The Unconverted “Believer” (1): The Problem Stated

The Unconverted “Believer” and the Need for Self-Examination

Acts chapter 3 now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer the ninth hour and A man lame from birth was being carried whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the beautiful gate.

To ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple He asked to receive alms and Peter directed his gaze at him as did John and said look at us. And he fixed his attention on them expecting to receive something from them.

But Peter said I have no silver and gold. But what I do have I give to you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk and he took him by the right hand and raised him up and Immediately his feet and ankles were made strong and leaping up.

He stood and began to walk and enter the temple with them walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God and recognized him as the one who sat at the beautiful gate of the temple asking for alms and They were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

While he clung to Peter and John all the people are people utterly astounded. Ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's and when Peter saw it He addressed the people men of Israel. Why do you wonder at this?

Or why do you stare at us as though by our own power or piety we made him walk? The God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob the God of our fathers glorified his servant Jesus. Whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate when he had decided to release him.

But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you and You killed the author of life whom God raised from the dead to this. We are witness in his name by faith in his name has made this man strong whom you see and know and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all and.

Now brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets that his Christ would suffer and thus fulfilled. Repent therefore and turn back that your sins may be blotted out.

The times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord and that he may send the Christ appointed for you Jesus whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke.

By the mouth of his holy prophets long ago Moses said the Lord will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him and whatever he tells you and it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people and All the prophets who have spoken from Samuel and those who came after him also proclaimed these days.

You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers. Saying to Abraham and in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. God having raised up his servant sent him to you first to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.

Let's pray. Our father we thank you for this time together. Where we could gather around your word and we can sing it and we can pray it and we can hear it proclaimed. We thank you for its truth. And Lord, we pray that we would repent from our former ways that we would no longer live as the Gentiles live in in ignorance and darkness alienated from the life of God.

Being callous and being greedy for every type of sensuality. Lord, we confess these things to you and we pray that we would live as new creatures that we would live as Christ. So Lord in the power of your spirit, we pray that you would help us help us to hear the Word of God.

Help us to understand it help us to practically live it out in our day-to-day lives. We pray Lord that we would be pleasing to you. Help us now as we hear the word proclaimed. We just pray that we would be sensitive to it.

Keep us focused on it Lord and all throughout the week. Thank you Lord in Jesus name. Amen.

Well, let's turn in our Bibles to the book of Proverbs and we'll read one verse Proverbs 30 verse 12 as we begin this morning. Mary could I trouble you to get it. Bring up a block box of Kleenex, please.

For some reason we lost ours up here.

That'd be great.

It's a short verse. There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes. Yet is not washed from its filthiness. Thank you and that Verse is full of meaning as we will consider later. Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior mankind gave a commission to his church To tell the people of the world the entire world everyone everywhere of the good news of salvation.

From sin through faith in him through faith in Jesus Christ. And so of course we are to declare to all people everywhere that they might escape God's wrath upon them upon them for their sin. That they might escape their sentence of eternal damnation and be assured of the gift of everlasting life.

Mark 16 15 and 16 record the Lord's words go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned. However, we're not just to Proclaim a message.

We are to make disciples. We're followers of Jesus the Lord and we do so by proclaiming the message. And so Matthew recorded our Lord's Great Commission in these words. All authority has been given to me in heaven and earth.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you and lo I'm with you even on to the end of the age and We're of course to have the same Passion for the loss that characterized our Lord.

We're to desire the salvation of all people.

Everywhere.

Rejoicing when they respond to our message when they come to faith in the Lord Jesus and When they join his people and following him as his disciples. But not only is the church to proclaim to the lost world that people might receive salvation through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

The church is to make every effort to assure that those in the churches Those who profess to be believers live as true disciples Following him in faith and obedience through life. And so we're to labor.

So that professing Christians will be saved from their own sin when they face the Lord Jesus In their judgment on the last day. We're to teach we're to warn. We're to exhort one another lest any of us fails to live in a manner that characterizes true Christians.

For the failure to live as a Christian will result in one's damnation along with all non-believers non-christians. We were to come alongside one another helping one another in the faith so that we might all complete our journey of faith in The day that our Lord calls us on to himself.

