more reliance upon the grace of God. Instead I find him saying, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst” (1 Timothy 1:15). Paul never compared himself favorably with the unbelievers around him. He was too overwhelmed with the fact that the grace of God was sufficient to reach even him.
Our attitude of humility in regard to our salvation should carry over to a recognition that any of our abilities and achievements are equally a result of God’s grace. In his first epistle to the Corinthian Christians, Paul minces no words on this subject: “For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” (4:7). Every ability and every advantage we have comes from God and has been given to us as a stewardship to be used in serving Him. For some time after I went into “full-time” Christian work and was living on a mere subsistence income, I often struggled with thoughts of how much money I could have been making if I had followed the profession I was trained for in college. Finally I began to realize that it was God who had given me the advantage of a good education, and that I was not doing Him a favor by being in His service full-time. All that I had came from Him and was to be used for His glory.
Paul refused to take the credit for his abilities or even his diligent labors. Again in his first letter to the Corinthians he declares, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me” (15:10). This passage used to puzzle me. It seemed as if Paul was trying to be both humble and proud. How could anyone dare to state publicly that he had worked harder than all the other apostles? But then I realized that Paul was ascribing even his hard work to the grace of God. Sometimes we hear some tired Christian describing how hard he has worked in the service of God, teaching Sunday school for ten years straight, or sponsoring a difficult junior high youth group, or being one of the faithful few at Wednesday night prayer meeting. Perhaps we ourselves have been one of those tired Christians. If so, let’s remember to credit our hard work and faithful labors strictly to the grace of God.
We should ascribe any attainments, whether secular or spiritual, to the grace of God. When Moses was giving final instructions to the children of Israel prior to entering the promised land, he specifically warned them against the pride that comes with taking credit for successes: “You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today” (Deuteronomy 8:17-18). Paul was just as emphatic about spiritual success when he wrote, “So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” (1 Corinthians 3:7). The prophet Isaiah succinctly expressed the attitude we are to have toward accomplishments when he said, “Lord ... all that we have accomplished you have done for us” (26:12).
While writing this chapter I had occasion to express appreciation to a fellow church member for a job well done. I liked his simple, humble response: “It was the Lord who did it.” Humility with regard to ourselves, then, consists in ascribing all that we are, all that we have, and all that we have accomplished to the God who gives us grace.
SUBMISSION, SERVICE, AND HONOR
A believer who is humble before God will also be humble toward other people. One way this humility expresses itself is in mutual submission to one another. Paul instructs us, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21). Peter likewise says, “Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another” (1 Peter 5:5), and James tells us that submissiveness is characteristic of the wisdom that comes from heaven (James 3:17). What does it mean to submit to one another? Does it mean always giving in to others’ demands or opinions? Not at all. It means to submit to
instruction
as well as
correction
from other believers; to be teachable or to be humble enough to admit we have erred when another believer corrects us.
instruction
as well as
correction
from other believers; to be teachable or to be humble enough to admit we have erred when another believer corrects us.
Apollos and Peter are beautiful examples of men who submitted themselves to other believers. Apollos submitted himself to others’ instruction. Luke tells us that Apollos was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures, who had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and who spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately. Apollos was obviously a gifted and capable man, and apparently a “full-time Christian worker,” but he had one defect. His knowledge about Christ was accurate but incomplete; he knew only the baptism of John. When Priscilla and Aquila, a godly “lay” couple in the church at Ephesus, heard Apollos, they invited him to their home and explained the way of God more adequately (Acts 18:24-26). It is evident that Apollos received their instruction because shortly thereafter, when Apollos wanted to go on to minister to the churches in Achaia, the church at Ephesus not only encouraged him but also wrote a letter to the Achaian Christians telling them to welcome him.
What a commentary on the humility of Apollos! What a sermon by example on what it means to submit to one another! Apollos was a capable, gifted minister; yet he was not above receiving instruction from Priscilla and Aquila. (It is not too hard to imagine in passing with what gentleness and consideration Priscilla and Aquila must have instructed Apollos. That is the other side of submission to one another—but more about that when we get to the trait of gentleness in chapter 15.)
