Ray Ortlund put up a wonderful post recently considering the question, “How come a stereotype of the church today is one of a ‘holier than thou’ mentality?” He offers some thoughts on the matter (which are well worth your time to read—it’s not a long post), then closes with this:
I know this. We Christians will see more repentance in our city when our city sees more repentance in us. And we can be honest about our failings, because it isn’t our performance that makes us okay. It’s Christ’s performance for us. That’s the gospel. It’s so freeing.
Amen. That’s the thing about the gospel: it sets us free from the need to be good enough, and thus from the need to convince others (and ourselves) that we already are good enough. You’ll never know how heavy a burden that is until you lay it down. I think that often, one of the biggest things that holds us back from repentance is the unwillingness to acknowledge to others that we are in fact sinners, because that would mean admitting that we aren’t good enough; it’s a wonderfully freeing thing to be able to lay that aside and just repent.
Amen, I hear so many saying, "All have sinned," but so few soberly saying, "Oh… the things I have done and still do…"
Paul said it best, that he did the things he did not want to do and did not do those things he knew were right. Paul led people to repentance by example, Christians today drive people from it — by driving away from it themselves just as fast as they can.
Saying "all have sinned" makes it impersonal, it seems to take the pressure off, it makes us "good" folks only sinners by default. "Oh well, yes I am a sinner, BUT SO IS EVERYONE ELSE."
It is only when daily face to face with the humbling magnitude of our own failings that we become the types of people who those bound in sin can feel safe even being around.
Very, very well put. It might be worth your time to turn that into a full post, actually.
Rob,
I read something a while ago that I thought was particularly poignant. Here is an awkward paraphrase –
"Remember, when meeting someone you may be the only face of Christ he has ever seen."
Regards,
Roy
excellent post and Tyler Dawn, excellent response.
Roy, that's pretty much how it works. Sis: thanks.