But this is a great Responsibility really a great task a great duty and challenge when we consider the scope of the problem. The Word of God reveals that there may be many churches that are comprised of many people Who believe themselves to have salvation but are yet in their sins and I find Evangelicals even will express the great need and concern to go out into the world and to bring the gospel to the lost.

But they don't have a lot of concern and compassion for the people within their own walls. The church in the city of Sardis which existed toward the end of the first century was comprised largely of unconverted souls.

Jesus dictated a letter to that church Revelation which reads. I know your works that you have a name that you are alive, but you're dead. They thought that they had eternal life. Spiritual life. Be watchful strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die.

For I've not found your works perfect before God. And remember therefore how you've received and heard hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch I will come upon you as a thief and you'll not know what hour I will come upon you.

And yet the Lord made this concession. You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments. They shall walk with me in white for they are worthy. He who overcome shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the book of life.

Which I will confess it. I but I will confess his name before my father and before his angels. And so this church congregation thought itself a lie spiritually alive, but in fact they were spiritually dead.

There were only a few names of those in the church who had received salvation. And similar conclusions could be drawn regarding the churches of Antioch, Tyre and Laodicea from the other letters that are recorded in Revelation 2 and 3.

And so bringing professing Christians to experience true salvation Is a great undertaking. It also is a great undertaking when we consider the number of people that believe themselves to be Christians.

Who assume or at least hope that they will escape God's condemnation and be allowed entrance into the everlasting life. And so let's consider the broad heading of Christendom for example. Which is a term that refers to all people throughout the world who profess that they're Christians.

This is their claim of the present population of 7 .8 billion souls living on our planet day today almost one-third of them Claim to be Christian. That's a total of 2 .4 billion souls worldwide. Does the world give evidence that one-third of the population are living as devout disciples of Jesus Christ?

But they think that they are Christians. They claim they are. The estimated number of Christians in the United States varies. The Gallup poll and Pew Forum. State that between 75 and 80 percent of Americans claim to be Christian.

Which projects to be from 250 to 260 million professing American Christians. Most of us would agree that there may be a great difference between the large number of Americans who claim to be Christian and the Actual number of those among them who are truly committed living for Jesus Christ in their daily lives.

The.

Evangelical pollster George Barna Asserted that 66 of Americans may be defined as casual Christians. But only 16 are what he called captive Christians. In other words committed Christians 16 The Pew Research Center in 2014 stated that 25 .4 of Americans identify with American evangelicalism.

That is those who claim to believe the Holy Bible is the authoritative Word of God. 25 Does America give evidence that 25 of its adult population is living as devout disciples of Jesus Christ. Evangelicals are those who claim that they believe and follow the Bible as the Word of God, but we might ask What percentage of evangelicals?

Again, so-called Bible believers Are true Christians and I fear that the number is strikingly small. Even among those who believe themselves to be committed evangelical Christians.

There.

Is an annual survey conducted by Ligonier Ministries as R .C. Sproul's Ministry, of course and Lifeway Lifeway research entitled the state of theology What do Americans believe about God salvation ethics in the Bible and their findings for last year?

Are not pretty to say the least almost one-third of American Evangelicals now, these are people who claim to believe the Bible to be the Word of God. One-third of them believe that Jesus was just a great teacher, but that he is not God incarnate.

One-third Among American evangelicals 42 believe that God accepts the worship of all religions including Christianity Judaism and Islam. 42 of Bible believers incredible in America. Here's one conclusion of these researchers.

These results reveal an urgent need for clear biblical teaching on the person of Christ the gospel of grace And the way that the truth of God informs our ethical decisions in everyday life. There is much work to be done in this age of confusion.

But we hope the findings of this survey will serve the church and it's calling to reach more people with the faithful Proclamation of God's Word, but I would argue that when we consider the Bible What the Holy Bible the Word of God teaches regarding salvation.

I must conclude that the percentage of evangelicals who are truly converted by the Holy Spirit are relatively few in number. Perhaps after you've read and reflected on the biblical passages. It will be addressing Over the course of this whole series not just today.

