Table of Contents

A Treatise of Earthly-Mindedness

Clinging to a Counterfeit Cross

by Jeremiah Burroughs

Chapter 3

Six Evils of Earthly-Mindedness

THE FIRST EVIL. The Scripture calls it adultery. It is spiritual adultery in James 4:4, Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? They were adulterers and adulteresses in respect of their love to the world. You that would abhor the thought of a temptation to adultery, yet you may commit spiritual adultery. A man or a woman may be an adulterer or adulteress before the Lord, though they never commit the act of uncleanness with another. Yet if their hearts are towards another, they are guilty of uncleanness, for Christ said that whoever looks on a woman to lust after her in his heart has committed adultery already. That is, he has sinned against that command which forbids adultery. If a man lets his heart go after another woman more than his wife, and a wife after another man more than her husband, this is adultery before the Lord. So if our hearts go after anything more than the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom we profess to be married and who is our Husband, this is adultery in Scriptural terms.

THE SECOND EVIL. A worldly or an earthly mind in Scriptural terms is called "Idolatry" in Ephesians 5:5. Speaking of divers sins that should not so much as be named among them, as is becoming saints, he lists covetousness among the rest. And he adds this, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Now what is earthly-mindedness but covetousness, which is idolatry? A man or woman is an idolater who is of an earthly mind. Idolatry, which is a worshiping of sticks and stones, you all account to be a great sin; but do you and all others take heed of another idolatry that may be as bad, which is to have your hearts make the god of this world -the cursed mammon of unrighteousness -to be your God, to make the things of the earth to be your Christ by falling down and worshiping the golden calf of the world? It's certain that the thing a man's heart is most taken with and set upon is his God. And therefore. in this verse, it is said they made earthly things (their bellies) their god. The voluptuous and drunkards make their bellies their God, and the unclean person makes his strumpet to be his goddess and worships that.

Whatever your heart is most set upon, that is your God. Therefore, you must know, that this is the meaning of the Commandment, Thou shalt have no other Gods before Me. That is, you shall give Me, and nothing else, the strength of your soul. I am a God to My creature when I have its strength exercised about Me, to lift up Me as the highest good. But if there is anything else that your soul is set on as the highest good, that's your god, and it's worse than bowing the knee. You bow your soul to that thing.

Now the more base anything is that we make a God of, the more vile is the idolatry. When the Egyptians worshiped divers sorts of gods, they were accounted the most vile idolaters, whereas other heathens worshiped more excellent things: the sun, moon, and stars. The Egyptians worshiped dogs, cats, onions, and vile things, and therefore their idolatry was vile. So, the more vile any thing is that men or women set their hearts upon, the more vile is their idolatry. For a man to set his heart upon unclean lusts and to make them to be a god, satisfying those lusts, is abominable. To make any earthly thing a god to us is most vile for, of all the things of the works of creation that God has made, the earth is the lowest. It is the basest and lowest thing and has the least beauty in itself, and it is the most dull and meanest element of all. To make earthly things to be a god to you is most vile.

OBJECTION: You will say for this idolatry, "What is there in it?" ANSWER: There are two particulars to open the evil of idolatry or earthly-mindedness.

First, the evil of idolatry is in this: you depart from God. In letting your hearts go out to these things, you go off from God, and renounce the protection of God, the goodness and mercy of God. You leave it all by this. In Hosea 4: 12, they are said to go a-whoring from under their God. It is a notable phrase. By going to idols, they went out from the protection of God whereas, while they were worshiping the true God, they were under the protection of God. But when they went to idols, they went from under their God, from under His protection. So when you set your heart upon God and lift up the infinite First Being of all things as the Chief Good to your soul, you are under the influence of this grace and mercy, but when you depart from Him and make other things to be your chief good, you go from under His protection and from His goodness and mercy.

Secondly, God is slighted and condemned when you choose to make the earth your god rather than the infinite First Being of all things. A man might despise his wife, an abominable sin, and choose to go to a Queen, the most beautiful woman in the world, forsaking his wife. But to leave a Queen or Empress, who is the most beautiful woman upon earth, and to have the heart cleave to a base dunghill raker, would this not be a great show of contempt to the beautiful Queen ? Yet it is so when you forsake the blessed, eternal God as your Chief Good, and choose the things of the earth. For the truth is that the earth is the sink of all the creatures of God's making, and for you to leave the most blessed and eternal One, and to make the earth your god is, of necessity, a very vile and abominable thing. Therefore the prophet Jeremiah, in speaking of this idolatry, calls the heavens and the earth to be amazed at it. Jeremiah 2:12, Be astonished, O ye heavens at this, and be horrible afraid. be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. Why? What's the matter? For my people have committed two evils, they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water. So it is here. You forsake the fountain of living waters, the blessed God,

and your heart cleaves to the dust. You seek your contentment and happiness in cisterns that can hold no water! Let the heavens be astonished at this horrible wickedness.