Peter provides us with an example of submitting to the correction of another believer. Paul records that when Peter came to Antioch, he found it necessary to rebuke Peter because of his hypocrisy in regard to the Gentile Christians. Not only was Paul’s rebuke severe; it was done openly before the other believers. The Scriptures do not tell us what Peter’s reaction was, but apparently Peter did not harbor any resentment toward Paul. In one of his own letters he later refers to Paul as “our dear brother” and speaks of Paul’s letters as Scripture—that is, as part of the divinely inspired writings of the word of God (2 Peter 3:15-16). Peter had evidently accepted Paul’s rebuke. He had humbly submitted himself to the correction of another believer, even though that believer was “younger in the Lord” than he.
There is no question that submission to the unsolicited teaching or correction of others is difficult for our naturally proud hearts. But the context of Paul’s instruction on mutual submission in Ephesians 5 indicates it is one of the evidences of being filled with the Spirit. Humility is a fruit of the Spirit, the result of His ministry in our hearts. But this ministry does not occur without deliberate, conscious effort on our part. The Spirit does not make us humble; He enables us to humble ourselves in these difficult situations.
Although submission is probably the most difficult application of humility toward others, it is by no means the only one. A very common occasion for showing humility is through
serving one another.
In this area Jesus is our greatest teacher and pacesetter. The foremost example is His washing the disciples’ feet on the night of His betrayal, but Jesus’ whole life was one of serving others. He said He did not come to be served but to serve; He went around doing good for others. Jesus even seems to indicate that He will still be serving us in eternity (Luke 12:37), as incredible as that may seem.
2
serving one another.
In this area Jesus is our greatest teacher and pacesetter. The foremost example is His washing the disciples’ feet on the night of His betrayal, but Jesus’ whole life was one of serving others. He said He did not come to be served but to serve; He went around doing good for others. Jesus even seems to indicate that He will still be serving us in eternity (Luke 12:37), as incredible as that may seem.
2
In addition to the example He set for us, Jesus also taught us by precept the importance of serving one another. He indicated that true greatness in the kingdom of God does not consist in position but in serving one another, and He promised blessing to those who followed His example in serving others.
This demonstration of humility in serving others also requires the grace of God. Peter tells us that those who serve “should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 4:11). We all know people, even unbelievers, who seem to be natural servants. They are always serving others one way or another. But God does not get the glory; they do. It is
their
reputation that is enhanced. But when we, natural servants or not, serve in dependence upon the grace of God with the strength He supplies, God is glorified.
their
reputation that is enhanced. But when we, natural servants or not, serve in dependence upon the grace of God with the strength He supplies, God is glorified.
Dependence upon the grace of God not only results in God being glorified; it also makes it possible for those of us who are not natural servants to practice this aspect of humility. His grace is sufficient for all of our needs, whatever they may be. We can, by His enablement,
learn
to serve one another.
learn
to serve one another.
A third way we demonstrate humility is by
honoring
one another. Paul says in Romans 12:10, “Honor one another above yourselves,” and in Philippians 2:3, “consider others better than yourselves.” We are to place the other person above ourselves in matters of position, concerns, or needs.
honoring
one another. Paul says in Romans 12:10, “Honor one another above yourselves,” and in Philippians 2:3, “consider others better than yourselves.” We are to place the other person above ourselves in matters of position, concerns, or needs.
Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for seeking the places of honor at a feast, telling them to instead seek out the lowest place. We may condemn the childish self-seeking of the Pharisees, but how about our own attitude? Do we maneuver for first place in line, or for the best seats at public meetings? Do we frequently assert ourselves at the expense of others, or do we consider their interests as well as our own?
If we are to experience the blessings promised to the humble we must work out this humility in our daily relationships with others. We must learn to submit to one another, to serve one another, and to honor or prefer one another above ourselves. Remember: the Spirit does not make us humble, but He enables us to humble ourselves. We must
learn
humility, just as Paul learned contentment, but in our efforts we are assured of the same enabling power he experienced (see Philippians 4:11-13).
learn
humility, just as Paul learned contentment, but in our efforts we are assured of the same enabling power he experienced (see Philippians 4:11-13).
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