You may also conclude that there must be a scarcity of authentic biblical Christians and even so-called Bible believing churches, I Hope I'm wrong about that. As a pastor, I'm concerned for the eternal destiny of souls.

This is a universal concern in Some ways and that we desire to see all people everywhere be delivered from sin and its punishment of eternal hell.

Through.

Salvation in Christ, but more specifically and perhaps with a greater sense of urgency and distress I'm burdened for the souls of those who are members and attendees of local churches. Those who profess to be believers in Jesus Christ.

Those who believe themselves to have salvation but do not one of the most common calls I get from radio listeners. Pastor do you know of a good church where I live? When I go to church, it seems like these people have no common Faith or love for the Lord Jesus that I have.

There have always been among the professing people of God unconverted believers. Just as there was a mixed multitude among the people of Israel that came out of Egypt in the days of Moses. But this seems to be a systemic problem in churches today and sadly again even so-called evangelical churches.

There is a spiritual pandemic which has infected the churches of Jesus Christ. With ignorance and error with respect to the biblical gospel of Christ and the nature and the way of salvation by him crass ignorance and error.

So today we begin a new sermon series to address this great problem the unconverted believer and you notice I put believer in quotation marks. Implying he's not a true believer. He's unconverted. This is a matter.

It's always on my heart. I think about it frequently. Pray about it just as often. I Fear for the soul who believes himself to be a true Christian, but in truth, he's still in his sins. He's a nominal Christian.

That is he's a Christian in name only. He and many like him have assurance of salvation. Just ask him. Yeah, I'm a Christian. He'll tell you it's so. When his faith and practice are examined by the Word of God it reveals the likelihood That he possesses false assurance that he's a true Christian.

He's not yet been saved from his sin through Jesus Christ. He may have Spiritual confidence that he is safe, but this is not true. It's not saving faith, but rather damning presumption presuming that he has salvation.

In.

Fact, he's on the ledge of an eternal precipice into which he will most certainly fall forever Unless he is set right in his thinking in his believing and the way he lives. But again, he does not know his danger.

Ignorance and error have shut his spiritual eyes so that he cannot perceive his true condition and Even if he did open his physical eyes in attempt to read and learn he is incapable of perceiving the truth.

Regarding his condition for the devil has spiritually blinded him. Yet he believes himself saved. There may be those about him. Maybe family friends fellow church members. Maybe even its pastor Who believe this poor soul has been saved and these well-intentioned ones bolster his sad condition helping to seal him onto his damnation.

This deluded soul believes he's been washed clean of his sin, but actually he is filthy still. He remains polluted by his sin before God for he has never been spiritually washed in the blood of the Lamb of God and he'll remain in his sorry condition unless and until God does a Supernatural work of saving grace in him.

Now. It's not our desire Or effort through this study to trouble souls who are truly safe in Christ. Of course, we run that danger. I'm always concerned about unsettling the tender-hearted and the easily troubled soul.

We want to be as our Lord who would neither break a bruised reed nor quench a smoking flax. But this is difficult To avoid doing when we shout our message loudly and clearly to awaken and stir the careless and hardened soul.

I've often said that the most difficult task of the preacher is to awaken the soul who is ignorant and Insensitive to his lost condition while at the same time comfort and encourage the truly gracious soul Who may be weak or easily shaken in his faith and this is especially a problem because the devil is skillfully at work To keep the unawakened soul fast in his spiritual slumber at ease in his lethargic spiritual condition even as he attempts to disrupt confuse and torment the true Christian who may be rather weak in his faith and ultimately only the Holy Spirit Can apply his truth rightly and appropriately to the people in whom he is working.

But this is always a concern that weighs heavily upon me. And so I hope that in this series if you become troubled That you not prolong your difficulty by failing to speak with me or one of the elders.

Come to us. We're always desirous always available to speak with you. Actually, it's my hope That most of you will not hear anything new in this series on nominal Christianity. I Hope that's the case.

Frankly, I Suspect I'll be rehearsing and repeating everything we've declared to you before today. But it's hope that what we said and consider together will confirm and reinforce these important matters upon the Upon which rest the eternal destiny of our souls.