THE THIRD EVIL. Thirdly, earthly-mindedness is enmity against God. You would hate to be found an enemy against God. Certainly it's true that an earthly-minded man or woman is an enemy to God. The Scripture makes it to be enmity in the very text, James 4:4, know ye not that the love of the world is enmity to God? Observe this, for there's much in it: if God would be pleased to lay this on our hearts, you will find by experience that earthly-mindedness makes men to be enemies to that which is spiritually good. Therefore, well might the Holy Ghost say, 'tis enmity to God, for whatever is enmity to anything that is spiritually good is enmity to God. As much as my heart or any of your hearts are against anything that is spiritual, so much mine or any of your hearts are enemies to God. Here, in this text, the earthly-minded men are made enemies to the cross of Christ, that is, enemies to the spiritual preaching of Christ and holding forth of Christ. Indeed, if they would have mixed Christ and circumcision together, then they would have been content with it, but now this spiritual way of preaching Christ and being justified by faith alone, and Christian religion in its purity, was that which was not suitable to their carnal hearts, and therefore they were enemies to it.

Oh! Earthly-mindedness makes us enemies to spiritual things. Where you have greater enemies unto the things of God, unto spiritual things, unto the ministry of the Word and to the work of God's grace upon the hearts of men and women, there are no greater enemies unto these things than earthly-minded men, men that savour the things of the earth. They can go up and down, and they do not care as long as they can go about their business, grow rich in the world and fare deliciously every day with Dives, making provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof. There is an antipathy in their spirits against Jesus Christ and all goodness.

THE FOURTH EVIL. Fourthly, there is scarcely any disposition more opposite, more contrary to the work of grace, to the work of godliness in a man's own heart than earthly-mindedness. 'Tis so exceedingly cross to the nature of grace, that you may as well put men or women on the stand, and put them upon examination whether there be any grace or not in their hearts, if earthly-mindedness prevails. If God should suffer your corruptions to prevail over you, so that you should break forth into some notorious sins, then it may be you would begin to think, "Can this stand with grace? And how can that stand with such workings as I have had before? Have I not cause to fear that I am but a hypocrite, a rotten professor?" This earthly-mindedness has as much opposition to the nature of grace and the power of godliness in the heart as almost any sin that you can name. It is quite contrary to the very beginning of the work of grace, not contrary to the degrees only, but to the very beginning! The main work of God, at first, in working grace in the soul, is to disengage the soul from the creature. It is to take it off from the earth and from all creatures here below. It is naturally true that as we are of the earth, so we are earthly and have our spirits engaged to the things of the earth. But then comes the work of grace upon the soul and takes it off, and discharges the heart from the earth. Therefore you find that Christ lays this in as the first lesson, He that will be My disciple, must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. As if He should say, "Never think of being a Christian unless you will deny yourselves." Self? What's that? It is all natural contentment, natural self, and sinful self.

To be emptied wholly of yourselves, and creature comforts, and contentments, and take up His cross, to be willing to suffer anything in regard to earthly comforts, to be willing to lay down all at His feet, to give up your interest in all, and to take up His cross, this is the very first beginning of Christ's bringing disciples to Himself. The soul then says, "Let me have my sin pardoned, and farewell earth; it's heaven, holiness, renewal in the image of God, communion and union with God, and living to the eternal praise of His name in Christ that my heart is upon." This is in the beginning of God's working the heart to Himself.

The work of grace, when it is first wrought, has the name of "vocation" or calling. What is it for a man to be called? Give diligence to make your calling and election sure. To be called is this: whereas before you were altogether digging and delving in the earth and seeking for your happiness In the world, it pleased God to make you hear a voice behind you, calling you and telling you, "O poor soul, your happiness is not here. There are other things in which the Chief Good consists. You were made for higher and better things than these. God has nobler thoughts about mankind than merely to let him have a few contentments here in the earth.

