The Carnal Mind at Enmity with Christ
Luke viii. 28.
When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and felt down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high! I beseech thee, torment me not.
THE foregoing and following verses give you a very plain account of this miracle; which our Saviour wrought in dispossessing a devil. There was a certain man met him out of the city, which had devils long time, and icare no clothes, neither abode in any
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Jcouse hut in the tombs. When he saic Jesus who commanded the unclean spirit to come out of him he fell down confessed Lis glory, and besought him that he would laot torment him.
Most of the miracles that our Saviour wrought on earth, did not only confirm his commission from heaven, but gave a figurative representation of the great design of his coming into the world, the salvation of the souls of men. Every blind eye that he opened did silently declare, that he came to give divine knowledge to the ignorant, and to enlighten dark souls. Every deaf ear that he unstopped confirmed this truth, that he came to make obstinate and disobedient sinners bow down their ears, and hearken to the voice of divine wisdom. Every dead person that he raised, shewed, that he came to raise mankind from a death in tresspasses and sins. And every one possessed with devils that he released, declared also, that his business was to destroy the empire; »ud government of Satan in the souls of
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men and to cast him out from the habitstion that he had so long possessed.
A demoniac, or a person possessed with a devil, is one who, by divine permission, is so left to the power of Satan, that one op more devils dwells in him, rules his body, governs his limbs, moves and speaks in and by him, often without the consent of the human soul, or of the man, and against his will; though in many of these diabolic actions, the devil gains the consent of the will too, by his subtle influence on flesh and blood, and the powers of the animal nature. This is what you should understand by every person you read of in the gospel, from whom our Lord Jesus Christ cast out devils.
Now we may consider such a person as a proper emblem of a wicked man in this world, in a state of nature and sin, who is said by St. Paul to ivalJc according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the foiver of the air the spiiHt that
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worJceth in the children of disobedience,^ You have it often expressed in other parts of scripture, that Satan possesses those that are in a state of distance from God, and rules and reigns in their persons, aad in their carriage and conduct. My text gives an account of the character and temper of a sinner on earth, in whom Satan reigns. The first thing remarkable is, when he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell doicn before him, and called him the Son of the most high God, and besought him that he would not torment him. The first observation I shall therefore make upon these words, is this;
I. That a sinner, under the chains ot Satan, may look very much like a christian in doctrine and worship,
1. The demoniac looked like a christian
in doctrine; for he owned Jesus Christ to
be the Son of the most high God. A car*
nal man may not only fall in with those
* Eph. ii. 2r
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doctrines of religion that the time age, and country consent to and profess; but he may be bold to profess those particular doctrines that are opposed by a nation, and by a greater part of mankind. Such was the doctrine of the divinity and Messiah-ship of our Lord Jesus Christ among the Jews. There were very few then that believed him to be the Son of God, and the cry of the world went out against him, that he was a deceiver; but a man possessed with a devil, you see, falls down and says, Jesus y thou Son of God most hugh. It is not enough then, that you profess religion in the highest glories of knowledge; it is not enough that you describe yourselves as christians, because you acknowledge the most contested doctrines of the age, or the most sublime truths. These are so insufficient to prove you christians, that you see a devil may do the same.
a. The demoniac looked like a christian in worship. He fell down, and worshipped him and prayed to him. A carnal man may
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come with the mos<> forward saints to outward ordinances, and fall down before the Lord Jesus Christ, confess him, and pray to him. Ahitophel was very intimate with David in his worship and attendance at the house of God; We took sweet counsel together says the Psalmist, and walked unto the house of God in company.^ But after all, you find the wretched end of this vile sinner, this criminal politician, that he took part with Absalom, and rebelled against David; and when his counsel was not followed, he hanged himself. While he professed to be with David, his heart was with Absalom; and when he went to Absalom, and his counsel was not obeyed, he put an end to his wretched and guilty life. Beliold here thousands of accursed spirits falling down together in one assembly, and worshipping; for the name of this devil was Legion, that is, as some learned men say, six thousand, and as others say, twelve thousand. It is clear that there were very many, for there were multitudes of swine posses*
* Psalm ly, U»
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sed with these devils, that run down headlong into the waters and were drowned, in a few hours afterwards.