I want to put it all together in one place at one time. And of course, it's also hope that this study will benefit us all so that we become better equipped to help others. Each of us probably knows at least one possibly a number of professing Christians for whom we have grave concerns.

Loved ones family members friends who believe they're Christians, but we question Whether there's reality there. Maybe you've not voiced your concern directly to him or her because you've doubted whether your perception of him or her is accurate.

Or maybe you have voiced your doubts directly to that one, but your concern and warning went unheeded. Maybe you've spoken to that soul very directly and quite frequently to the point of having Alienated yourself from that one.

He doesn't want to hear you anymore. And he'd made that clear. He's grown weary and agitated because of your repeated expressions of concern and attempts to warn and instruct For him to turn and seek the Lord.

Well, let's hope through this study that the truths of Scripture may be made clear to better equip you in your ongoing task of witness. Or perhaps by placing these notes themselves into the hands of another the Lord may use them to lead others to experience true life in Jesus Christ.

May the Lord illuminate us to the truth. That's in Jesus Christ so that he may use us to rescue many doomed souls about us. For unless the Lord delivers them from their sin washes them from their filthiness.

They will remain unclean before him and will be damned from his presence forever. However, let's realize at the same time. It's biblical for us to be concerned about the salvation of one another as professing Christians in the church.

We ought to be concerned for one another and our salvation. It's really easy to talk about those other guys. But what about you and me? Let's make certain that we ourselves have biblical assurance that we've been delivered from the danger of damnation and that we will inherit Everlasting life.

The Apostle Paul expressed his great interest and deep distress for the salvation of those in the churches of Galatia. He wrote my little children for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you.

I would like to be present with you now and to change my tone for I have doubts about you. These people in these churches had come to faith in Christ earlier. When Paul had first proclaimed the gospel to them or at least he thought they had come to Christ.

He thought they'd come to faith. But then he had learned that they had departed in a measure from the content of that gospel they departed from the understanding of grace and. So he feared for the salvation of their souls.

When he was first among them, he described himself as as a woman in labor. About ready to bear a child struggling because they were lost and he wanted to see new life come forth. That spiritual labor, of course ended when they Fred first embraced the gospel of Jesus Christ.

But in his epistle of Galatians, we read that his concern for their salvation had been renewed in his soul. He was once again suffering as a woman in labor pains. He was afraid all his labor had been sewn or done in vain.

And so Paul would continue to have this great burden for these professing Christians until he became convinced. They had truly come to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior that Christ was formed in them. And so in a similar way I as do other pastors have doubts and fears of many who claim and believe quite confidently they have salvation because of.

What they've been taught about the nature of salvation what they believe about the way of salvation. About the grounds of assurance of salvation. We have cause of great concern for them. And I would not want any of us to be found in this condition when our Lord summons us before him.

So we'll address this matter of nominal Christianity. Attempting to understand expose it and correct it clearly we'll make every effort to do so biblically and thoroughly as the Lord enables us. And some of you can testify this is how you were.

I was a nominal Christian for years. But the Lord broke through and wonderfully mercifully graciously saved my soul. And I fear there are many like that made that not be true of us. That's my concern.

So may the Lord help us to take these matters To heart and so it's my desire through these messages to awaken and form you Biblically to this most important matter of life. If that is your need or that you would obtain the salvation of your soul.

The Lord Jesus of course spoke about the important value of this matter. There's nothing more important for you. What's it profit of man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? The eternal well-being of your soul is the most important matter of your life.

The eternal condition and destiny of your soul is most important. It's the most pressing issue for each and one each and every one of us. It should be a matter of your primary interest. Concern and effort to understand what it is.

You are to believe and what it is you are to do in order to inherit everlasting life and Escape the everlasting damnation of all those who fail or refuse to experience biblical salvation. And so may the Lord enable each of us to take to heart the importance of careful and serious self-examination.

Bible exhorts us to do so. Respecting our true spiritual state before the Lord. May he motivate every one of us to conduct a thorough and extensive Examination of all matters that impinge on this great need of salvation.

And it's a difficult task to assess rightly the spiritual condition of one's soul as one once wrote all Investigations of the exercises of the human mind are intended with difficulty and never more so than when we attempt to ascertain the religious or spiritual state of our hearts.