Oh soul! Come away and look after higher things.Here's the first work of grace, and the soul answers unto this call of God and says, "Lord, I come," and so the soul goes up to God to dispose of earthly things, and this is the beginning of the work of grace. Now how contrary is earthly-mindedness to the work of God in bringing grace into the heart?

Think of it in these three things.

1. The very work of conversion is set out in Scripture by God's calling the soul out of the world, whom He hath predestinated, him He hath called. When God effectually begins to work upon the heart of a sinner, He causes a voice to be heard in the soul. "Oh soul! You have been busying yourself about many things, but there is one thing necessary. Oh, come out of that way of yours which you are in. You can never be happy otherwise. You will be undone in it." The Lord calls the soul out of the world, and that is the very work of conversion, the soul's answering to God's call. Now, can the soul answer God's call and still have a heart cleaving to these things? Surely such a one is not yet effectually called out of the world.

2. From this follows the soul's answer to this call. The Lord disengages the heart from all creature comforts, and teaches the first lesson: to deny himself and take up Christ's cross. Now, what is more opposite to self-denial and the taking up of the cross of Christ than earthly-mindedness? The text here says, They are enemies to the cross o/Christ.

3. A third thing in conversion is the resigning up of the soul to God as the Chief Good. The soul, upon the call of God, learns the lesson of self-denial and taking up the cross, and so being disengaged from the creature, now resigns itself to God as an infinite soul-satisfying good forever. Now, you cannot but in the naming of this see how opposite earthly-mindedness is to it.

Next we turn to the work of grace upon the heart, after the heart is convened and turned to God. First, grace brings a new light into the soul. A spiritual and divine light is set up in the soul upon the conversion of a sinner to God. But the earth, you know, is the dark part of the world, and earthly-mindedness causes darkness to be upon the spirit, as the interposition of the earth between us and the sun hinders the sight of the sun from us. So the interposition that there is of earthliness in the soul of man between God and itself hinders the sight of God from the soul. There is a divine light set up in the soul, and God works grace that discovers things of a higher and more excellent and glorious nature, than those things were, which before the soul did so much cleave to.

In the second place, the Scripture sets forth the work of grace by the phrase, "the new creature." In the soul, all things are made new, old things are passed. He that is in Christ is a new creature. Now, earthly-mindedness is opposite to the new creation of the soul. It's the old man that is of the earth. The first man is of the earth, earthly; and so it is apparent that you are still only in the stock of the tirst man, of the earth, who are an earthly-minded man. But the second man is the Lord from heaven. But now, you who are an earthly-minded man or woman are yet but a child of Adam, the first man, and so are of the earth, earthly. This is opposed to grace, for grace works a new creation in the soul.

Thirdly, grace is of an elevating nature. It raises the heart above itself and above the creature, yea, above the world; in some respect above angels themselves, above principalities and powers, above all created things. Grace is of a raising nature, but an earthly-minded man sinks down to low and base things.

Fourthly, grace is of an enlarging nature. It enlarges the heart, so that it cannot be satisfied with any earthly thing. Though God should give the whole world to a heart that has grace, this would not satisfy that heart. Why? Because it is so enlarged by the work of grace. The work of grace is the divine nature, the image of God in the soul, and therefore makes the soul like God. It's said of God in Isaiah 40: 15, that all the nations of the earth are to Him but as a drop in the bucket, and as the final dust in the balance. Now, grace earthly man will strain hard but he will get over it, but were a man's heart taken off from the earth, though he had never gone so far in business, if there should come a stop in a matter of conscience, just a doubt that such a thing was a sin would be enough to stop him. A mere doubt lest he should sin would be enough to make him say, "Let the business fall if it will, there may be a snare in this, and I see some cause to doubt." Now, if the heart were spiritual, it would be taken off, but an earthly mind will go through many dreadful things and does not trouble itself, and so ensnares itself exceedingly, that may get an estate, or preserve it once he has it.

THE SIXTH EVIL. The sixth thing wherein the danger of earthly-mindedness consists is this: that 'tis one of the greatest hindrances in the world to profiting from the ministry of the Word. O many of you cannot but be convinced in your consciences that you have not profited by the Word, and sometimes you will complain of the lack of profiting under the means! O that you had hearts to look into the cause of it, as to why it is that you profit so little! It will appear that it comes from your earthly-mindedness. You bring a heart full of the world, full of dross, with you. It is no wonder that you do not see those spiritual, heavenly things that are in the Word when there is so much dross in your eyes.

