David Brooks said in an interview with Russell Moore, “it’s a lot easier to say evil is over there than to say sin is in my heart.” Those words rattled around my head all afternoon. They stuck with me because they are true. What David was referring to specifically is our culture’s propensity to cast blame upon others without acknowledging one’s sinfulness. Humanity, generally, suffers from the same condition.
We see situations play out internationally where leaders refuse to acknowledge their errors, plunging nations into armed conflict. Within our borders, fingers point and accusations fly, further driving the wedge between people. I am not immune to this disease and neither are you.
St. Paul, writing to the church in Rome, quotes the psalmist:
“There is no one who is righteous, not even one;
there is no one who has understanding,
there is no one who seeks God.
All have turned aside,
together they have become worthless;
there is no one who shows kindness,
there is not even one.”
Romans 3.10-12
This approach to one’s righteousness is counter-cultural. It is starkly opposed to the popular idea that whatever state you are currently in ought not change. Or worse, that you ought follow the path to happiness as the path of truth. The loudest voices in our society say that we don’t need a savior or salvation. You are fine just the way you are. The Proverbs tell us that a wise man listens to the advice of those wiser than him, but a fools refuses to listen (Prov. 12.15). A fool is reckless and careless, but a wise man is cautious and turns away from evil (Prov. 14.16).
To be a Christian, then, is to say I am incapable of righteousness. I need a savior because I cannot save myself. Surely we are capable of acting in a morally good manner, but that is not the issue at question here. It is another problem altogether. One can do a good moral act out of duty and yet remain outside of the Kingdom of God. Appearing to be a good person doing good deeds is not a sign of salvation or righteousness. Christianity is not solely concerned with morality. Doing good flows from a recognition and acceptance of our need for Jesus Christ.
“I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
Luke 5.32
The Pharisees questioned the Lord Jesus Christ about the company he kept and the acts he did. He hung out with tax collectors and sinners, healed on the Sabbath, and broke Jewish religious and social norms. His response is simple and quickly dismissed by the Pharisees, but it makes no less fundamental to his ministry on earth. He came to call us, sinners, and draw us unto himself.
I pray for you, me, our nation, and the world. That God may have mercy upon us all. That he may create in us a clean heart, inclined to do His will and not our own. May we approach Him with a broken and contrite heart, acknowledging that we have sinned against Him and Him alone. Wash us white as snow, Lord, and that at the last we may join you in everlasting peace. Amen.
