A Sermon
Preached On Sunday Evening, December 15, 1850
BY THE REV. C. G. FINNEY
at the Tabernacle, Moorfields
“And the Lord
said, “My Spirit shall not strive with
man forever, for he is indeed flesh” (Genesis 6:3)
The
following is the train of thought which I plan to pursue:--
I. WHAT IS IMPLIED
IN THESE WORDS FROM THE LORD?
II. WHAT IS MEANT
BY THE SPIRIT’S "STRIVING" WITH MAN?
III. HOW MAY WE
KNOW WHEN THE SPIRIT IS STRIVING WITH US?
IV. WHAT IS MEANT
BY “SHALL NOT ALWAYS STRIVE”?
V. WHY WILL HE
“NOT ALWAYS STRIVE”?
VI. THE
CONSEQUENCES OF HIS CEASING TO STRIVE.
I.
There are two things implied in these words from the Lord.
God’s
Spirit strives with man at least sometimes, and as a result, men always resist
God when there is strife. Whenever the
Spirit must strive with someone in order to influence him, resistance is
implied. Whenever the Spirit can truly
be said to “strive” with an individual, that individual must have been resisting. But what does this striving mean?
II.
This striving, then, is not a physical striving, but a moral influence,
persuading, reasoning, and convincing.
This is the striving. It is a
striving of mind with mind, and not of body with body. The process mentioned in our passage is the
presentation of truth on one side, and the resistance of the truth on the other. But if this is true:
III.
How do we know when the Spirit strives with us?
First, then, let
me say that we can’t know this by a direct perception of the Holy Spirit. The mind does not see the Holy Spirit
Himself, but it perceives the truth that the Spirit presents; for, notice that
the “striving” referred to is the pressing of considerations on the mind to
influence it, and the “resistance” that is suggested, is the resistance to
receiving these truths. In
investigating the evidences of the Spirit’s striving with man, we must see what
these particular truths are that are resisted when they are presented to the
mind. The Bible tells us what the
Spirit of God does. He reproves us of
sin, for example. Christ promised that
the Holy Spirit would do this, and that He would take the things of Christ and
show them to us. (John 14:26) One of
the signs that makes us aware that the Spirit is working within us is that the
Holy Spirit draws our attention to the subject of religious truth. We find these things fermenting and pressing
in our minds. Perhaps when we read or
attend to business, whatever we do, the subject keeps popping up. If we reason on the subject, we can come to
no other conclusion than there is an invisible agency at work within us, that
keeps the matter continually before us.
It seems to occupy our minds more than it ever did before. We feel an internal conviction of its light,
its power, and its reality in a way that is impossible to describe in
words. This is the striving of the
Spirit.
Conviction of the
sinfulness of one’s conduct is another sign of the Spirit operating
within. When men feel the sinfulness of
their direction in life; that is the striving of the Spirit. Men often go on in sin without thinking about
the sinfulness of what they are doing; but, as time goes on, the wickedness of
their ways seems to grab their attention.
Looking back on their general conduct, and especially on particular
acts, they see their sinfulness; things now come to their minds and trouble
them that had remained buried and forgotten, perhaps for many years. Way back when, those acts were not
considered sinful. But now, they see
them from a different point of view, and see their error. In some cases, there will be a general sense
of the sinfulness of their whole lives.
In others, particular acts will stand out and display themselves in a
new and sinful light. This is a clear
sign of the striving of the Spirit.
When the Spirit strives with people, they are not always greatly alarmed
when they realized their dangerous position, though this is sometimes the
case. Sometimes the Spirit does not
strive with men because they don’t sense their danger, so that they eventually
come to fear the results of the Spirit’s not striving with them. The Spirit often gives such people a distinct
and awful glimpse of the danger of their position.
There are certain
forms of sin that some people are completely blind to; and when the Spirit
strives with these people, they suddenly receive a clear picture of this
blindness that they have been laboring under.