We must not presume that any understanding we presently hold concerning critically important matters should not undergo serious examination. In other words, we must become truly teachable. We are to strive to be as those in the city of Berea who were more noble than those of Thessalonica.

Paul wrote of them now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica. They received the word with all eagerness. Examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so or if these things were true.

Paul had recently come among them. He taught them new and somewhat strange things about salvation through Jesus Christ. Well, these Bereans were not like those in Thessalonica Who apparently had gone to the scriptures to prove that Paul was a false teacher.

The things he was promoting were error. The Bereans heard Paul and then went to the scriptures to Determine if what he was saying was true in other words. These Bereans doubted themselves more than they doubted Paul.

Or rather they believed that only the scriptures could lead them to discover and affirm the truth of these matters. May we be characterized with such a spirit and that we're skeptical of ourselves. Better men and women than you have been deceived by themselves.

May that not happen to us. And so may we look to the scriptures as our guide to assess and know the truth. And again, I've said this frequently. I've learned through experience over the years. It's much more difficult to unlearn than it is to learn.

Because once people have it settled in their minds that they know and understand themselves rightly, it's very difficult to unsettle them. To shake their confidence and to lead them to examine themselves Honestly and thoroughly on what they believe in how they live.

May the Lord grant us grace to know him and his word more clearly and fully. May the Holy Spirit Undeceive us instruct us and then comfort us with a true and sound assurance that we are his own. I Don't know how long this series is going to take but I've already got about 20 weeks.

I think booked up so many different matters that have to be addressed. I think and I hope that we're all Helped and strengthened by this. Well, where do we begin? Well, we already read the verse at the beginning.

Here's a good place to start. Proverbs 30 verse 12. It reads there is a generation that is pure in its own eyes. Yet is not washed from its filthiness. That pretty much says it doesn't it? There's the problem.

Here's a verse of scripture that states the widespread ignorance and erroneous perception of people In there in the self appraisal of their souls before God. They believe themselves to be pure when actually they are terribly defiled.

They believe themselves to be right with God, but they're still in their sins. They have false assurance basically. The writer this portion of Proverbs was a man named a drawer. He's identified in verse 1 of chapter 30, which reads the words of Agor or the son of Jaka his utterance.

In verse 12 Paul Agor wrote of what characterized a generation of people. Presumably who are living in his day. And through these words God has revealed and affirmed that it's possible even commonplace.

For many people even a generation of people to be sadly mistaken about their spiritual condition before God. They believe themselves to be pure but they are actually polluted. They believe that they had been washed but they were filthy still.

In other words. They possess a false assurance that they have salvation from sin even while they're still condemned before God due to their sin. So let's work through this consider this verse in some detail and we're going to give attention to the main words.

In.

Proverbs 30 verse 12. And so the first of the word generation. There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes yet is not washed from its filthiness. Agor was not writing of one or a few that had this errant view of themselves.

He wrote regarding a generation. The Hebrew word for generation is door. This is the word commonly used in the Old Testament. Sometimes the word is preceded by an adjective for example an evil generation a crooked generation or Rebellious generation.

He was stated condition. It was common among the people a view that most all had of themselves a generation That is pure at its own eyes. But then he set forth the truth of the matter. Actually verse 12 speaking of a generation is but one of four verses in this context in which the author referenced a Generation and so here's the larger context.

Proverbs 30 verses 11 through 14. There is a generation that curses its father and does not bless its mother. There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes yet is not washed from its filthiness. There is a generation.

Oh, how lofty are their eyes and their eyelids are lifted up. And there is a generation whose teeth are like swords whose fangs are like knives. Who devour the poor from off the earth and the needy from among men?

So Agor described four classes of people. He declared that each group was guilty of egregious sin these generations. Were not unique to that time in history. It would seem that in every age there have been those guilty of these sins.

There's no new thing under the Sun. As one wrote for these four generations belong to every age they always have and always will be to the end of time. The first generation of verse 11 depict a people that reject parental authority.

There is a generation that curses its father and does not bless its mother. There was an ancient Greek philosopher and lawmaker named Solon. Who lived about from about 630 BC until 560 BC? He was regarded as one of the seven wise men of Greece in his day.

