Featured Thinking of Oneself to be Something When You are Nothing

If a man think himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.—Galatians 6:3.

The leaven of Pharisaism, pride, self-righteousness, and self-sufficiency, is interwoven with our very nature. In the beginning that arch-deceiver, Satan, poisoned the minds of our first parents with that corrupt doctrine, "Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." This infection hath tainted the whole human race: naturally every man deceiveth himself: he thinks himself to be that which in reality he is not. Hence is rooted enmity to the salvation of Jesus and the grace of the gospel: here man is nothing; here the creature is annihilated. As Paul saith of an "idol, it is nothing in the world:" so that idol, a man's self, is nothing, knows nothing, can do nothing in the great work of salvation. Fallen nature, with all its boasted goodness, affected piety, devout efforts, contributes nothing; for "all is of grace," rich, free, and sovereign grace. Man, with all his vaunted "knowledge of good and evil;" his free will to choose the good and refuse the evil, his rectitude to perform his duty and secure his salvation, by fulfilling terms and conditions of the gospel; all these are mere nonentities; lighter than vanity when weighed in the balance of the sanctuary.

O believer, when thou thinkest thyself nothing, knowest nothing of thyself, then thou thinkest and knowest right. But when thou art led to think, "now I am something in myself; now I know something by myself; now I can do something of myself, to keep myself in the favor of God, and to be faithful to his grace," verily thou deceivest thyself. This is acting like the church of Galatia under spiritual witchcraft, "beginning in the Spirit, and ending in the flesh." This, in the strict and proper sense, is "FALLING FROM GRACE." So nature's pride exalts one's self, and censures other Christians as carnal and unfaithful. This pride of the flesh opposeth our growth in grace, and is contrary to the humbling knowledge of Jesus Christ. To know the grace of God in truth, is to own its sovereign operations upon the soul, to be steady as the sun in its course, uncontrollable as the wind in its power, unfrustrable as the tide in its motion, and as unyielding to the power of nature and the will of man, as the proud waves of the great ocean. To "put on the Lord Jesus," is to "put off the old man with its deceitful lusts," and pride. To "rejoice in Christ Jesus," is to "have no confidence in the flesh." The Lord will "suffer no flesh to glory in his presence." "Let him that glorieth, glory in the Lord."—1 Corinthians 1:31. Happy for us, with Paul, "most gladly therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me,"—2 Corinthians 12:9.

- William Mason, A Spiritual Treasury for the Children of God, Volume 1, September 6

 

"Ye are fallen from grace; that is, either from that grace which they professed to have; for there might be some in these churches, as in others, who were only nominal Christians, and formal professors; who had declared they saw themselves lost and undone sinners, destitute of a righteousness, and professed to believe in Christ alone for righteousness and strength, but now trusted in themselves, and in the works of the law: or from the scheme of grace in the whole of man's salvation, which will admit of no mixture of works; either it is one or the other, it cannot be both; wherefore by their taking on the side of works, they showed that they had entirely dropped the scheme of grace."

- from John Gill's Bible commentary on Galatians 5:4

 

"I ...remark on what the Apostle saith, of falling from grace, that this hath no respect whatever, to the childish idea of some men, who would insinuate the possibility of falling from grace. The Apostle is here speaking of the falling from the profession of faith only, in Christ. Paul had been uniformly teaching the Church of Galatia of justification only in Christ. There was some of the hearers of these grand truths, nominal Christians only, who sought to the law for justification; and probably there were some others, truly regenerated, who leaned rather to the mingling system, of Law and Gospel, as hath been in all ages. Now, saith Paul to all such, whoever are justified (or suppose themselves to be justified, for it can be but supposition,) by the law; the grace in Jesus, ye are fallen from. But what hath this to do with the grace of God's elect? If, on this passage, and every other to be met with in the Bible, men would try it by this unerring standard, the decision must be infallible. The new-birth, or regeneration, is the only criterion of grace. No man, but he that is born again, can be said to be a partaker in grace. Everything short of the new-birth, is short of all. And, therefore, this, and this only, becomes the grand conclusion. Is the man born again? If so, he cannot fall from grace. For the Holy Ghost saith, by Peter, he is thereby made a partaker of the divine nature. 2 Peter 1:4. And it were little short of blasphemy to say, that he that is made a partaker of the divine nature, can fall away, and lose that spiritual life, which can never die. 1 Peter 1:23. But there may, and the Lord only knoweth how often there is, great flaming professions, much zeal in appearance, for converting the world, by men unconverted themselves. And therefore, when such blazing Comets disappear, and go out in darkness, the world which behold, call this falling from grace, concerning men who never were in grace. Those hypocrites Paul hath noticed, Hebrews 6:4-6, were of this description. There is not a word said in this passage, amidst much outside godliness, of any inward grace. Not a syllable to intimate, that the work of God the Holy Ghost, had passed upon either of their hearts, by regeneration. So that, let the Reader be always on the lookout for the new-birth in all high professions, void of vital godliness, and he will be sure to discover, as fire manifests tinsel from pure gold, that this blessed discriminating work of God, hath never passed upon persons of this complexion.

- from Robert Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary on Galatians 5:4

 

@Van I apologize for my tone I used in arguing with you in this thread.