Without this striving these men would likely become self-righteous; and
if they develop tender feelings, they will likely resist the Holy Spirit, while
at the same time they give themselves credit for having these tender
feelings. Now it often happens that the
Spirit drives all this away by allowing them to become so hardened that they
find that even those tender feelings that they were so proud of have
disappeared. Up to the very hour of
surrendering to God, their hardness sometimes increases, until they begin to
see that they never had any true feelings on the subject of religion; that
their hearts are as hard as cement. The
Spirit often shows these men that they have been mistaking their excited
feelings for a tender heart. Sometimes
He convicts them of their unbelief, and shows them that they did not really
place any reliance on God; that they actually placed more reliance on what man
said than on what God said.
Men
are influenced by each other’s testimony, and if one person promises another
that he will do this or that, his friends believe him, and act
accordingly. Now ask this man, Do you
believe the Bible? Oh! Yes!
He believes the Bible. But is he
influenced by what it promises, as much as he is by what men promise? No, indeed!
If a man came and warned you of danger, wouldn’t you believe him and do
something? If a man promises you aid,
wouldn’t you be relieved and comforted simply by the promise? If a man gave you a promissory note from a
wealthy donor, wouldn’t you naturally expect to have it paid? But you don’t believe God in these respects,
even though you think that you do believe God.
But, in time, the Spirit shows you that you are more comforted by men’s
promises than by God’s promises: that God’s promises really don’t give you much
satisfaction. In fact, you’re not influenced
by what God says, like you are by what men say. Therefore, when you finally come to see this sin of unbelief, you
may rest assured that the Holy Spirit is striving with you.
The Spirit
convinces men of their enmity against God.
Few men think that they are enemies of God and religion, especially
those who profess to be Christians.
This is very common, where people have made a profession of religion,
joined a church, and yet are not true Christians. I have observed that if God does not give up on them, allowing
them to become reprobates, if God intends to save them, God will convince them
that they are, in reality, enemies of religion. Now you can all see the need for this. They claim to love religion, and so how can they be saved unless
they are convinced that they have made a radical mistake? The Spirit often begins by allowing this
enmity to develop itself. They begin by
complaining, perhaps, about the preaching; it is too severe, too personal, not
“comforting” enough, or something like that.
Either the matter does not suit them, or the manner is disagreeable;
they want something that will make them happy, something “comforting”. They say they are Christians, and believe
they speak the truth; they feel sure that if the preaching were what it should
be, it would surely edify and comfort them.
But God does not want them to continue feeling this way if He ever
intends to save them. They are in a
state of delusion. Anything that would
make them happy in this state would only confirm their delusion. As a result, God always directs the
preaching, and everything related to it, so that it affects them in such a way
that it shows them clearly what has, up until now, been covered up: the enmity
of their hearts towards God.
Sometimes I have
been struck by the extent that this has been true in religious revivals. Some member of the church, to the
astonishment of their ministers, begins to oppose the movement, finding fault
with this thing and with that thing.
They stay away from their services, going here and there where they can
be “comforted”. But the Spirit of God
continues to strive with them, and keeps them uneasy, being determined to root
out the enmity in their hearts. They
come to meetings again and again, and go mumbling away with something more
unpalatable than ever; each time, they become less comfortable. “Ah!”
They think. “This is not the
gospel, for it does not comfort' me.”
How strange everything appears to them!
Ah! This is the very way in
which the Spirit works. God is determined
to drag them out of their hiding places and unmask them. It is interesting how long this often
lasts. Sometimes this lasts until
everyone can see it but them. The very
preaching that is moving many to seek the Lord and leading others to God, does
not edify them at all!
But don’t you see
there is a divine philosophy in all this? Oh!
Yes! These people are sometimes
very numerous in a church. Pastors are
often astonished to see so many of their members complain and object. The more powerfully the message is driven
home to them, the more they complain.
The pastor and deacons look on in amazement to see their members running
here and there in such confusion.
