Cursed be the man that trusts in man

By Brett Jacobsen
 

This says the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm [zerowa- strength], and whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good comes; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusts in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. (Jer 17:5-8)

The above scripture is a stern warning against trusting in man and the strength of the flesh. It says of those who trust, or find security in man’s might (even if it’s their own) that their heart “departs from the Lord”. The more we rely on man’s methods, organizations, understanding and other aspects of humanistic dependence, the more our heart departs from the Lord. The scary part is that many don’t even detect their incremental exodus from His true blessing.

The modern church has invented all sorts of glossy covers to hide spiritual barrenness in the hearts of the multitudes of supporters. Many are made to feel victorious and successful by the very same ploys and practices which began to detach their heart from God in the first place. The only real remedy for this carnal dilemma is wholehearted trust and hope in the Lord, both in heart and in practice. 

Of course the larger majority of professing Christians would say that they trust in the Lord, but upon biblical scrutiny, how much trust is really in operation throughout the church? We ought to examine both our personal walk with the Lord and our church life and participation in the light of real biblical trust in Christ. The above verse seems to me to be a foundational scripture for reformation, especially right now in this significant season of transformation.

We can no longer get away with an immature attitude which has us resting on a basic level of trust in Christ, which merely portrays a belief in Him. There must be substance to our profession and our faith, for “faith without works [ergon- toil, deed, act] is dead” (Jas 2:17, 20, 26). We cannot say and believe we have trust in the Lord, if we do not act in a manner which attests to that trust. The Galatians, according to Paul, began in the Spirit and in faith, but drew back in practice to the ways of the flesh. Of course this becomes a vicious circle - lack of faith produces works of flesh, then works of flesh produce more of a lack of faith, and around and around it goes. It is not compatible to say that we trust the Lord, not man, if we act like one who trusts in man (even if that man is ourself). 

Too many people trivialise the Word by reducing major issues to simple heart attitudes. Although it is true that having our heart right is of the utmost importance, it doesn’t just end there. The Bible says to “Guard your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov 4:23). Guarding our heart can often mean keeping it from systems, schools and settings which are heavily reliant on the flesh rather than the Lord. We need to apply practical outworkings of trust in Christ to our lives in order for that trust to remain and develop. Quite simply, how can I say I trust God if I act contrary to that profession? For instance, how can we say we trust the “good shepherd” to look after His sheep if we endeavour to keep them with human programmes and systems? 

There are many and varied aspects of Christian life these days which have fallen deep into the arms of the flesh. Some of these are:

Leadership- Hierarchical and Humanly official
Church constructs- Cathedrals and Owned organisations
Programmes- Sterile services and Flamboyant events
Individualism- Lone rangers and Scorned saints
Legalism- Written rules and Carnal codes
Traditions of men- Set schedules and Patterned practices
Money- Luring with luxury and Mammonistic manipulation
Growth- Seeking statistics and Competing companies
Ministries- Stage strutting and Went ones 

All of these aspects of fleshly confidence draw God’s people away from trusting in Him in both word and deed. They offer security in the name of the Lord, but only tend towards parched spirituality and dead religion. Of course we have probably all been given to, or taken by most of, if not all of these insidious devices at some time and of course His grace is so gracious in that. But, we ought not continue down any of these adverse avenues if we really trust the Lord and if the Lord is our hope rather than our hope being our own. 

This is a short series which will unpack a number of the main offending factors that strengthen the saints in human reliance rather than heartfelt and exercised dependence on God.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 1st, 2008 at 11:24 am and is filed under Biblical Leadership, Brett Jacobsen's teaching, Church Structure, Living Christianity, Reformation/ Revival. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.