Beautiful Abominations
Having the right motives and ends is crucial in pleasing God and ensuring our services are not void.
Thomas Brooks emphasizes that regardless of a person's outward religious practices and fervent desires, if their intentions are misguided, their actions are ultimately meaningless, described as 'beautiful abominations.' He illustrates this by comparing the righteous acts of David and Daniel with those of the Pharisees, who performed similar duties but lacked the right motives. Brooks warns that without proper aims, all efforts in prayer, fasting, and giving are futile and lead to spiritual loss. The sermon serves as a call to examine the heart behind our actions, stressing that God values the intent behind our service.
Text
Let a man's profession be ever so glorious, let him be
ever so abundant in the performance of duties, let his
desires after this and that holy thing be ever so strong
--yet if his ends and aims are wrong, all his pretensions
and performances are but beautiful abominations.
Did David pray three times a day? So did the pharisees.
Did David and Daniel fast? So did the pharisees--and
that twice in the week. Did Cornelius give alms? So
did the pharisees. Did Abraham pay tithes? So did the
pharisees; they tithed their very mint and rue. But their
ends and aims being wrong--their time was lost, and
their pains were lost, and their duties were lost, and
their alms were lost, and their souls were lost--and
that forever. God writes a zero upon all those services
wherein men's ends are not right.
Sermon Outline
- The Importance of Right Motives
- The Consequences of Wrong Motives
- God's Judgment on Wrong Motives
- A Zero is Written on Such Services
- Duties and Services are Void
Key Quotes
“Let a man's profession be ever so glorious, let him be never so abundant in the performance of duties, let his desires after this and that holy thing be ever so strong -- yet if his ends and aims are wrong, all his pretensions and performances are but beautiful abominations.” — Thomas Brooks
“God writes a zero upon all those services wherein men's ends are not right.” — Thomas Brooks
Application Points
- We must examine our hearts and make sure our desires and intentions are pure and aligned with God's will.
- Even good deeds can be lost and void if our motives are wrong.
- Having the right motives is more important than the quantity or quality of our services.