“What's the matter? What's the
matter?” Why, the truth does not sit
well on their unbroken hearts! They
writhe and squirm, finding this fault and that fault, until the time comes when
they see they don’t really love the preaching that God loves; that they are, in
fact, at enmity with God. Ah! Sometimes, I have seen them turn pale; but
after a while, the fact comes out.
“Oh! I thought I was a
Christian! I have been a member of the
church for many years, and yet I find that I stand before God condemned! I see that there is a controversy between
God and me; that God loves what I hate, and blesses what I oppose!” Ah!
Now this is exactly the way the Spirit of God would strive with such people.
I have often
heard, when preaching at various places, “Why, there’s a professing Christian
here saying this and that”. But, in
time, you will clearly see that the truth is coming home, and hitting him
hard. Why, see! He’s squirming and trembling all over. Pray for him! What's the matter with him?
What’s been said? Any untruth? “Oh, no, but he thinks you are getting to
personal.” Ah! Does he.
Pray for him! God has a hold of
him. He thinks that the minister and
all the people are looking right at him; that the minister is speaking to him
personally, and that the whole congregation knows it. “Why”, said a man to me
one day, “it seems as if, not only did you look at me, and mean me, but that
everybody knew it and looked at me also”. Now this is just what God does; and if you see a man begin to
squirm, pray for him. Don’t be
frightened. “Ah!” says a woman, “How my
husband is offended! He thinks you are
personal”. Oh, does he? Well, pray for him! Don’t you see that he is clearly striving
against receiving the truth?
“Why?” “Because he replies, “it
means me”. Does it? Then don’t resist it?
Oh! I like to track down such people, and hunt
them out. I like to follow them, hunt
them down, and search them out, until they are broken down. This is the way the Holy Spirit does
it!
The
Spirit is very personal, and makes the truth personal. He directs the mind of the preacher in such
a way that the truth hounds an individual He wants to move; thus they get the impression
that the preacher knows everything about them and their past lives. It’s as if somebody’s has been telling him
about them. During my thirty years
experience, people have often told me this, whereas it was only than God
focusing my thoughts in a certain direction in order to meet their need. God knew them, although I did not. My bow was drawn at random, but God directed
the arrow, and it found its way through the joints of their armor; and they
were not comforted. “Not comforted!” Why, the gospel was never made to comfort
you in your unsanctified state!
This is also very
often true with merely moral men, who use their means to support religious
institutions; such men are very apt to overlook the fact that they are enemies
of God; and therefore, God must, in some way, reveal it to them. How does He to do it? In their own opinion, they are almost Christians. Their religious wives say “Oh! I have great hope for him”. How often has this been the situation? But God sees their real condition. They don’t come out and acknowledge Christ
publicly. God knows there is a rotten
heart there. They are likeable, and
their personality is friendly. God must
make them know themselves by a course of teaching, preaching, providences, or
some other method, and thus remove the veil from their hearts. Once this is done, they begin to writhe and
act in the way those professing Christians, we just talked about, acted. They cry, “I’m not going there to be
preached at like that, when I am doing so much to support religion. To be treated in such a way is very personal
and abusive”. It’s very hard. They can’t stand it, although they do not,
and cannot deny its truth. You see them
writhe under conviction. This shows
that there is sediment at the bottom of their hearts. Stir it up! Don’t be
afraid. Pray for them.
If
your unchristian husband begins to squirm, and threatens not to go to the
meeting, don’t agree with him, and say that you think he has a reason to be offended. If you don’t want to ruin his soul, don’t
side with him. “Oh! " say to him,
“Is it true? Then you should receive
it. Is it true about you? You must receive it; for if the message is
speaking to you, and you don’t receive it, what will become of you? What!
You confess that it is true, and true of you, and yet you refuse to
receive it!” Be careful what you do
under such circumstances; for whenever people quarrel with the truth like this,
they are, in reality, quarrelling with God.
Mark that! But these people
often pretend that it is not the truth they quarrel with, but the offensive
manner in which it is said. Now
listen. Take care what you do. A real lover of truth is willing to receive
it, although it is not served on a golden dish.
