Chapter 7: Religion of Public Opinion For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. John 12:48.
These words were spoken of certain individuals who refused to confess that Jesus was the Christ, because he was extremely unpopular with the scribes and pharisees, and principal people of Jerusalem.
There is a plain distinction between self-love, or the simple desire of happiness, and selfishness. Self-love, the desire of happiness and dread of misery, is constitutional; it is a part of our frame as God made us, and as he intended us to be; and its indulgence within the limits of the law of God, is not sinful. Whenever it is indulged contrary to the law of God, it becomes sinful. When the desire of happiness or the dread of misery becomes the controlling principle, and we prefer our own gratification to some other greater interest, it becomes selfishness. When, to avoid pain or procure happiness, we sacrifice other greater interests, we violate the great law of disinterested benevolence, it is no longer self-love, acting within lawful bounds, but selfishness.
In my last Friday evening lecture, I described a class of professors of religion, who are moved to perform religious exercises by hope and fear. They are moved sometimes by selflove, and sometimes by selfishness. Their supreme object is not to glorify God, but to secure their own salvation. You will recollect that this class, and the class I had described before as the real friends of God and man, agree in many things, and if you look only at the things in which they agree, you cannot distinguish between them. It is only by a close observation of those things in which they differ, that you can see that the main design of the latter class is not to glorify God, but to secure their own salvation. In that way we can see their supreme object developed, and see that when they do the same things, outwardly, which those do whose supreme object is to glorify God, they do them from entirely different motives, and consequently the acts themselves are, in the sight of God, of an entirely different character.
III. Tonight, I design to point out the characteristics of the third class of professing Christians, who "love the praise of men more than the praise of God."
I would not be understood to imply that a mere regard for reputation has led this class to profess religion. Religion has always been too unpopular with the great mass of mankind to render it a general thing to become professing Christians from a mere regard to reputation.
But I mean, that where it is not generally unpopular to become a professor of religion, and will not diminish popularity, but will increase it with many, a complex motive operates the hope of securing happiness in a future world, and that it may increase reputation here. And thus many are led to profess religion, when after all, on a close examination, it will be seen that the leading object, which is prized beyond anything else, is the good opinion of their fellow men. Sooner than forfeit this utterly, they would not profess religion. Their profession turns on this. And although they do profess to be sincere Christians, you may see by their conduct, on close examination, that they will do nothing that will forfeit this good opinion