In my last post I explored the character and actions of both Jesus Christ and Moses to find that vital link that allowed both of them to be labeled as meek. The definition of meekness that seemed to distinguish both of them, and to fit in the context, was that to be considered meek it is necessary be recognized as a person who will not argue back when his character or person are threatened by someone who seeks to prove guilt.
That definition holds fine when explored in the contexts of Numbers 12:3 and Mark 11:29, but will it hold water when tested throughout scripture? All too often commentators thrust a definition onto a word after having toyed with the Greek or Hebrew, or strained it in its context, but the definition fails when explored in other passages.
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls, James 1:21. Here we are told that in order to receive the word of God scripturally, and to have our souls saved, we must do so with meekness. Meekness therefore is a characteristic that must be in a person prior to salvation. It is not some inborn or acquired goodness that a sinner possesses enabling him to be saved. Instead it is a preparatory work done by the Holy Ghost to prepare a sinner for salvation.
Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God, Roman 3:19. The tool that the Holy Ghost uses to shut the sinner's mouth is the law of God. It is not natural for a person to shut up and listen to the accusations of God against himself. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith, Galatians 3:24. I picture my fifth grade school teacher, Miss Robinson when I think of this verse. She had no compunctions against grabbing me by the ear and marching me into an appropriate corner. We learned quickly that anything that we could say only worsened the matter. The Holy Ghost likewise used the law of God to grab me by the ear and frog march me to the cross.
By God's grace throughout the whole procedure, I kept my mouth shut. I was guilty and there were no words that I could say to mitigate my guilt. This in itself was a miracle. My mouth had been shut. For 26 years my tongue and my jaw had flapped in incessant foolishness trying to justify the works of a man for whom there could be no justification. Now, by the grace of God, my resistance to righteousness was forever quenched. My mouth was stopped from its grievous back talk to the Spirit of Grace. I had been made meek. By the incessant hammering of the law of God from the mouth of a God anointed preacher, I received the engrafted word which did indeed save my soul.
Probably the single biggest reason that modern day soul winners have to get hundreds or even thousands of professions from those with whom they deal before even one of them will live a changed life, is that they do not know how to work in synchronization with the Holy Ghost and scripture to get a person's mouth to shut. Their hearers are never sufficiently convinced of guilt enough to satisfy the Holy Ghost that they "get it", and as a result they are never imbued with meekness to receive the engrafted word.