Wisdom lifts up her voice. Do we hear her: "Many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first." She is greater than fine diamonds. Have we desired her: "He brings low the mighty and exalts the lowly." By her judges rule and kings reign. Have we discovered her: "He must increase, but I must decrease." Consider wisdom:
It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth Eccl 7:2-4
Wisdom? The human heart is made better by sadness? The house of mourning is to be preferred to the house of feasting? Isn't Christian gospel of salvation about God's awesome, happy plan for our lives? Why all this gloomy talk of sadness and mourning? Certainly the writer misunderstands the ways of God? Surely he's confused - or is he? Is it possible that it is us moderns who are confused concerning the ways of God?
What Solomon understood is this: "Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it abides alone: but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit" (John 12:24). He understood that "weeping last for a night, but that joy comes in the morning." Solomon knew that without crucifixion there would be no resurrection. Is the Christian church of this age greater than its Master?
Consider a baker meticulously mixing water, sugar, salt, yeast and flour. He mixes and punches; he rolls and kneads until the dough is perfect. His guests are screaming for the bread, but he knows he must be patient - the rising cannot be rushed. "Leave out the yeast!" cries a famished guest. "After all, the other ingredients are there." But the wise baker knows that even though such a yeast-free concoction might taste similar to bread it would not really be bread at all.
From powdered potatoes to microwave oatmeal, if you want fast and easy - you got it. Drive-through coffee, drive-through banks, seeker friendly churches - it's alright skip the yeast! We want weight loss without exercise and Christian conversion without contrition; it takes too long to rise! Contrition? Though many professing believers have never even heard the term: contrition is the yeast in the bread of genuine salvation. Contrition is the house of mourning; it's the sadness of the countenance. Contrition is death to the seed; it is weeping in the night. Contrition means crucifixion to self-righteousness and excuses. Contrition is sackcloth and ashes to the heart!
Without contrition true conversion and revival are impossible. Please, don't hear me wrong. We can have big churches without contrition. We can have thousands at altar calls without contrition. We can get people to close their eyes and repeat rote prayers without contrition, but we cannot get one selfish, sin-laden soul to abandon his preoccupation with himself and be genuinely converted without contrition.
Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before God...and because you humbled yourself before me and tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the LORD (2 Chron 34:27-28).
The sacrifice of a torn garment is fruitless without the sacrifice of a contrite and broken heart. In the same way the sacrifices of church attendance, giving, and other spiritual endeavors are useless apart from a contrite heart. We may shred every garment we own and even assent to all the right doctrinal stuff, but without a tender and humble heart God does not hear and revival will not come. Remove godly sorrow from the bread of conversion and our converts just won't rise.
I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, in order that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the world produces death (2 Cor 7:9-10). - 15615
It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth Eccl 7:2-4
Wisdom? The human heart is made better by sadness? The house of mourning is to be preferred to the house of feasting? Isn't Christian gospel of salvation about God's awesome, happy plan for our lives? Why all this gloomy talk of sadness and mourning? Certainly the writer misunderstands the ways of God? Surely he's confused - or is he? Is it possible that it is us moderns who are confused concerning the ways of God?
What Solomon understood is this: "Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it abides alone: but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit" (John 12:24). He understood that "weeping last for a night, but that joy comes in the morning." Solomon knew that without crucifixion there would be no resurrection. Is the Christian church of this age greater than its Master?
Consider a baker meticulously mixing water, sugar, salt, yeast and flour. He mixes and punches; he rolls and kneads until the dough is perfect. His guests are screaming for the bread, but he knows he must be patient - the rising cannot be rushed. "Leave out the yeast!" cries a famished guest. "After all, the other ingredients are there." But the wise baker knows that even though such a yeast-free concoction might taste similar to bread it would not really be bread at all.
From powdered potatoes to microwave oatmeal, if you want fast and easy - you got it. Drive-through coffee, drive-through banks, seeker friendly churches - it's alright skip the yeast! We want weight loss without exercise and Christian conversion without contrition; it takes too long to rise! Contrition? Though many professing believers have never even heard the term: contrition is the yeast in the bread of genuine salvation. Contrition is the house of mourning; it's the sadness of the countenance. Contrition is death to the seed; it is weeping in the night. Contrition means crucifixion to self-righteousness and excuses. Contrition is sackcloth and ashes to the heart!
Without contrition true conversion and revival are impossible. Please, don't hear me wrong. We can have big churches without contrition. We can have thousands at altar calls without contrition. We can get people to close their eyes and repeat rote prayers without contrition, but we cannot get one selfish, sin-laden soul to abandon his preoccupation with himself and be genuinely converted without contrition.
Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before God...and because you humbled yourself before me and tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the LORD (2 Chron 34:27-28).
The sacrifice of a torn garment is fruitless without the sacrifice of a contrite and broken heart. In the same way the sacrifices of church attendance, giving, and other spiritual endeavors are useless apart from a contrite heart. We may shred every garment we own and even assent to all the right doctrinal stuff, but without a tender and humble heart God does not hear and revival will not come. Remove godly sorrow from the bread of conversion and our converts just won't rise.
I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, in order that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the world produces death (2 Cor 7:9-10). - 15615
About the Author:
LaLond's book, The Lying Promise, examines foundational discrepancies between popular "lifestyle evangelism" and the approach of preachers such as Wesley and Finney who were prominent in lasting revival.
