Natural Men Are God's Enemies, part 3.

I now proceed,

III. To show why, or on what account they are enemies to God.

The general reason is, That God is opposite to them in the worship of their idols.

The apostacy of man does summarily consist in departing from the true God to idols; forsaking his Creator, and setting up other things in his room.

When God at first created man, he was united to his Creator; the God that made him was his God. The true God was the object of his highest respect, and had the possession of his heart. Love to God was the principle in his heart, that ruled over all other principles, and every thing in the soul was wholly in subjection to it. But when man fell, he departed from the true God, and the union that was between his heart and his Creator was broken: He wholly lost the principle of love he had to God. And henceforward man clave to other gods. He gave that respect to the creature which is due to the Creator. When God ceased to be the object of his supreme love and respect, other things of course became the objects of it.

 

Man will necessarily have something that he respects as his God. If man does not give his highest respect to the God that made him, there will be something else that has the possession of it. Men will either worship the true God, or some idol: It is impossible it should be otherwise; something will have the heart of man. And that which a man gives his heart to, may be called his god; and therefore, when man by the fall extinguished all love to the true God, he set up the creature in his room.

And so man came to be at enmity against the true God, for having lost his esteem and love of the true God, and set up other gods in his room, and in opposition to him; and God still demanding their worship, and opposing them in their worship of those false gods; and man continuing still to worship idols, enmity necessarily follows.

That which a man chooses for his god, he sets his heart mainly upon. And nothing will so soon excite enmity as opposition in that which is dearest. A man will be the greatest enemy to him who opposes him in what he chooses for his god: He will look on none as standing so much in his way, as he that would deprive him of his god. "Ye have taken away my gods; and what have I more?” Judg. 18:24. A man in this respect cannot serve two masters that stand in competition for his service. And not only if he serves one, he cannot serve the other, but if he cleaves to one he will necessarily hate the other. "No man can serve two masters: For either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon," Matth. 6:24, And this is the very reason that men hate God. In this case it is as when two kings set up in one kingdom in opposition one to the other; and they both challenge the same throne, and are competitors for the same crown; they that are loyal, hearty subjects to the one, will necessarily be enemies to the other. It always happens so, nor indeed can it be otherwise.

As that which is a man's god, is the object of his highest love; so that God, who chiefly opposes him in it, must be the object of his greatest hatred.

The gods which a natural man worships, instead of the God that made him, are himself and the world. He has withdrawn his esteem and honor from God, and proudly exalts himself as Satan did: He was not willing to be in such subjection; and therefore rebelled, and set up himself for God. So a natural man in the proud and high thoughts he has of himself, sets up himself upon God's throne. And he gives his heart to the world, worldly riches, and worldly pleasures, and worldly honors; they have the possession of that regard which is due to God. The apostle sums up all the idolatry of wicked men in their love of the world. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, it not of the Father, but is of the world.” 1 John 2:15, 16. And the Apostle James observes, that a man must necessarily be the enemy of the true God, if he be a friend of the world. “Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world, is the enemy of God.” James 4.

All the sin that men commit, is what they do in the service of their idols: There is no one act of sin, but what is an act of service to some false god. And therefore wherein soever God opposes sin in them, he is opposite to their worship of their idols; on which account they are enemies to God.

God opposes them in their service of their idols in the following respects.

1. He manifests his utter abhorrence of their worship of their idols. Their idols are what they love above all things; they would by no means part with them. This wickedness is sweet unto them, Job 20:12. If you take them away what have they more? If they lose their idols, they lose their all. To rend away their idols from them would be more grievous to them, than to rend body and soul asunder; it is like rending their heart in twain. They love their idolatry; but God does not approve of it, but exceedingly hates it; he hates it implacably, and will by no means be reconciled to it; and therefore they hate him. God declares an infinite hatred of every act of sin which they do; or every act that they do in the service of their false gods. He approves of it in no part, but hates it all. He declares himself to be an holy God, and a jealous God; a God that is very jealous of his own honor; and that greatly abhors the giving that honor to another.

2. He utterly forbids their cleaving to those idols, and all the service that they do to them. He not only shows that he dislikes it, but he utterly forbids it; and demands that they should worship him, and serve him only, and give their hearts wholly to him, without tolerating any competitor. He allows them to serve their idols in no degree; but requires them to east them away utterly, and pay no more worship to them at anytime. He requires a final parting with their idols. Not only that they should refrain from them for a while, but cast them away forever, and never gratify their idolatrous respect to them any more. This is so exceeding contrary to them, and what they are so averse to, and so obstinate in their refusal of, that they are enemies to God for it. They cannot endure God's commands, because they forbid all that which their hearts are so engaged in. And as they hate God's command's, so they hate him whose commands they are.

3. He threatens them with everlasting damnation for their service of their idols. He threatens them for their past idolatry. He threatens them with his eternal wrath, for their having departed from him, and their having chosen to themselves other gods. He threatens them for that disposition they have in their hearts to cleave to other gods: He threatens the least degrees of that respect which they have in their hearts to their idols. He manifests that he will not tolerate any regard to them, but has fixed eternal death, as the wages of every degree of it. And he will not release them from their guilt; he holds them to their obligations; he will not acquit them at all; and he will accept of no atonement that they can make. He will not forgive them, whatever they do in religion; whatever pains they take; whatever tears they shed. He will accept of no money or price that they have to offer.

And he threatens every future act of their idolatry. He not only forbids them ever to be guilty of the least act, but forbids them on pain of eternal damnation. So strictly does God prohibit them the service of their idols, that are so dear to them, that are their all, and which they would on no account part with. He threatens them with everlasting wrath for all exercises of inordinate love of worldly profit; for all manifestations of inordinate regard to worldly pleasures, or worldly honors. He threatens them with everlasting torments for their selfexaltation. He requires them to deny themselves, and renounce themselves, and to abase themselves at his feet, on pain of bearing his wrath to all eternity.

The strictness of God's law is a principal cause of man's enmity against God. If God were a God that did not so much hate sin; if he were one who would allow them in the gratification of their lusts, in some degree: And his threatenings were not so awful against all indulgence of their lust; if his threatenings were not so absolute; if his displeasure could be appeased by a few tears, and a little reformation, or the like; they would not be so great enemies, nor hate him so much as they do now. But God shows himself to be an implacable enemy to their idols, to every degree of their service of them; and has threatened everlasting wrath, infinite calamity for all that they do in the service of their lusts; and holds them bound under his wrath therefor. And this makes them irreconcilable enemies to him.

For this reason the Scribes and Pharisees were such bitter enemies to Christ, because he showed himself to be such an enemy to their pride, and conceit of their own wisdom, and their self righteousness, and inordinate affection of their own honor, which was their God. Natural men are enemies to God, because he is so opposite to them in that in which they place their all. If you go to take away that which is very dear to a man, nothing will provoke him more. God is infinitely opposite to that in which natural men place all their delight, and all their happiness, viz. their gods. He is an enemy to that which natural men value as their greatest honor and highest dignity; and which they trust wholly to, that which is all their dependence, viz. their own righteousness.

Hence natural men are greater enemies to God than they are to any other being. Some of their fellow creatures may stand very much in their way with regard to some things they set their hearts upon; but God opposes them with respect to all their idols, and those gods which are their all. And then God's opposition to their idols, which are above all things dear to them, is infinitely great. None of our fellow creatures over oppose us in any of our interests so much as God opposes wicked men in their idolatry; for God has an infinite opposition against it. His infinite opposition is manifested by his threatening an infinite punishment, viz. his dreadful wrath to all eternity, misery without end. Hence we need not wonder that natural men are enemies to God.