And the way that
God convinces the sinner of the danger of his dying in sin, is by impressing
him with the fact that he does not have long to live. He knows that others around are dying in their sins, that he
himself has lived a long time in his sin, and he begins to calculate the
probabilities, and to apply it to himself.
This is often used as a means of inducing a decision, or at least, of
greatly deepening previous impressions.
And the way that the Spirit operates is to warn men of the danger of His
leaving them. At other times, He shows
them that they are actually ashamed of Christ, ashamed to have it known that
they think about being religious, ashamed to talk even to their wives, or open
their mind to their minister, ashamed to be seen reading the Bible, or to have
it known that their minds thinking about it.
People in this state are afraid of people thinking that they are
serious, and therefore they often laugh and try to hide it, while in heart they
are full of soreness and distress. But
this increasingly shows them that they are ashamed of Christ; and they begin to
see their pride of heart and the awful wickedness of the position they occupy
in relation to God.
Sometimes the
Spirit operates by leaving men completely without excuse. Every excuse they’ve been trusting in is
swept from under them. They have
nothing left to hide behind even though they are desperate to have something to
hide behind. The Spirit follows them in
their excuses, and strips them off one by one, until he has silenced them all;
and they turn their excuses over and over, one after the other, but can’t find
one to rest on. This was the way the
Spirit of God strove with me for months before I was aware of it; but in time
as I fled from one excuse to another; my mind would answer each as it
rose. Thus, the Spirit undermined all
my fortifications, until I didn’t have a single excuse left for my
conduct. Now listen. Perhaps this very process is going on with
some of you. How do you feel? If you feel that I am too personal, see if
the truth sits well on you. If you find
that any particular truth does not sit well on you, whatever your character may
generally be, I promise you; you are at least at war with that one truth; and
if at war with that one truth, you are at war with God.
People are
sometimes convinced when they see that they have been completely selfish. Selfishness is sin; and all sin is
selfishness in some form. People often
see that even their religion has been selfish.
They can clearly see that they have no sympathy with God and Christ;
that they don’t have the spirit of Christ within them; that they are not living
to and for God, and that they are completely selfish in their business, and
even in the relations they sustain to what they call their religion. They are fully convinced of this. Ah!
Are you convinced of it? Don’t
resist the light on such questions!
Oh! If you close the door of
your heart, turn your eyes away, and refuse to be convinced, you will wake up
in blackness and darkness forever!
Before I leave
this subject, I should say that sinners often get the impression that this is
the last call God will ever give them.
No doubt, the Spirit of God means what He says. In such cases, it would be very natural for
the Holy Spirit, in His last struggle with a man, to give him such an impression. No doubt, it is common for the Spirit to do
this. At such times, professing
Christians often receives reasons to doubt whether they were even truly
converted, and this impression has been confirmed by a glimpse of their
lives. Perhaps, after a while, the
Spirit of God impresses them with the idea that if they now resist, they will
die in their sins. Now, sinner, when
God insinuates such things He is very serious.
The devil does not want you to believe it. Satan would not tell you this even if he knew it. It comes from one who cannot lie, and who,
in His benevolence, forewarns you that, if you now resist, you are a ruined
soul for all eternity.
IV.
What does the statement that the Spirit will “not always strive” mean? Of course, it doesn’t mean that the Holy
Spirit will leave this earth; but that He will not always follow a man
throughout his whole life, and continue to strive with him to the end of his
days.
V.
Why not? First, because it will not do
him any good. If, after so many
strivings, a man will not repent, why should the Spirit continue to strive with
him? People are enlightened as much as
they need to be enlightened, yet they continue to resist; why then should the
Holy Spirit continue to strive with them?
The Spirit forbears to strive with them because He has compassion for
them. Once the Spirit has thrust home
these very truths that must convert them if they ever are converted, He knows
that, by a natural law of their minds, the longer they resist the more likely
they will continue resisting. Besides,
it would materially enhance their guilt.
