[AI translation] Based on this Word, I want to talk about something that we don't like to hear about, but which is a very important characteristic of the Christian life today: humility. Yes, humility is a distinctively Christian virtue, a Christian attitude. It has often been mocked at by the followers of Christ, because it is generally thought that humility means that one should, without grumbling, throw oneself into whatever yoke is forced upon one by human violence, malice or the unfortunate turn of circumstances. In the public mind, humility is unsympathetic because it is not a sufficiently masculine trait, and it is certainly not a sufficiently practical attitude. It is not much use in the fractious world we live in today... Well, our Word tells us one thing and another about John the Baptist, and I would like to show you what true humility is by his example. Because he was a truly humble man. This statement of his, "He must grow, but I must fall", has become an eternal motto of Christian humility. So let us take a closer look.So, if John the Baptist was a humble man, then from this we can first understand what humility is not. Well, humility is not weakness, it is not humility, because everything else can be said about John the Baptist, except that he was a man of weak character, that he was humble. We know that he spoke out with such force, with such unrelenting severity against the powers that were in power at the time, and criticised the public conditions and the private lives of the leaders of the people with such sharp words, that they could not silence him in any other way than by putting him in prison and later executing him, and taking his head. If ever there was a man of firm, resolute character, John the Baptist was truly that man! And yet, he remains the eternal model of true humility! So, he who humbles himself, he who gives in, he who bows down before men, is not humble, but a coward, a deserter, in whom God is not pleased. God is not pleased with slave-minded people. He who lacks self-consciousness, who always bends whichever way the wind blows, is not a humble man. Opportunism is not humility, it is unprincipledness. Look, Jesus himself was a hard, resolute man, determined to the death, and yet he said to his followers, "Learn from me that I am meek and humble in heart..." If Jesus had been a man of reed nature, he would not have died on the cross. He was meek and humble. But like a lion, he fought! Humility, then, is in no way weakness and submission.
What then? Thus says John the Baptist, "He must grow, but I must fall." This means, in practice, that Jesus is rising higher and higher above me, and I am bowing lower and lower before him, I am accepting more and more that Jesus Christ is my Lord, and I am obeying him. The model is John the Baptist, who truly gave himself wholeheartedly to God, who gave himself totally to God.
True humility is first and foremost obedience to God. God, the mighty, the glorious, the holy, has embraced me, the little, the miserable, the nothing man... I, the small, weak man, can relate to this great, mighty God in only one way: in the humility of obedience. I don't know how you are with Christ, but if one truly calls Christ Lord, it is only true, it is only worth anything if it means that his life is his from morning till night, and even from night till morning! Christ's! So I must seek and wait for His command of the day from the moment I wake up. It is recorded of the Huguenots, that at the beginning of each day they appeared before their Lord, saying, "Lord, behold thy servant!"
Yes! That's it! To be quiet each day, to reflect before Jesus on the day ahead, with all its to-do's, worries, troubles, problems. Lo and behold, the day begins again with that difficult boss, or clumsy subordinates, or unruly children... Now: what does God want from me and through me in these situations, with these people, what is His specific provision, plan, will? What does God want for today, for this or that situation? Ask Him yourself: "Lord, what should I do now, what should I say: what mistake have I made, how can I make it right? And so obedience to Him will become very concrete. Yes, the Bible is for understanding the will of God.
Today, on the second Sunday of September, our Hungarian Reformed Church celebrates what is called Bible Sunday. This means that on this day, in every congregation, the members of our church pay special attention to God's revelation in the Bible. Would that Bible Sunday were a warning to all to appreciate more this great gift of God, the Scriptures. For me, whenever I think of this great grace of God, I am moved by His great love and I cannot help but be amazed that God speaks to me. He communicates His will, He shows me the way to follow. But this can only be heard in the Bible with a willing submission to obedience! Not in the way that many people do, as, unfortunately, is becoming more and more prevalent among people in a hurry. They pick up their Bibles at random, and looking into them, where their eyes catch a Word, they think they can discern the will of God. It is not good to leave to chance the all-important revelation of what God wants him to do. Such a "method" is not much different from the white mouse at the fair pulling the omniscient planet out of the box. Don't do it, Brethren, it is a superstitious abuse of the Bible! The Scriptures are not for gambling, but to be studied regularly, to be read daily, to understand God's will, to hear God's word and to live by it.
