A young lady I know sent me a screenshot of a book she was reading some months ago, and asked me about it. I thought I’d share, and get any insight/correction anyone might have to offer. I cropped out the name of the book, ’cause I’m not here to start a fight. Just to discuss the Word. (Click to enlarge)
Here was my response:
I read a few of their blog posts yesterday, and checked out what I could of their site on my phone. (I was sitting with a nursing/napping baby when you texted.)
I think they’re mostly focused on addressing non-Christians and new Christians, and in that context, a lot of their stuff is okay. They’re trying to be edgy to reach a certain crowd and that’s fine, but I think you have to remember that when you read stuff like this.
Because it’s fine to tell someone who is interested in Jesus that they don’t have to have their lives all put together, and that’s not what it’s about. But the text above is not an adequate bible study on the scriptures they reference.
Luke 18:9-14 is a parable Jesus tells about two men who went to pray. They quote verse 11 to demonstrate the futility of trying to live righteous lives, but that’s not the point of Jesus’ story. Jesus explained (in verse 14) that the humble man was forgiven of his sins, while the arrogant man was not. The problem was not that the Pharisee was trying to live a righteous life, it’s that he wasn’t humble before God. Jesus isn’t talking about righteous living, he’s talking about humility.
Further, the humble man was humble because he recognized his sin and repented of it. He didn’t go up to pray and say, “God I’m a sinner because only You are good, so I’m not even going to try to live a righteous life because I can’t.” That would not have been humility, and he would not have left justified.
And it’s true that Paul resolved to boast only in Christ, but Galatians 6 is the end of a long letter to a church that had fallen away from the gospel of Jesus, into religion. In his first letter to the Corinthian church, he told them to “imitate me” because he was imitating Jesus. Twice (1 Cor 4 and 1 Cor 11). He knew his only hope of salvation was Jesus, and any righteousness he had was Jesus’ … but he also recognized it as a responsibility to behave like Jesus. He didn’t just say, “I’m a horrible sinner. Don’t look at me, look at Jesus.” He said, “I’m a horrible sinner, but the Holy Spirit gives me the power to be like Christ. Do what I do, because I’m doing what He does.” That’s a pretty bold declaration.
It’s definitely true that the appearance of righteousness can too easily become a focus, and it keeps people out of the church – as well as keeping Christians bound up in shame when they really need help.
But you have to tell both sides of the story. Genuinely pursuing righteousness out of a love for God and people is not the same as pursuing the appearance of righteousness.
In Philippians 3, Paul calls his former good works “garbage” not because they were inherently garbage, but because they created pride in him that separated him from God. As we continue through the rest of the chapter, Paul talks about pressing ahead to the prize in Christ (v. 14) – what prize, if he’s already attained all the righteousness he ever will? What is he pursuing if he already has Christ? In v. 16 he admonishes believers to live according to a certain standard.
The example given of the guy questioning Jesus in Luke 18 is the same story – a good point for new/non-Christians, but a terrible bible study on the passage. Yes, Jesus explains that no one is good. Yes, he wants this guy to think about his pre-conceived ideas.
But IN THE VERY NEXT VERSE he also answers the guy’s question: “You know the commandments …” And when the guy insists that he’s done all of those things, Jesus doesn’t pat him on the back, doesn’t tell him to, “just believe.” He gives him an even HARDER commandment (v. 22), “Sell everything you own and follow me.” And when the guy gets upset about it, Jesus doesn’t make it easier, He just uses the guy as a sermon illustration and says, “See how hard it is to enter the kingdom of heaven?”
Jesus didn’t seem to think it was impossible or even harmful to ask this guy to do something really, really hard.
And it wasn’t the only time he did it. He forgave the woman caught in adultery in John 8, but then He told her to, “go and sin no more.” Not, “Meh, it happens because you have no hope of being good.” He restored her, and then challenged her to do better.
“… not the perk of being able to say to others, ‘Look at me.'” – Paul did. That wasn’t WHY Paul lived the way he did, it wasn’t his motivation, but he wasn’t shy about saying, “Look at me,” either.
Yes, we are to pursue Jesus’ righteousness, because ours is garbage. Yes, we pursue Him, as a person, first and foremost.
But those are the sermons we read or hear and then go home and sit on our beds and go, “But … how?” What does it actually look like to “pursue” a Man who is seated on the throne of heaven? How do you “pursue” a concept like righteousness?
James 2:17, “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” James admonishes believers to demonstrate (v. 18) and perfect (v. 22) our faith by our good works. Not believing that good works will save us or earn God’s favor, but just that they are the fruit of our faith.
There are good believers in the Bible. Hebrews 11 catalogues many of the Old Testament ones. They’re celebrated for their faith, which – in every case – was demonstrated by their works. They’re not perfect people, but they’re good believers.
There have always been, and probably always will be, two groups of people in the body of Christ.
There are those who lean heavily on the holiness of God and declare that they are sinners and God alone is good. And they’re right. In 1 Timothy 1, Paul confesses that he is the worst sinner ever.
There are also those who lean heavily on the redemptive work of Christ on the cross and declare that they are saints, and no longer sinners. And they’re right. Paul almost always addresses the Church as “fellow saints.”
I think – and this is just me – that the key to balancing it, like we talked about on Friday, is your heart. You can pursue righteousness or grace from a right or wrong motive.
If you pursue righteousness from a wrong motive, you’re seeking the appearance of righteousness. You become a Pharisee and a liar, and you get bound up in shame and guilt when you mess up. If you pursue grace from a wrong motive, you’re seeking an excuse to let your flesh keep you from a life of holiness, and you gradually drift away until you don’t even realize that the presence and power of God is no longer part of your life.
If, however, we pursue righteousness because we love Jesus and we want to be like Him, we can’t go wrong. We will fall short and fail – it’s guaranteed – but we’re not phased by it because we know that His grace is right there to catch us – because we know that He loves us.
It’s two sides of the same coin, so while I think I get the heart behind what these guys are writing – that they’ve seen Christians self-destruct pursuing their own righteousness, and they’ve seen people pushed away from God because of it – it’s also only half of the story.
So while I agree that it’s harmful to create a church culture where people feel like they have to fake righteousness, or BE good enough, it’s also harmful to preach a sissy Christianity. Jesus said to count the cost. He called it a narrow road. He deliberately offended people by telling them to eat His flesh, just to see who was really sold out.
You have to have both, and the only way to really do it is love.