This week’s post in our Gospel Jump-Start Series shows how preaching the Gospel to ourselves produces true humility in us. Philippians 2:4-5 says:
“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus…”
Tim Keller’s booklet, The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness is very helpful on the subject. Keller says, if we were to meet a truly humble person:
They would not be always telling us they were a nobody (because a person who keeps saying they are a nobody is actually a self-obsessed person). The thing we would remember from meeting a truly gospel-humble person is how much they seemed to be totally interested in us. Because the essence of gospel-humility is not thinking more of myself or thinking less of myself, it is thinking of myself less. (pg. 32, emphasis mine)
“Thinking of myself less” or in other words, able to look to the “interests of others.” He continues;
Gospel-humility is not needing to think about myself. Not needing to connect things with myself. It is an end to thoughts such as, ‘I’m in this room with these people, does that make me look good? Do I want to be here?’ True gospel-humility means I stop connecting every experience, every conversation, with myself. In fact, I stop thinking about myself. The freedom of self-forgetfulness. The blessed rest that only self-forgetfulness brings. (pg. 32)
That “blessed rest” is what allows us to stop worrying about our status and accomplishing what benefits us. When we are free of self-service we are able to look to others and selflessly serve them. How can this happen? Well, just as Paul wrote to the church at Philippi, only the Gospel can accomplish such. Keller says;
In Christianity, the moment we believe (on Christ), God imputes Christ’s perfect performance to us as if it were our own, and adopts us into His family…Because He loves me and He accepts me, I do not have to do things just to build up my resume. I do not have to do things to make me look good. I can do things for the joy of doing them. I can help people to help people—not so I can feel better about myself, not so I can fill up the emptiness. (pg. 40)
In Christ, we no longer need to fill any kind of emptiness because we are completely full. In the eyes of the ultimate Judge we are seen as accepted and beloved because of Christ. This security in Christ frees us from trying to prove ourselves and allows us to instead, humble ourselves and serve others. May the Lord, by His grace, produce true humility in us as we delight in the Gospel, where Christ displayed the ultimate humility on our behalf.
Written by Matt Baker