“An Affectionate Address to the Clergy” by William Law.
William Law was born in England in 1686 and he died in 1761. The older he got the more he saw the fallacy in religious higher learning and criticism--seeking God by the power of the intellect as opposed to His divine person indwelling us as His temple and teaching us Himself by the power of Spirit revelation. He devoted this writing to this subject the following is a excerpt.
“Our divine Master compares the religion of the learned Pharisees "to whitened sepulchers, outwardly beautiful, but inwardly full of rottenness, stench and dead men's bones." Now from where was it that a religion so serious in its restraints, so beautiful in its outward form and practices and commanding such reverence from all that beheld it, was charged by Truth itself with having inwardly such an abominable nature? It was only for this one reason, because it was a religion of self. Therefore from the beginning to the end of the world it must be true that where self is kept alive, has power and keeps up its own interests, whether in speaking, writing, teaching, or defending the most specious number of scripture doctrines and religious forms, there is that very old Pharisee still alive whom Christ with so much severity of language constantly condemned. And the reason of such heavy condemnation is because self is the only root or rather the sum total of all sin; every sin that can be named is centered in it and the creature can sin no higher than he can live to self. For self is the fullness of atheism and idolatry it is nothing else but the creature broken off from God and Christ; it is the power of Satan living and working in us and the sad continuance of that first turning from God which was the whole fall and death from our first Father. And you, sad and Satanical as this self is, what is so much cherished and nourished with our daily love, fears and cares about it? How much worldly wisdom, how much laborious learning, how many subtleties of contrivance and how many flattering applications and submissions are made to the world, that this apostate self may have its fullness both of inward joys and outward glory?”
“But to all this it must be added that a religion of self, of worldly glory and prosperity carried on under the gospel state, has more of a diabolical nature than that of the Jewish Pharisees. This is the highest and last working of the mystery of iniquity because it lives to self, Satan and the world in and by a daily profession of denying and dying to self, of being crucified with Christ, of being led by His Spirit, of being risen from the world and set with Him in heavenly places.”
“Let then the writers against continual immediate divine inspiration take this for a certain truth, that by so doing they do all they can to draw man from that which is the very truth and perfection of the gospel state and are, and can be, no better than pitiable advocates for a religion of self more blamable and abominable now than that which was of old condemned by Christ. For whatever is pretended to be done in gospel religion by any other spirit or power but that of the Holy Spirit bringing it forth, whether it be praying, preaching or practicing any duties, is all of it, but the religion of self and can be nothing else. For all that is born of the flesh is flesh and nothing is spiritual but that which has its whole birth from the Spirit. But man not ruled and governed by the Spirit has only the nature of corrupt flesh. It is under the full power and guidance of fallen nature and is that very natural man to whom the things of God are foolishness”.
“Our divine Master compares the religion of the learned Pharisees "to whitened sepulchers, outwardly beautiful, but inwardly full of rottenness, stench and dead men's bones." Now from where was it that a religion so serious in its restraints, so beautiful in its outward form and practices and commanding such reverence from all that beheld it, was charged by Truth itself with having inwardly such an abominable nature? It was only for this one reason, because it was a religion of self. Therefore from the beginning to the end of the world it must be true that where self is kept alive, has power and keeps up its own interests, whether in speaking, writing, teaching, or defending the most specious number of scripture doctrines and religious forms, there is that very old Pharisee still alive whom Christ with so much severity of language constantly condemned. And the reason of such heavy condemnation is because self is the only root or rather the sum total of all sin; every sin that can be named is centered in it and the creature can sin no higher than he can live to self. For self is the fullness of atheism and idolatry it is nothing else but the creature broken off from God and Christ; it is the power of Satan living and working in us and the sad continuance of that first turning from God which was the whole fall and death from our first Father. And you, sad and Satanical as this self is, what is so much cherished and nourished with our daily love, fears and cares about it? How much worldly wisdom, how much laborious learning, how many subtleties of contrivance and how many flattering applications and submissions are made to the world, that this apostate self may have its fullness both of inward joys and outward glory?”
“But to all this it must be added that a religion of self, of worldly glory and prosperity carried on under the gospel state, has more of a diabolical nature than that of the Jewish Pharisees. This is the highest and last working of the mystery of iniquity because it lives to self, Satan and the world in and by a daily profession of denying and dying to self, of being crucified with Christ, of being led by His Spirit, of being risen from the world and set with Him in heavenly places.”
“Let then the writers against continual immediate divine inspiration take this for a certain truth, that by so doing they do all they can to draw man from that which is the very truth and perfection of the gospel state and are, and can be, no better than pitiable advocates for a religion of self more blamable and abominable now than that which was of old condemned by Christ. For whatever is pretended to be done in gospel religion by any other spirit or power but that of the Holy Spirit bringing it forth, whether it be praying, preaching or practicing any duties, is all of it, but the religion of self and can be nothing else. For all that is born of the flesh is flesh and nothing is spiritual but that which has its whole birth from the Spirit. But man not ruled and governed by the Spirit has only the nature of corrupt flesh. It is under the full power and guidance of fallen nature and is that very natural man to whom the things of God are foolishness”.
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