To battle the spirit of selfism, individuals must repent of their pride-filled selves. The apostle Peter exhorts that it is high time to “humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” (1 Pet. 5:6). Only those individuals truly “under God” (His governance) as saved by and submitted to Jesus Christ and sanctified by the Holy Spirit can embrace a complete identity built on the gospel of His grace (Matt. 7:24–25; John 3:3–6).

The Emergence of Autonomous Man
The worldview of human beings is ultimately built on one of two foundations: either man’s word or God’s Word. Christians understand there is no other true foundation than Jesus Christ and the importance of building spiritual fruit by His grace (1 Cor. 3:11–15). Yet, by cultivating the self-exalting ideas of mankind apart from God’s authority, the “autonomous man” emerges, naturally desiring to become an authority unto himself. As the definition goes, the autonomous man believes and attempts to demonstrate that he can govern himself without acknowledging the Creator God. Instead, his worldview becomes one of selfism, fueled by postmodern thinking, and affecting his personal and public spheres of influence. As individuals look to the subjective self for answers to issues of morality, identity (including race, gender, and sexual orientation), and politics, the biblical God and Holy Scriptures are suppressed as the true means of objective, ultimate authority. This essay will examine the tyranny of selfism and how the so-called autonomous man cannot save himself. Rather, it is the gospel of Jesus Christ and His selfless demonstration of love that saves sinners.
Selfism and the Real Me
To further understand selfism, twentieth-century apologist Cornelius Van Til rightly highlighted the heart behind the notion of “fallen man.” He wrote, “[T]hrough the fall of Adam man has set aside the law of his Creator and therewith has become a law to himself.”[1] Van Til’s reasoning for man’s pursuit of self-governance included his “carnal mind” leading to death, whereby the spiritually minded man experiences life and peace (Rom. 8:6). Theologian and professor Carl Trueman helpfully defines the self as “expressive individualism,” or the “deeper notion of where the ‘real me’ is to be found, how that shapes my view of life, and in what the fulfillment or happiness of that ‘real me’ consists.”[2]  To extend the connection to the level of autonomy, Trueman continues, “The modern self assumes the authority of inner feelings and sees authenticity as defined by the ability to give social expression to the same.”[3]  
Restated simply, selfism believes that as long as an individual’s behavior on theoutside is consistent with the individual’s feelings on the inside, then that individual is therefore an authentic person, demonstrating self-governance. However, allowing emotions to lead an individual’s behavior at the expense of truth’s anchor marks the beginnings of all types of sabotage, as Joe Rigney has brilliantly written in his discerning book on leadership.[4] Historically, selfism was arguably the fuel that sparked the sexual revolution, which has accelerated since the 1960’s counter-cultural revolution, or what Os Guinness has rightly termed “optimistic humanism.”[5]  The chain reaction from selfism’s lie of “making a lifestyle choice” has curved in upon itself, causing tyranny to rule man’s identity—an identity idolized and affirmed through sexual desire. Selfism tyrannizes identity and biblical sexuality.
The subjective nature of pursuing personal autonomy for definitive answers about identity sharply conflicts with the authority of God’s Word. In Jeremiah 17:9, the LORD God says, “The heart is deceitful about all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” This passage indicates that individuals cannot discern their own internal motives. External sources of objective authority are necessary, namely, God’s Word (Ps. 119:105) and His Spirit (Rom. 8:27). So then, if we cannot trust our motives, how can we govern them?
Selfism’s Tyranny on Culture
Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor offered an insightful analysis of the modern secular age and the culture of emotion-based authenticity. He saw it as the normative modern conception of selfism in the West, where individuals realize their humanity on the “inside” rather than surrendering it to some “outside” source (society, tradition, religion, etc.). He wrote, “Each one of us has his/her own way of realizing our humanity, and . . . it is important to find and live out one’s own, as against surrendering to conformity with a model imposed on us from the outside.”[6]
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Living according to conscience, then, is not a matter of “being faithful to my best self” or “following conscience per se.” It is a matter of conscience’s being informed, shaped, and trained by God’s Word and becoming increasingly sensitive to its assessments. To say that “God alone is Lord of the conscience” is to affirm that God’s Word is paramount in shaping this dimension of our self-consciousness. My Christian responsibility, therefore, is to immerse myself in the doctrines, patterns, and precepts of the Word of God.

