A Norwegian preacher, a farmer really, once pointed our attention to a word that went right to my heart and has stayed with me.  He quoted Ex. 28:38 speaking of “the iniquity of the holy things” which Aaron, the High Priest (a type of Christ) had to bear.  The application he made was our consciousness of sin that cleaves to our spiritual gifts.

What was his point?  No matter how gifted we are, we´ll always be conscious of how defiled of sin our ministry is and how needy we are of the atonement in Christ, our true High Priest.  There has never on this earth been a gifted servant of the Lord who didn´t have that very feeling.  I looked up in the commentary of Matthew Henry, that godly Bible expositor whom Spurgeon warmly recommended us to read.  He wrote, “We cannot but be conscious to ourselves of much iniquity cleaving even to our holy things (i.e. gifts)”.  The Norwegian Bible puts it this way, “…cleaving to the holy things (or gifts)…”

Spurgeon, called “the prince of preachers” ( a name others gave him), was very conscious of that.  After he had delivered an anointed sermon he would often seek a lonely place for himself where he groaned before the Lord and confessed his shortcomings as His servant.  When somebody praised him for his good sermon, he would say, “Look to Jesus, not to me!”

I sometimes meet those who more or less brag about their gifts or accomplishments.  I pity them, for they don´t know what it is to be abased before the Lord.  John, the Baptist, cried out with holy indignation to the religiously deceived Pharisees, “Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”  (Mt. 3:7).  Was he a puffed up boaster?  Oh no, he was very low before the Lord.  In the same chapter (Mt. 3) he said to the Lord, “I need to be baptized by you…”  (v.14).  He said that because he was conscious of his own sin cleaving to his ministry.

My own life may soon come to an end.  How am I going to leave the scene?  With a lot of spiritual bragging?  God forbid. I trust I do it in that same spirit which John the Baptist exhibited, or my godly grandfather showed who at his deathbed quoted a precious hymn that says among other things, “Who will accuse me? I lower into the fountain of the Blood…”

That is true humility – the humility of the gospel.  A true application of Calvary.

Febr. 8, 2012 – jn