And he was once asked a question. Why have you never made a formal law in Athens against? Parasites. In other words those who had murdered their parents. And he replied he could never envision of anyone being so impious and cruel as to ever commit such a crime.

But our God was of course much wiser than this wise man for he set forth in his law. That the son who but cursed his father or mother would be subject to capital punishment by the community. This was the same way.

The community was to deal with a murderer.

God.

Views the crime of cursing one's parents to be similar evil and warranted the same punishment. The second generation that we're going to consider in some detail Describes a class of people who are self-righteous.

There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes yet is not washed from its filthiness. These people have assurance that they are clean for they have been washed. They would tell you so. The implication is they thought that they were in a right relationship with God that God looked upon them favorably.

That they had been forgiven of their former sins, but they were deluded. They were filthy still. They remained defiled by their sin. The third generation is described as ones who are very proud sinfully proud.

There is a generation. Oh how lofty are their eyes and their eyelids are lifted up. This large segment of population was characterized by sinful pride even arrogance. Perhaps they were proud of their race or the class into which they were born.

Maybe they were proud due to their achievements in life. But it's also implied that they were proud before God. They were self-righteous. Usually those who look upon themselves quite highly will tend to look down on others quite lowly.

This of course was how the Pharisee was that Jesus spoke about. Who came into the temple court at the same time? Broken and apparently repentant. Corrupt text collector and. So Jesus spoke a parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous.

That's Proverbs, isn't it? 30 verse 13 and They despised others. That's usually what. What is present with the self-righteous. Two men went up to the temple to pray one a Pharisee the other text collector the Pharisees to it and prayed thus with himself.

He wasn't praying to God. Although he maybe thought he was God. I thank you I'm not like other men extortioners unjust adulterers or even as this text collector. I Fast twice a week. I give tithes of all I possess the text collector standing too far off.

Would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast saying God be merciful to me a sinner. I Tell you this man went down to his house. Justified no there's right with God. Rather than the other for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

And then the fourth generation at agor Identified is in verse 14. It reads there is a generation whose teeth are like swords. And whose fangs are like knives to devour the poor from off the earth and the needy from among men.

These people are are described as being cruel and barbaric who oppressed those who are weaker and Unable to resist them now. It suggested that each of these four sins may be related to the other three.

In other words, it may be that agor was referring to one wicked generation. It was guilty of all four of these sins. And it could be shown that a self-righteous Pharisee was guilty of these offenses.

It's common for the rebellious man verse 11 to be a self-righteous man verse 12. Who will be a proud man verse 14 who will be a cruel man verse 15? Adam Clarke Commented about this generation with all four of these characteristics.

There are such persons in the world in this the wise man referred to Agor. The wise man points out four grand evils that prevailed in his time. The first those who not only did not honor but who evil treated their parents.

The second those who were self-righteous supposing themselves to be pure and were not. So the third those who are full of vanity pride and insolence. The fourth the greedy cruel and oppressive especially oppressive to the poor.

But then again we would say of course this generation With these four characteristics are not just evils that prevailed in his time when he wrote these words. But they depict persons that prevail in their evil in all times in all places.

It's a common spiritual malady of the fallen human race and so of these four kinds of people. Charles Bridges who wrote a Wonderful reformed commentary on Proverbs. Indeed the four generations teach us a lesson most valuable yet most humbling.

Thoroughly to know yet, so depraved is man that he does not understand his own depravity. Nothing is so hidden from him as himself. He keeps a good opinion of himself by keeping the right low light out.

Out of the heart and conscience his imagination fancies good where there's nothing but hateful deformity. And under this delusion we deal so gently and tenderly with sin that no conflict is maintained with it.

No, sorrow or burden felt concerning it. How deeply do we need the searching light and convincing power the Spirit of God to show us our abominations? To make us tremble at the sight of them and to let us see that our remedy must come from God every moment.

That no partial change no external polish. Nothing less than the creating power of God can reach the case for a cure. Takes the work of God's grace to bring salvation doesn't it now? That's all for generations probably one we're going to focus of course upon the second of these four.