The Sin of Presumption
one
Presumption means thinking of Heaven as automatic
a. An incredible number of Christians have somehow deluded themselves into thinking that they, and everyone they care about, is somehow guaranteed to get into heaven.
i. We see this a lot at funerals – instead of praying for the soul of the deceased, we just assume they’re in heaven right now.
ii. We get the idea that God just gives everybody a pass for all the selfishness, all the neglect, the wasted life and the vices they showed.
iii. And we do this largely because it makes us feel totally secure about our own prospects.
b. This kind of attitude – the attitude of Presumption – is, of course, an attitude which makes the virtue of Hope irrelevant; why bother working hard for something that’s already in the bag?
c. But remember this: Heaven isn’t just a kind of club. You don’t just have to worry about whether the bouncer lets you in when it’s your turn in line.
d. Heaven is a relationship. And no relationship is automatic.
two
A relationship takes work to keep it alive
a. Imagine you met a married couple, and they said: “Oh, we have a very strong marriage. It’s built on the solid foundation of convenience and routine!”
i. You’d worry about that couple.
ii. Because you know that convenience and routine are not a strong enough foundation to keep a marriage together.
b. But how many Christians basically see their religion as just a matter of convenience and routine?
i. Why would we have any confidence that their religion, that their relationship with God, is going to be strong enough to last forever?
c. People whose marriage is based on convenience and routine tend to wake up one day and decide, “You know what, I don’t like you. I’m leaving. I’m done with you.”
i. The people who treat God as a matter of convenience and routine may well wake up from the sleep of death and say to God, “You know what? I don’t like you. I’m leaving. I’m done with you.”
1. And that’s how their presumption will lead them to Hell.
2. How could a person see God and reject Him?
3. Well, if we have built a lifelong habit of neglecting God then it becomes second nature. That nature will kick in when we die. It will be our nature to neglect Him after death as we did in life.
three
Aquinas says that the first cause of presumption is a mis-estimation of our own goodness.
a. We think of ourselves as pretty good. Not bad. Probably better than most.
b. But if you actually stop and really think: when was the last time you did something that wasn’t really from selfish motives?
i. Even when you help someone else – isn’t it usually because it would be more convenient than not helping? Or because you want to be thought of as a good person?
ii. Let alone when you think of the filth that comes out of your mouth, the envy you have, the lust, the anger, the mercilessness, the total lack of physical self-control.
iii. When was the last time you really showed God that you really loved Him, instead of just treating Him as someone who could benefit you?
c. The point isn’t that you’re pure evil. The point is that even our best moments are tainted with selfishness – let alone our worst moments.
i. We have no plausible case to demand heaven as a reward for our righteousness.
ii. We need to beg Christ to heal us, to make us decent, to make us like Him. We need to work out our salvation in fear and trembling, instead of treating it as a right or entitlement.
1. We need to be active in our hope; not laying back in the damnable arrogance of our complacency.
four
The second cause of presumption is a mis-estimation of God’s mercy
a. Now, of course, in one sense you can’t over-estimate God’s mercy – because His mercy is infinite.
i. But that mercy doesn’t mean forcing you into Heaven against your will.
b. Heaven is a place without vice, without egoism or envy or resentment or self-centered ambition
i. If you have those vices – if you’re attached to those vices – then you just won’t fit in Heaven.
ii. You’d be a square peg in a round hole
1. And God’s mercy doesn’t mean forcing people into places they don’t belong.
c. God’s mercy means allowing you to go to the place you’ve made yourself fit for –
i. By overcoming vice and becoming virtuous God makes us fit for heaven; by stubbornly persisting in our vices we make ourselves fit for hell – not for Heaven.
ii. God is giving us His mercy now to be transformed into someone who is fit for Heaven when you get there.
iii. His mercy is now – Hope means to request and receive God’s transformative mercy now.
1. And again, that’s just what the virtue of Hope is. Asking for and cooperating with God’s merciful grace now, while we still have the time, while we still have the plasticity, to be shaped in the mold of Heaven.
five
Not taking God for granted
a. A relationship that is taken for granted eventually withers and dies
i. That’s why presumption is a spiritual killer – because it takes the relationship with God for granted.
b. Three great ways of not taking another person for granted are to thank them, and to tell them you’re sorry and to spend time with them because you love them.
i. When you thank someone you love, you’re showing that you realize that they are a gift – they’re a part of your life that isn’t just a right or an entitlement
ii. And when you tell someone you’re sorry, you’re showing that you value the relationship, and you don’t want to do anything to jeopardize it.
iii. When you spend time with them, you tell them you love them just for who they are.
c. The Mass is the greatest way to thank God because it is the infinite act of thanksgiving offered by the Son to the Father – and we get to join in.
i. The Eucharist means “Thanksgiving”
d. Confession – is where we say we’re sorry.
e. In daily meditation we just spend time with God because we love Him just for being Him.
i. If we do that, we won’t be taking God for granted, and we won’t kill hope in our soul.
ii. We’ll strengthen the relationship which will be confirmed and perfected in the Kingdom of Heaven.