Standing Firm

From Gospel Translations

“Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven . . . but then, what do I know?”

Hmmm. Something about presenting truth that way defeats the purpose, doesn’t it? If we shared the Gospel that way with an unbeliever in an effort to manifest Christian humility in our evangelism, we’d simultaneously be cutting the nerve of our certainty and boldness.

What about the opposite approach? Imagine insisting to one of your non-Christian friends, “Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven . . . and I know I’m right!” Well, we have here a bold, confident statement of biblical truth, but the probable lack of humility in this case must be noted.

The tension of humility and certitude is a real one, not only in presenting the Gospel to the unconverted, but in many areas of Christian living. How do we boldly communicate the truth of Scripture with the humility the Bible also commands?

I recently had lunch with a young seminary student who is still rather timid and self-conscious before a congregation. I urged upon him the necessity of preaching with decisiveness and certainty. Like him, Bible teachers in the local church often fear that they may sound too rigid or dogmatic on the one hand, or like theological jellyfish on the other. But it’s not just teachers who face this difficulty; every Christian encounters this problem from time to time. Just an ordinary discussion of the things of God with fellow believers requires more conviction than asking, “Who knows what that means?” and yet more deference than exclaiming, “I’ve studied this more than you and I know what it means!” Even in the private matter of the assurance of one’s salvation, inappropriate humility may lead us to the edge of denying the work of God’s grace in our lives, while resolute certainty can sound a lot like presumption. Must we live as though the Bible says, “Choose you this day whom you will serve: humility or certainty”?

LUTHER: TWO KINDS OF HUMILITY
Humility may be considered from several perspectives. The Bible speaks of humility toward God and humility toward people. We also may contrast inward humility with outward humility. Similarly, there is true and false humility. Relative to the issue at hand, Martin Luther spoke helpfully of humility toward God’s truth and the humility of love. The former is a humility we owe when doctrine and faith are concerned, and the other when love toward our neighbor is involved.

When it comes to Scripture, we express humility first by our eagerness to learn it and willingness to obey it. Once we are convinced of what the Bible teaches about a matter, humility toward God’s truth means we confess what it says without wavering. To speak with a “But what do I know?” spirit and imply doubt where God is clear, or to compromise what He has revealed for the sake of appearing humble, is a wrongly placed humility. Luther remarked that if he were “humble” in this way and said, “‘Dear pope, dear bishops, I shall gladly do what you bid me to do,’ this would be a truly diabolical and accursed humility. . . . A humility like this would be no good at all.”

This is not to say that finite creatures can have absolute certainty about anything. Absolute certitude is the privilege of the Omniscient. While the revelation of our omniscient God is indeed an inerrant one, we are imperfect interpreters of it. So humility requires us to recognize that we can be mistaken in our understanding of truth. But we must stand somewhere, and by grace and faith we must stand on what we believe the Bible says. And we must stand certain that we are in the truth, at least until we see from Scripture that we are mistaken. When our error becomes evident, we should humbly change our position.

This was exactly the attitude reflected by Luther in his most famous words. At the Diet of Worms (1521), when “the heretic” was pressured to recant, Luther replied, “Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason — I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other — my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.”

If this is what “humility toward God’s truth” looks like, what about “the humility of love”? The reformer said that in personal relationships with people, “If I then do not humble myself before you and do not bear injuries that are inflicted upon me, if I then do not yield what is mine and God has given me, if I then do not want to forgive you and wash your feet, then you may rebuke me.” To bear the burdens of others or the wrongs they do against you is one kind of humility, but to endure wrongs against the truth is not a humility owed anyone.

BOTH HUMILITY AND CERTAINTY IN JESUS
Jesus, of course, was the epitome of the humility of love. Rarely did He describe His own character, but on one occasion He said, “I am gentle and humble in heart” (Matt. 11:29, NASB). He welcomed children, the poor, and those rejected as “sinners” by the rest of society. He spoke of taking the lowest place at a banquet. He taught His disciples, “But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Matt. 23:11–12).

But to think of Jesus as always showing a gentle-eyed, kind-faced humility is inconsistent with the Gospels’ pictures of Him. It was not the humility of love but humility toward God’s truth that was upon Him when He was cracking His whip back and forth in the temple-cleansing episode (John 2:15) or repeatedly shouting, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” (Matt. 23:13–36)

The Lord Jesus always showed the humility of love, except when doing so would appear to compromise the truth.

CERTAIN HUMILITY/HUMBLE CERTAINTY
As you seek to maintain the proper, biblical balance between humility and certitude, consider these guidelines:

Beware of excusing your personality. Whether your personality leans more toward inflexible certainty or stammering humility, it is easier to excuse your natural style than to sanctify it. We all tend to say, “That’s just who I am,” rather than, “That’s sinful.” We all need to work on our humility and our certainty, but perhaps one more than the other.

Beware of a compromising humility. Paul rebuked the Corinthians for this after they “beautifully” tolerated false teachers (2 Cor. 11:4, NASB). Do not think that the command to “contend earnestly for the faith” (Jude 3) contradicts the one to be “humble in spirit” (1 Peter 3:8, NASB).

Beware of a prideful certainty. The obnoxious and arrogant always have strong opinions. Even if they are right, no one wants to listen. Like Apollos, we may speak with a powerful certainty and yet remain humbly teachable (Acts 18:24–26).

Are humility and certainty compatible? Certainly!