Humility and the Gospel

Bridges ends the book reflecting on what he has discussed throughout the book. After looking at different forms of humility, primarily by discussing the Beatitudes, Bridges asks the reader to evaluate themselves. He discusses how Paul, throughout his life, viewed himself as more sinful the longer he was on the earth (from 1 Corinthians 15:9 to Ephesians 5:8 to 1 Timothy 1:15). If, upon reading this book, you view yourselves as more sinful than you had before you read the book, that is good, Bridges states, because, “It is a sign you are growing in humility.”

Bridges then points to the cross. It is not that the Gospel is a destination, but the beginning of a path. The cross should be thought about and returned to throughout your life, not just on the day you get saved. The reason is because we are still sinners, and we need to be humbled by our own sinfulness, which we will be, if we remember the cross on a daily basis.

We can never reach perfection (Galatians 3:10). We are incapable of perfection because, even on our best day, we cannot obey Matthew 22:37-40 fully. These two commandments sum up the whole law; therefore, we fail to be perfect.  That is where we need to look to the cross, thanking Christ for His sacrifice for our wickedness. Christ is the only One who “perfectly obeyed God’s law” and because of that He was One who could “…[pay] the penalty for our failure to obey it.”

Bridges points to several Scriptures in the remainder of the chapter that he likes to pray through when attempting to appreciate the gospel and grow in humility. First he brings us to Isaiah 53:6. He uses this verse when he is acknowledging his sin and does not excuse it. He then discusses the importance of humility in the gospel by looking at our own sin instead of the sinfulness of those arounds us. If we are trying to acknowledge the gospel we will be so focused on our own shortcomings that the sinfulness of others will not be in our view. This is another act of humility.

Third, Bridges points us back to meekness and mercy. When we understand our own sinfulness we will act in humility towards those struggling with sin. We will not act pridefully towards them believing that we would never sin in such a way. And fourth, “the gospel motivates us to want to live in purity of heart.” By remembering Christ’s sacrifice for such wicked sinners like us, we will want to live to glorify Him.

Bridges summarizes by stating that he believes “it is impossible to truly walk in humility without to some degree appropriating the truth of the gospel every day.” How do we do that? Bridges points to several Scriptures He likes to meditate on and pray through. They are the aforementioned Isaiah 53:6, 2 Corinthians 5:21, and Philippians 3:9. However, he tells the reader that the verses we use to meditate and pray over ought to be verses personal to us.

To conclude the book, Bridges reminds the reader that we cannot grow in humility if we do not recognize our sinfulness. Therefore, we need to come to a God openly, allowing Him to change us. We need to focus on the gospel and how Christ died for us because of our inability to die for ourselves due to our sin. Finally, we must rely on the Holy Spirit to change us, realizing that we cannot change our sinful heart; we must come before Him in our humility, seeking for Him to change us from the inside out.

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