There is, therefore, no way, consistent with His honor, in which He can
pursue them any longer.
Their
guilt is so aggravated under such circumstances, from their striving with God
face-to-face, and resisting, sinning in full light and tempting God’s
forbearance, that these considerations present another reason for the Holy
Spirit to cease striving. They hope
that God will save them in their sins some time in the future, but it would be
inconsistent with God’s honor to do so.
There is a point beyond which it becomes inconsistent with God’s high
and adorable sovereignty that men should continue to resist and quarrel with
Him face to face. If this were not
true, men would take courage and continue in their sins, with the idea that
they would be just as likely to have the Spirit strive with them when old as
when young; and therefore, to avoid this conclusion, God’s Spirit will not
always strive with man.
God
needs young people converted, so He can train them up to do good. But, if they go on until they have
practically burned out the lamp of their life, Yes, God will have compassion on
them if they repent; but how seldom will they repent under such circumstances! They have wasted their life and can do no
good if they are converted; and, having served the devil so long, shall they
take the stinking snuff of their expiring lamp, the jaded, putrid remnant of
their mortality which has resisted the Holy Ghost until the grave is open
before them, and toss it in the face of the Almighty?
It
would be bad policy on the part of God’s government to convert old people as
easily as young ones; it would tend to harden the youth in their sins. The general rule, therefore, must be the
conversion of the young, while the conversions of the old will be just often
enough to keep the aged sinner from completely despairing. We must now ask:
V. What are the
consequences of the Spirit ceasing?
The first
consequence, naturally, is confirmed apathy: carelessness and prayerlessness in
sin. This is the general rule. Another consequence is confirmed opposition. After the Spirit of God has convinced
people, when they have resisted strong convictions, when their consciences have
smarted under the force of truth, they hate it. Their very consciences become unfeeling. They can commit sins now without
compunction, which once would have filled them with agony. They go on in sin with very little
remorse. I could show you that this is
also a general rule; but in some cases, the opposite happens. There is, a fearful expectation of
judgment. They often, however, become
worse and worse, until, if they don’t publicly abandon their faith, it is only
the fear of their reputation that prevents them. Christians will find themselves losing the spirit of prayer for
these people. The wife will lose the
burden to pray for her husband under such circumstances; she loses her hold on
the throne of grace for him; and it is the same situation with the husband
towards his wife, the parent towards their child, and the child towards their
parent. The Spirit will not lead a man
to pray for those who have grieved Him away.
No means that are used will turn them to God; they will become more and
more opposed to any means, until the Spirit finally abandons the use of them,
and the evil habits they once indulged in, will come back strongly on them.
Let me conclude
with a few remarks. The first remark is
this: Has the Holy Spirit been striving with you? Has the spirit of conviction come upon you? Have you felt, at some time, that the minister
was talking about you? Perhaps you have
said, “Now, if that minister had known my past life, he could not have been
more accurate”. Have you been in this
state? Have you felt offended that he
seemed so “personal”? I have often
thought that there are multitudes of professing Christians who have thoroughly
quenched the Spirit; and the reason I think so is this: they are in the church,
and hold themselves up in hope, while everybody who knows them, sees that the
Spirit of Christ is not within them. If
they are searched, they feel depressed; there is a lack of honesty in their
hearts, a lack of that downright sincerity in religion. There is a gradual sliding into the world, a
hidden carnality, a subtle dishonesty, a putting on of religion; until
something happens to bolster them up.
They are careful to keep up their religious appearances by regularly
attending Sunday services, lest the minister or deacons should realize that
they are really living in a state of apostasy from God. But try to get them to do anything else, and
you can’t get their co-operation, unless it involves their character. “Ah!”
They say, “here is their name in the attendance register, he even took
Communion”. How can this be? Ah!
They have attended to their duties, and thus they have covered up the
rottenness of their heart and their carnal worldly life by going to the communion
table!