It is evident, therefore, that the mere pro» fession of sublime and contested doctrines and formal and express obeisances to our Lord Jesus Christ in worship, will not prove us true christians. It becomes us.^ then to inquire, what have we more than profession and doctrinal knowledge, to shew that we are christians? What have we more than knowledge and outward profession, to shew that we are free from the dominion of Satan, that we are not children of disobedience? You believe that there is a God; so did this demoniac, so all the hosts of hell do. You believe that Jesus Christ is God, and the Son of God most high; you fall down and worship him; so did the person in my text. You pray to him; so did the devil; I beseech thee torment me not. But do you love Christ, or do you only profess to love him? Do you delight in our Lord Jesus, or is your heart far from him? Let igia The Carnal Mind Berm Vllr
this be a matter of solemn inquiry betwixt God and your souls. This leads me to the second observation I would make upon the words 5
II. That an unconverted sinner however he may profess to worship Christy yet would fain have nothing to do with him; He fell down and irorsMpped him and said, Jesus, Son of the most high God mhat have I to do with thee f
An unconverted sinner, whatever worship he may profess and pay to Christ, would fain have nothing to do with him. When Christ comes near him in his way, if he is in a christian nation or a christian family, a carnal sinner can fall down before him, and can give him high titles too; but his heart says, ^’ Jesus, what have I to do with thee? I seek no benefit from thee, I have ‘♦ no service to do for thee, and I have no desire of being near to thee.^^ Let us enlarge a little upon each of these heads.
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1. “What have I to do with thee,” ini» plies, I seek none of thy benefits. A carnal man seeks not any of the benefits of our Lord Jesus Christy those rich benefits of light, righteousness, holiness, and salvation, that are treasured up in Christ, and distributed to believers; the unsearchable riches of Christ, that keep this world from being a hell, and make heaven glorious as it is. The carnal man desires none of these things. He is stupid, and knows not his want of these blessings, like the church of Laodicea, wiiieh our Lord Jesus Christ reproved. This church was rich, she was increased in goods, and imagined that she stood in need of nothing; but Christ tells her that she was wretchedy and miserable and poor, and blind and naked,^ The men of this world are also blind, and see not their own blindness 5 poor, and know not their own poverty; destitute of all things, and think themselves possessed of much good; naked, and think they have sufiicient clothing; guilty, and fancy any righteousness enough; mis-
* Rev. iii. 17.
B
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erablcj and maintain their aversion to God and holiness; slaves to sin and ignorant of their own slavery. This is the state of all stupid sinners and no wonder then that they say, “What have we to do w ith thee, Je- “sus V^ They know not that they have any need of him. On the other hand, when a carnal sinner is awakened, and begins to think about the tilings of salvation, and securing of heaven, he thinks of getting all he wants from himself, and not of going to Christ for it; still the language of his heart is, ^’•’ What have I to do with thee, Jesus?’^ The language of such a one, when he is in a carnal state, and knows not the gospel of Christ, is much like the language of those that are spoken of in the prophecy of Isaiah: In that day seven women shall take hold of one man, by vshich our Lord Jesus Christ is here represented, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own appa-Tel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach,^” I will be cal- ‘^ led a christian,’^ says the aw akeued sin
* Isaiah iv. 1. ner, “to take away my reproach; but I ^’ will eat my own breads and wear my own “apparel; I will provide myself a right- “eousness to save me, and I will till up all” my course of time with such studies as will make me accepted with God; I will do sufficient to answer for my sins; I will ^’ cure my nature of this unholiness I feel ^’ in it.’’ He is ready to think that he has a great deal in himself, and his expectation is very great from himself for his own salvation. Thus you see in two instances, that a man in a carnal state, either when awakened or stupid, has no desire of any thing from Christ.
S. He has no service to do for Christ, for it is his great business and contrivance to serve his lusts and pleasures; he thinks a little will do to get to heaven: he is not devoted to Christ. Whereas a lively christian longs to work for Christ, and is ready at all times to suffer for him. The temper of St. Paul is extremely different; I count not my life dear unto myself so that I might
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jimsli my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus Christ,^ So speaks every true christian ^’ I would be willing ta count nothing dear “to me, that so I may fulfil the serviced ^’ that my Lord Jesus Christ shall call me to,” In his epistle to ilie Pbilippians St. Paul speaks in the same manner; he counted nothing valuable to him, so that Christ might he magnified in his body, whe ther it were by life or by death: for to me says he, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.- ^’ If I continue longer in this world, it is “for the service of Chi’ist, and if I die, it” is my gain.’’ In his epistle to the Romans he introduces the rest of the christians, together with himself, joining in one frame and temper; •N*one of us liveth to himself says he, and no man dieth to himself For whether tee live, we live unto the Lord; ani. whether we die, we die unto the Lord: ichether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lords.X All the power we have, all the * Acts XX. 24. t Ptib i. 20, 21.