And now, after all this, let me ask you in such a strange way: How much Christ do you have? Has he outgrown you? Has he risen above you with impressive power, with dominating supremacy? Who is greater in your life: you or him, Jesus? Who has more say in what you do? You, your desires, or your Christ? Whose passions are on edge inside you? Is it your own body, your heart, or Christ's? I ask again: How great a Christ have you? Ought not he to grow, and thou to be brought low? It is not that thou dost not believe in Him, nor that thou dost not love Him enough, but that there is some relational fault between you. The proportion is not right! He is not big enough and you are not small enough. Yes, He needs to grow and you need to grow down. Try to really obey Jesus. Obey Him more, even more! In all situations, at all times! And you will experience the supernatural power of Jesus' life in obedience to Him. You will feel that you are no longer alone: the Lord is with you! For nothing connects you with God and His redeeming power like concrete acts of obedience to Him! This is how the humble man becomes strong, courageous and determined, able to fight, to conquer!
The other feature of humility is that man, fully living his vocation, renounces all individual glory. John the Baptist could have celebrated himself, and he did not. He always gave the first place to Christ. I do not know if you understand how difficult this is? To renounce all individual glory! After all, we are all a bit of an actor, we all play a bit of a role, we all like to be seen and admired. Oh my brethren, it is indeed difficult to renounce glory! We humans are so vain that we are almost morbidly hungry for recognition, praise, applause. Some people can only do a good job if they get recognition for it. There are housewives who can only enjoy cooking if their food is constantly praised. If not, she is mortally offended. There are those who are constantly paralysed in their actions by the feeling that: oh, what will people say? What impression will I make on them? Have I done the right thing, have I not ruined my reputation with this or that? The feeling that one is constantly afraid of one's own reputation, that is, of oneself: this feeling is one of the most paralysing forces. To go down... There is nothing so contrary to our nature as this: to voluntarily come down from a high place, a so-called "high horse". To step off the stage, to no longer shine as we once did. There are people who cannot stand to retreat so much that when they have to, for example when they retire or change jobs, when they have to step down because of a loss of position, they are mentally and physically broken. God has forced many people in the great historical storms of the last decades to do this. We have gone through a great levelling process in which many who were at the top have been brought to the bottom, many who were first have been brought to the bottom.
Well, John the Baptist did not do it out of necessity, but voluntarily. He could go down! And the secret of this was that Christ grew as a result! And so the descent is not painful, it is joyful! Man's own person is eclipsed! That's the hard part! But when you step behind Jesus, it's a different story! Not to give up all the glory just like that! But for Jesus, so that he may grow through him: yes, happily! Shouldn't you be so humble? So that the "I" may at last get off the throne and give way to Christ? When the centre of our lives shifts from the "I" to Christ, the bonds of timidity and prejudice are broken. A constant relationship with the "I" is replaced by a constant relationship with Jesus. And instead of the convulsive fear of, oh, how will I do this or that looking at me, it becomes: how is my life evolving towards Christ and His kingdom? We are freed from inner bondage. Man forgets himself and becomes absorbed in his mission.
Again, this is quite practical. When man himself has become lowly, that is, humble, he can no longer look down on any man from above. He cannot look down on anybody! Not even the most despicable! I once talked to a very serious Christian man who, humanly speaking, would have had every reason, in his spiritual superiority and moral height, to look down on the little people who hurt or attack him. From him I heard this statement: 'I have learned to be careful in judging others, for I find just enough to judge in myself.' Indeed, this can only be learned in humility before God. But there it is possible to learn to see as a brother, and to relate to him with a readiness of benevolence and helpful love, even one whom I do not like, one whom I do not like, one whom I cannot sympathise with, one whose faults I have condemned so many times.
I said that humility is a distinctively Christian virtue. Indeed, there is no more pathetic figure than a haughty Christian. For if a Christian man thinks that he lives by grace, that he has received forgiveness from God for the merit of Jesus' death; if this grace, this forgiveness, is not just a word, but a life-giving reality for him, then he cannot be anything but humble! Let us not be afraid or afraid to be humble! And especially let us not wait until God is forced to humble us. So says the Word of God in one place, "Humble yourselves before the Lord." And he adds, "And I will exalt you." So we ask in song:
Give us true faith in your holy Son,
And good life in all our ways;
And bring us into your dwelling place with your Holy Spirit,
To happiness.
Canto 225, verse 7
Amen!
Date: 9 September 1962.
Lesson
Jn 3,25-33