Don't Be Good, Be Different: Moralism and the Gospel

I've been thinking a lot lately about being a good person. It seems like a lot people's perception of the Christian message is that the goal is to produce morality. Come to Jesus, go to church, so you can be a better; man, woman, husband, wife, student, employer, employee...fill in the blank.

This culture does have a tendency to view church as another aspect of their overall morality.

The gospel does confront morality but from a very different perspective. In the gospel morality is the indication of our need for a Savior. Let me be more specific. The gospel informs us that our morality is an indication of a deeper seated problem. Sin is not the absence of good morals. The absence of good morals is an indication of a deep, internal heart problem -- we are at heart sinners.
This is not just splitting hairs - it is a fundamental distinction. The gospel also informs us that what we perceive as good morality in our life, really isn't that good. In fact, all of our perceived goodness/morality/behavior is the equivalent of a pile of dirty rags compared to the standard of a Holy God. The Savior does not come to make us better at morality. The Savior comes to eradicate the sin problem of the heart.

This means that the major message of the church should not be "we will make you a better person". Don't get me wrong, the church does have a mandate to address behavior, good deeds and morality. But this must be enveloped in the context of the gospel. Our good deeds, behavior and morality are indications of heart change, but never create heart change. If someone claims to have heart change, but the pattern of the behavior/morality does not reflect that it is legitimate to question that heart change.

A message of morality, void of an emphasis on the gospel of grace, only produces half hearted religiosity. It also leaves people frustrated. It is frustrating because it removes the source of power to truly affect life change -- God's gracious gospel in Jesus Christ.

Jesus didn't die on the cross so we could be better. He died so we could be different, distinct, separated unto God. And, that precedes and leads to the correct motivation for a different morality in our lives.

Took A Break

Do you remember that philosophical question? "If a tree falls in a forest, and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?"

If no one reads your blog, and you take a break from blogging, does anyone notice? :)

I haven't kept up with my blog for a few months, but I think I am ready to post some more.

I took a break for several reasons. Probably the main reason was a combination of practical/spiritual. I felt like every attempt at having some type of devotional time with God was turning into "what can I share with others". From Bible reading, to praying, to whatever I was doing, it seemed to be drifting away from just being with the Lord, to trying to find a good nugget to share in a sermon, or a bible study, or a blog message.

There is a part of my calling as a preacher that necessitates such a mentality. I do have a responsibility to share a message with various audiences. I am always in "preacher" mode to some extent. When I hear a newsstory, or something going on in the world, my default is to analyze according to scripture and the upcoming message I am preparing to share. That is a good thing, and will never leave me.

The problem for me was that thinking was taking over my devotional time with the Lord. It is a very difficult challenge for me as a pastor/preacher to be intentional in simply spending time with my Lord and not just going through the motions in order to prepare a sermon or lesson. At times in my life I have done better with that than at other times. When i seem to be losing that focus it is important to do whatever is necessary to get things back into balance.

I am thankful for the grace and patience of the Lord. His steadfast love never fails.