Rom. xiv. T, 8.
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service we can do, it is to the Lord Jesus Christ.
3. The carnal sinner has no desire of being near to Christ, or of conversing with him. What have I to do with thee, Je- “sus?’’ Like the hypocrites of old; They draw near to him tvith their mouths, and with their lips they honour him, hut they have removed their heart far from him ;^ they wander after covetousness, and the vanities of this life. Whereas the temper of a lively christian is thus expressed by St. Paul; I am in a strait hetwixt twoy having a desire to depart and to he with Christ. ^” I have a desire to serve him ‘’ here, and I have a desire to be with him ‘^ above; and I can hardly tell, by putting ‘’ each into the balances, which outweighs “if I take a survey of both my desires, I can hardly tell which is the strongest; I” desire to have much to do for Christ here, ‘’ and much to do with him above, and I hardly know which to choose; but I would * Isaiah xxix. 13, t Phih i. S3, iflS The Carnal Mind Serm. VIL
“rather this, that I may be with Christ, and “be for ever happy in his presence.’^ So in his second epistle to the Corinthians, he expresses the same temper; We are confident, and tcilling rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord,^ Oh how very different is this temper from that of a carnal man, who knows not the comfort and sweetness of the company of our Lord Jesus Christ, and says,” Though ‘’ thou art Jesus, the Son of the most high God, yet what have I to do with thee? I ^’’ can be contented well enough to do with- out thee.’^
d. The first reflection I would make upon this text is this; oh the deplorable state of an unconverted sinner; the folly, the guilt, and the misery of it! The folly, that will have nothing to do with Christ; Christ who is the delight of angels: Christ who is the joy of the Father, and the well-beloved of his soul. The guilt, to refuse the offers of the salvation of Christ; to refuse God himself coming down from heaven into hu * 2 Cor. V. 8. man nature, and bringing salvation and heaven to them; what manner of guilt is this! The misery that they seal themselves under, the eternity of wretchedness, by r&^ fusing Christ Jesus! Little does a poor sinner think, when he has this thought in his heart, What have I to do with Christ? little does he think of the folly, and the guilt, and the misery that is contained in it! and yet shall I say, such were some of you, such by nature were all of us? This is the temper of the natural man, this is born with us, and till the almighty grace of God dispossesses Satan, this is our temper. Mourn over yourselves, ye that find yourselves by examination in this state, and never be easy until you feel your souls changed. Mourn over your relatives, your dear friends, your children, all that are near you, unless you can see them love Jesus Christ, and are willing to be with him. Mourn over yourselves, unconverted sinners, and mourn, ye saints, over your unconverted relations, for this was your state, and is theirs 5 and ble»s the Lord where be
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has made a change, and bless that gloriousr grace that has taught you to love Jesus, and to long to be with him.
S. The second reflection I would make upon this second observation is; how great and lamentable is the power of remaining sin in the heart of a saint! And this appears in many doleful instances. Though believers would love Jesus Christ, though they have chosen him for their portion, though they do in some degree love him, yet too often they are satisfied with a form of duty, without seeing Christ in it; too often they are contented to let an ordinance pass away, and have no converse with Christ therein; too often they do not feel any desire towards those ordinances, where the Lord Jesus Christ appears. And do we not find very often a reluctance in our own souls to secret worship, and to converse with our Lord Jesus Christ in our closets, and when the hour of duty calls us? Do not our hearts within us sometimes say, We have little to do with Christ ?^^ Do
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we not fiad a backwardness in us to go and converse with him, whom at other times we love above all things, and whom we have chosen, and whom we desire for ever to dwell with? Let this, then, be matter of holy humiliation and humble mourning,, that we are too much contented to be without Christ here, and too often contented to dwell here for ever; that is, we are unwilling to think of dying, and departing to be with the Lord; unwilling to think of leaving all earthly and sensible things, that we may be in the upper world with Jesus our Saviour. Is there not a great deal of this aversion and enmity to Christ remaining still in the best of us; a cleaving to the dust, a clinging fast to the body, a cleaving fast to sensible things, and, as it were, tying our selves to them, when sickness or any other calamity arrests us, and brings us near to the borders of dissolution and eternity?
It was an unwise saying of Peter, Vefart from me, for I am a sinful man, O JLord ;^ yet many times, when under the * Luke V. 8.
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power of guilt, and under the working of temptations and corruptions stirring in us, we are ready to desire to stand afar off from Christ; we have not such a delightful longing and desire after him, as become our character and profession.
I proceed to the third observation that may be made upon these words of the demoniac, Torment me not.