God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are, in anything, contrary to his Word; or beside it, if matters of faith, or worship. So that, to believe such doctrines, or to obey such commands, out of conscience, is to betray true liberty of conscience: and the requiring of an implicit faith, and an absolute and blind obedience, is to destroy liberty of conscience, and reason also. —Westminster Confession of Faith 20.2
This is no ivory-tower statement. Many of the delegates to the Westminster Assembly were working pastors and all too familiar with “the real world.” In fact, as they were writing in the 1640s, the real world was caught up in a terrible civil war, behind which lay the very issues that chapter 20 of the confession was written to address: liberty of conscience. A glance at my “seventeenth century” bookshelves reveals such learned works as A.S.P. Woodhouse, Puritanism and Liberty; William Haller, Liberty and Reformation in the Puritan Revolution; and Christopher Hill, Liberty against the Law. The titles say it all. Like the issue of law and love, the topic of Christian liberty, its nature and its implications, its extent and its limitations, is perennially significant. In seventeenth-century England, it was critical.
The Westminster divines faced both legalism and antinomianism, a false binding of the conscience on the one hand and libertinism on the other. In addition, this was an era of fear: fear of the return of Roman Catholicism and an opposite fear (one that at times seemed equal), the fear of anarchy represented by such quaintly named groups as Quakers, Levellers, Diggers, Mechanic Preachers, and Muggletonians. How freedom and responsibility are balanced in the Christian life was a matter of major concern. Hence, here in chapter 20, section 2, the exposition of Christian liberty in general (section 1) becomes narrowly focused on the issue of liberty of conscience in particular. During the first two years or so of the assembly’s work, the divines labored long and often to compose for their own time a chapter of biblical balance. For that reason, they produced a statement of lasting value. In these brief reflections on their teaching, it may be helpful for us to consider (1) its biblical foundations, (2) its historical relevance, and (3) some aspects of its practical application.
Biblical Foundations
What do we mean when we say, “God alone is Lord of the conscience”? What is “conscience,” and in what sense is God “Lord” of it?
The word conscience (Greek syneidsis) appears around thirty times in the New Testament, with the Apostle Paul using it twice as often as all the other authors combined. In his world, the conscience was seen as a function of human nature in which the self becomes aware of a moral assessment being made on its behavior based on some internally operative standard of judgment. The conscience is thus experienced as an approving or condemning voice that functions both to assess past and to guide present and future behavior.
Paul’s use of conscience, however, needs to be set within a biblical framework. Man (male and female) was created as the image of God in righteousness and holiness (Gen. 1:26; Eph. 4:24). Adam and Eve’s consciences were informed by and aligned with the revealed will of God and functioned to assess and to guide their behavior (Gen. 2:15–17). The result? In their original created condition, to borrow Paul’s expression (Rom. 2:15), their consciences bore witness to their integrity. They experienced an appropriate conscience approval, the evidence of which lay in that “the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed” (Gen. 2:25). God’s will for them and their faithfulness to it aligned. They enjoyed a “good conscience” and the experience of unclouded friendship. But that did not last long. Soon, in the aftermath of their disobedience to God’s Word (3:1–6), their Word-informed consciences were accusing and condemning them.
Genesis 3:7–8 opens the next stage in the human drama: “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.” Thus act 2 began: “And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths . . . , and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord.” They tried unsuccessfully to hide their sense of shame from each other (their sense of guilt emerges in the blame game in which they engage in 3:11–13). Nor could they hide from God. Their consciences had declared them to be guilty even before He asked them where they were (vv. 9–11).
Adam and Eve refused to allow “God alone” to be “Lord of the conscience.” In this context, it is easy to sense that the confession’s words sound like an eerie echo of the history of Eden. Adam and Eve were truly free when they lived according to God’s Word. They were in fact “free from the doctrines and commandments . . . which are, in anything, contrary to his Word; or beside it, if matters of faith, or worship.” Their tragic mistake was “to believe such doctrines . . . [and] obey such commands. . . .” But they foolishly listened to the serpent and exercised “implicit faith, and an absolute and blind obedience.” That process was calculated “to destroy liberty of conscience, and reason also” (WCF 20.2).
From where we stand at the other end of the Bible story, we see that the conscience is now no longer perfectly aligned with God’s Word. It is instead an aspect of people whose minds do not and whose wills cannot submit to God’s law (Rom. 8:7). Our regeneration needs to be accompanied by the recalibration of our consciences according to the Word of God. And if that process is to progress, we need to be on our guard against the same pattern of entrapment to which our first parents succumbed in Eden.
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The same heart behind hospitality—whether to strangers or close friends—is also seen in the way we care for suffering Christians outside our homes as well, as we love our brethren and the outcast. Our motivation for hospitality should flow from the commands of Scripture, yes, but also from our desire to help and be involved with those around us. Even when your heart is in the right place regarding hospitality, it can still be intimidating. With practice, you’ll grow more comfortable with your guests, and there are tips and tricks that make it easier.

Steam rose from the waffle maker, filling the house with the aroma of brunch. We bustled about, setting the table, imprisoning the dog behind a baby gate, and ensuring toppings and sides were ready. When guests arrived, we sat down at the table, prayed, and dug in to both the food and conversation.
My parents, and many members of the church I grew up in, valued hospitality. We regularly had both believers and unbelievers in our home for brunch or dinner. Since we lived close to the airport, friends or friends-of-friends sometimes dropped in to spend the night or nap on a long layover. Even as an introvert, there was something thrilling about having guests in our home—and not just because in Dubai almost everyone had a fascinating accent and different culture to enjoy. For us, it was always delightful to introduce non-Americans to waffles, tacos, and peanut butter.
Once I had small children of my own, hospitality seemed more intimidating. What if guests thought they had to leave when we put the kids to bed? What if we had to reschedule because of sick children? What if the toddler was having a day-long meltdown? These were the worries that hindered my hospitality, but no matter what stage of life you are in, reasons may always be found not to open your home.
Why Be Hospitable?
If I hadn’t grown up in a community that loved hospitality, I wouldn’t naturally think of having people over for a meal. I can cook, but most of what I make is not that exciting. I love being with others, but too much social interaction exhausts me.
Despite those excuses and the uncertainties children add to the picture, we’ve chosen to prioritize hospitality. This is in part because of the joy it’s brought to our lives but also because Scripture commands us to.
Consider the following verses: “Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality” (Rom. 12:13). “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling” (1 Pet. 4:9). “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Heb. 13:2).
The passage from Hebrews is reminiscent of Jesus’s words from Matthew 25:34–36, where he explains that our care for other human beings is like caring for Jesus himself. Contrary to our culture’s idea of having friends over for a dinner party, the focus of hospitality is not entertainment.
Hospitality is simply opening your home to others. Most dictionaries add that it includes a “generous disposition” of the host to guests. This isn’t grudgingly having neighbors over because you “have to.” Nor must the table be set with fine china, cloth napkins, and the best tasting food.
The context of Hebrews 13:1–3 emphasizes the goal of loving our guests when the author writes,

Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.

The same heart behind hospitality—whether to strangers or close friends—
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