Pleasant Curse?

Pleasant Curse?

Martin Luther was a zestful man, and at the table often spoke words that he would have revised carefully before putting into writing. Friends and acquaintances recorded many of these utterances, some of which have been greatly misunderstood. One day he flung out a sentence which may seem absurd on the surface but which will stand close examination.

"The curse of a godless man," he said, "can sound more pleasant in God's ears than the hallelujah of the pious." On the surface the remark seems blasphemous; illustrate it and it becomes plausible, possible, and even certain.

Take a man who has a form of godliness, but who denies the power of God. When such a man utters a pious hallelujah, it is a raucous screech in the ears of God. Remember Christ's words, "Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief places at feasts; which devour widows' houses, and for a show make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation" (Luke 20:46, 47). We can be certain that the hallelujah from the lips of these "pious" ones is hateful to God.

But what about the curse of the godless man? Luther meant, of course, that God hates the sanctimonious hallelujah more than He hates the godless curse. It is not that the curse is acceptable, but that the heart that expresses it is not as far from God as the heart that is corroded by pious hypocrisy and hypocritical piety.

When religion is simply a cloak, it is an infected and filthy rag encrusted by the suppuration of the wound it bandages. God accepts a hallelujah from none but redeemed lips; for an unregenerate man to praise Him while denying His Son is an offense to His holiness.

This truth must be examined closely, for its implications are tremendous. It means that God does not accept the "grace before meals" offered by unbelievers. Even when people simply say, "Thank God, Amen," the omission of the name of the Lord Jesus is an attempt to come into God's presence without acknowledging their need of redemption. Into the same category falls the lodge prayer that omits the name of Jesus Christ and attempts to approach God with thanksgiving apart from redemption through the cross. These religious hallelujahs arc not acceptable. Christ has stated the indispensable condition that "No man cometh unto the Father but by me" (John 14:6).

Luther's language was a little extravagant, in that it might make the unwary think that a curse would be pleasant to God. He would have put it better if he had said, "The curse of a godless man can be less offensive to the ears of God than the hallelujahs of the religious man."

1. Have we sought approval over what God deems us to be? In what areas of your life do you need to let Christ be the reputation you have?
2. Is there a way to avoid being hypocritical totally?
3. If not what is the difference than between the Pharisees and ourselves?
4. Is there anyway that humans can become perfect so that we can avoid this hypocrisy?
5. Why is hypocrisy so offensive to God?