Summer travelers, traveling in the midst of dust and in company, do not have the freedom of their eyes to see things like they do at other times. O many men come to the Word with their thick clay, and a great deal of filth that clams up their very eyes, and deadens their hearts in the hearing of the Word! You know what Christ said to Martha, when Mary was sitting at Christ's feet and hearing His Word. Martha was encumbered with many things. So it is many times with those that come to hear the Word. Though they are in the presence of Christ and have the sound of the Word in their ears, yet their hearts are encumbered about many things. -There's a great noise in their hearts. They are busied in the world even while they are hearing the Word. As you find in Ezekiel 33:3 I, there's a notable description which, I fear, may be true of many of you, And they come unto thee (said the Lord to the prophet) as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as My people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them, for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.

They sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, and they show much love with their mouth. They will commend the sermon. It may be that they will say, "He is an excellent preacher, it was a very good sermon that we heard today." They will show love with their mouths, but yet their hearts go after their covetousness for all that. They heard a man speak fine things, and bring excellent expressions to set forth the matter at hand, but their hearts are after the things of the earth, and after their covetousness.

They had carnal, earthly, drossy hearts, and hence it was that no good came to them by the ministry of the Word. That famous place, which shows" it clearly, is in Matt.13:22. You know the' several sorts of ground that had the seed of the Word sown into them, but there was but one of them that was good and faithful The other was thorny ground. He that received seed among the thorns is he that hears the Word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches chokes the Word and it becomes unfruitful. I beseech you to observe it: these that our Saviour speaks of herein this parable, who get no benefit from the Word, are not men that live lewdly (drunkards, swearers, or whoremasters), but those who have earthly hearts. It says, "the deceitfulness of riches." The things of the earth do not hinder in an open way, for thousands of men who have earthly hearts do not know that they have earthly hearts. No, it is the deceitfulness of riches, and it chokes the Word. It may be, just when they are hearing the Word, if affects them. Oh, they think it's sweet, and they will remember it, but the deceitfulness of riches and the cares of this world choke the Word. When these things come, they have worldly businesses, and their houses, and gardens, and comings in, and full tables, and all the delights that they have in the world. All these things come and possess the heart, so that the Word is choked. It cannot get down into the soul to sink in there and so to prevail in the soul to bring forth fruit. The Word is choked.

Many of you come here three times on the Lord's Day and have precious seed sown all those times, and yet how it is choked by the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of the things of this world! You bring with you, and keep with you, and carry along with you, earthly minds, and hence it is that the Word prevails not with your hearts. Oh! What do you lose through this earthliness? You lose the fruit of the Word that should save your souls. A spiritual heart, having received some one truth into it, later blesses God for it, and would not for ten thousand worlds have it otherwise than that he should have that truth preached unto his heart at such a time. Oh, he has cause to bless God for such a morning, for such a day, that he has such a godly pearl of great price presented to him! Taking root, it's more than if God had given him thousands of worlds to possess.

But now, many of you, having your thoughts and hearts about some petty thing of this world, all those blessed truths that you hear from time to time, things that the very angels desire to pry into, are all choked and come to be unfruitful. Why did the young man who came to Christ to know what he should do to inherit eternal life receive no good? The text says, he had great possessions. A man may, no doubt, be a rich man and yet a godly man, a holy man. But it was the heart, mixed with the earth which hindered the young man from embracing Jesus Christ. Young men are, for the most part, guilty of fleshliness rather than seeking after the riches of the world. Yet sometimes it has been the bane of some young men. They were very forward when they were servants; oh, how precious was the Word to them! But when they got into the world and found the sweetness of it coming in, then the Word was choked in them, and they have lost the savour they had in the Word. They have lost the relish of the Word. It is not as sweet now to them as formerly it had been. That's the great evil of earthly-mindedness; it hinders the great benefit of the Word, and there is much evil in this. If you had hearts to receive what is delivered, your hearts would tremble at the thought of this. Oh, Lord! What shall I do so as not to be hindered in profiting from this Word? 'Tis the great blessing of God to the world. It's that which must save my soul; there's more worth in it than ten thousand worlds. Whatsoever might hinder my profiting from Thy Word, I must take heed of it. Take heed of earthlymindedness. Many of your consciences cannot but tell you this. Sometimes any business will keep an earthly-minded man from coming to the Word, and when he does come, there is earth in his heart, and ears that keep him from attending upon the Word. When your thoughts are about earthly things in the hearing of a sermon, it may be that some truth passes by your soul that might have saved you eternally, and you have lost that opportunity which, perhaps, you shall never have again.

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