Oh! I don’t know if there are any such people
here tonight, but since my mind is strongly pressed in this direction, I fear
there are; and if God is now showing you that you should be honest with yourselves,
do not go on with your deceitful game!
I don’t know you; but God knows you.
I only beg you not to ruin your soul by cheating yourself on a point so
vital. Many professing Christians get
into that state where they listen to those truths, truths that smite the hearts
of infidels and break them in pieces as a potter's vessel, with little or no
feelings at all. They sit unmoved, or
if they are moved at all, it is only to oppose it. They have no sympathy with the work of God. They don’t care about anybody being converted,
even perhaps their own children. I have
known churches where some of the members were the most hardened reprobate
people I ever knew in my whole life.
They were the most disposed to object, and the least disposed to
co-operate. You deacons know whether
such people are here tonight; when you meet the man you are now thinking about,
do you find him disposed to resist, or is his heart in the work? You know whose hearts are in the work, and
who, you have reason to believe, are hardened in their sins. The fact is on such subjects like this, it is
awfully cruel not to deal faithfully with such men. I would rather cut off both my hands than play some silly game
with a man over his soul, his sins, and eternity! I have often been astonished to find that while many professing
Christians get upset, ungodly men have said, “Ah! That's just what we need.
Let it come! Let us know the
truth. Show me my true spiritual
condition. Let it come burning and
boiling until it melts the ice-bergs of our hearts!"
One more
word. When the Spirit strives, men are
in great danger of putting off submitting day after day until, after a while,
the Spirit leaves them. They try to
think about religion, but don’t come to the point. Ah! They do not know the
infinite danger they are in of being stranded amidst all this flattery. Ah!
"While the servant was busy here and there, behold the Spirit was
gone”. (See Mark 13:34-37) They must wait until they have done this
thing or that thing, and thus they go on; day after day, the Spirit strives
with them until finally, He has to withdraw.
You should think about the fact that every moment you are resisting, you
are in infinite danger of the Holy Spirit leaving you. “My Spirit shall not always strive”.
When
the Spirit strives with a man, it is the most solemn moment of that sinner’s
existence. The Judgment Day will reveal
things that are done in time, but the sinner’s destiny is settled here. When the Spirit strives with men, He settles
with them personally. The work is completed
one way or another, and it becomes a matter of record. The book is closed and set aside until the
Day of Judgment; but here is a time and place in which everything is done. It is in this world where the eternal life
of death of immortal souls hangs suspended.
But not only is the matter finally settled in this world, but there must
be some turning point at which this settlement takes place. What an hour is that! Christian!
Do you realize that when the Spirit is striving with your children, they
are at a time in their lives that‘s more important to them than any other
moment in their lives? Are you sleeping
through it? Do you see your children
honest on religious subjects? Do they
sneak into the house of God hardly willing to let you know it? Do you already see indications that the
Spirit of God has been with them? Are
you not doing something about this? If
you see this interest in their faces, oh!
What are you doing? Are you watching prayerfully?
Do you sense how great their danger is?
Do you sense that their crisis is infinitely more serious than a fever
would be, provided they were Christians?
What
about you? Eternal destinies may hang
on this moment, and what are you doing?
God is solemn and in earnest, angels are solemn and in earnest, devils
are solemn and in earnest, the Holy Spirit is solemn and in earnest, and do you
jest? Who are you that you should
jest? Why you’re the one that heaven
and hell are so serious about! Oh! Sinner what are you doing? Professing Christian, what are you
doing? Who can come with his hand on
his breast and say, “Oh, Lord Jesus, You know that I love You. That in my life, I acknowledge You, and that
I do this in remembrance of You, and I will show forth Your death until You
come?” Are you prepared to come and
partake of these elements, and are you prepared to come in such a sense that
those, who know you, feel that you the kind of person that has a right to
come? Or do they say about you,
“What! Why I would have never thought
that person was a member! What! Does he come to Communion? Is that woman a true Christian? Why, I have seen them in such places, and
under such circumstances that I should never have thought it!”