III. An unconverted sinner thinks Christ comes to torment him, when he really begins to save him. The light of Christ in his word, when it breaks in upon the soul of a sinner, is unpleasant to him at first. A man brought out of gross darkness into blazing light, or the blaze of noon-day, cannot bear the light, his eyes are uneasy under it; so when the light of Christ breaks into a soul, and discovers the soul all over guilty, filthy, miserable, wretched, distant from God, hopeless in itself, the soul is very uneasy and aifrighted at itself, and knows not how to bear such a blaze of di-Serm. VII. At Enmity with Christ. SOS
vine light. Yet it is necessary in order to our relief, that we should be enlightened. and convinced of our misery. The voice of Christ in his grace is insipid and dull to the soul of a sinner, it is many times not worth hearing, till Jesus Christ has made the wound of conviction very deep, and made him willing to hearken to any thing from him. The voice of Christ in his commands is unpleasant to the ear of a carnal man; even when our Lord Jesus Christ comes to convince, to awaken, and save him, there is a struggle raised in his conscience against his sin, and this is painful to him. The work of self-denial is beginning in him. He is bid to deny himself in point of righteousness, in point of light and strength, and to say, lam nothing. He is bid to contradict his carnal, his corrupt appetites, and sinful affections, to fight against them, and resist them. When, then, our Lord Jesus begins this work in his soul, it is like a torment in the heart of the sinner, although the design of our Lord Jesus Christ is to
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change his nature, and bring him into a state of grace and salvation.
O what a strong possession has Satan got of men, who fall down under his slavery, and delight in chains! O the strange temper of sinners, who are willing to be led by him!
The reflection I would make on this, isj that when every thing of Christ is pleasant to you, your salvation is certainly begun. The work is begun in your hearts, which shall be carried on, and fulfilled to the day of the Lord. The voice of a carnal sinner, in an unconverted state, when Christ comes first to him, is, ‘’ Do not torment me f’ but when Christ has wrought a saving change in his soul, he loves then to be with Jesus, for he is his everlasting happiness. When the voice of Christ is pleasant to you, when the face of Christ is beautiful, when he is to you the chief est among ten thousand, and &,ltogether lovely, when his commandments
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are not grievous, when his ijoke is easy, and his burden is light; when his righteousness is most desirable, as the full foundation of your hopes; when every thing of Christ is to your souls as sight is to the blind, as rest to the weary, as life to the dead; you may be assured that salvation is begun in you, your temper is changed, your carnal nature is renewed, and God that has begun the good work, will ]p erf or m it until the day of Jesus Christ,^
IV. The last observation I make upon the words, is this; that a sinner’s greatest concern is to escape the torments of hell; but not to seek the holiness and happiness of heaven. The devil fell down, acknowledged Christ, bespoke his glory, worshipped him; but the business he had with him was, 1 beseech thee, torment me not, I grant that salvation from hell is the first thing that an awakened sinner seeks; he first says,” What must I do to escape from ^’ hell? How shall I be saved from the
* Phil. i. 6.
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•’• wrath to come ?*^ I grant also that many young converts and true christians have more sensible and solicitous regard for their deliverance from hell aad torment than they have warm desires towards heaven and blessedness. But I must say also that grace reigns not fully in its power in their souls, where this temper prevails long. Grace is very feeble and imperfect, when the sinner has no desire at all after the trae felicities of heaven, if he can but escape hell. And a true christian is not in his right state, when his desires are stronger after a release from the miseries of hell, than they are after holiness and heaven. Nature says, “Let me not suffer 5’’ Grace surely says, “Let me not sin.’^ Nature says, “Let me not” go to the place of misery 5” Grace says, ^’ Let me be for ever holy, that I may be” for ever happy.’^ The dread of torment will make a devil pray, will make six thousand devils together pray to Christ. But when we have true love to the Lord, then we shall desire to be in the company of Christ; then we shall desire to be more with iSerm. VII. .It Enmity with Christ. 20j
him, for his presence is heaven to the believer. As soon as the Lord Jesus Christ had released this man and cast the devil out from him, he besought him that he might he with him; he desired then to be with Jesus, though lie had just before said,” What ^’ have I to do with thee?’’
The reflection I would make upon this head, is this; if you would prove your conversion and growth in grace, seek after the Lord Jesus Christ, and delight in his company. This will make it appear that your nature is changed, that you are renewed, that you are another creature than what you once were. Then, instead of desiring to he absent from the Lord, and that he would stand afar off from you, you will long to be with him in another world, and rejoice in hope of dwelling with him there for ever.