Key Life Network

Steve Brown: Cheer up, you're a lot worse than you think you are. Let's talk about it on Key Life.

Matthew: That was Steve Brown and this is Key Life. We're dedicated to the teaching that the only people who get any better are those who know that if they don't get any better, God will still love them anyway. Steve is an author, seminary professor, and our teacher on Key Life.

Steve Brown: Thank you, Matthew. We're looking at the lies that Christians sometimes believe. The lie that we sometimes believe because religion can lead you in this direction if you're not careful is "I'm wonderful and everybody loves me and they should."

If you're a Christian, you've heard over and over again from unbelievers that they know people outside the church who are just as good and even better than those inside the church. Every time we see that the divorce rate is the same among Christians as it is among pagans, we want to start preaching on how to have a happy marriage until it drives people nuts.

The next time someone says to you—and this always confuses them—"I know people, the church is filled with hypocrites. I know people who are not a part of the church and don't even believe in God who are better than those who are on the inside." Next time someone says that, let me tell you how to respond: "Of course they are. People outside the hospital are as healthy and usually far healthier than those in the hospital."

The church isn't a gathering place for good people, but a hospital for sinners who, at least in some cases, know they are slowly getting better. That's true, but seldom recognized. When unbelievers point out something particular in the unbelieving community where they are nicer and better and gooder and more loving than we are, instead of railing against that, say, "Of course," or you can say, "Duh."

The message of Christianity to the world is life-giving and amazing. It is a gift Christians are to give witness to, but we don't sometimes. Self-righteousness, arrogance, and pride should be expected from those who do not know Jesus. It's sad, but then it's all they have. If religion has made that all we have, then we have nothing to give anybody. And if that's all we have, it's a major source of guilt and shame and fear and regret.

If you've been told that your central witness to the world is your goodness, somebody lied to you. But because we have believed that lie, we work hard to be good, good enough so that we don't hurt our witness. We smile when we feel like crying. We only cuss and spit in private. We make sure that our tracks are covered. We defend ourselves, our views, our choices, and our lifestyles with everything we've got. And listen to me: it's killing us.

Let me give you some good news. You don't have to do that anymore. You don't have anything to defend or protect. You don't have to pretend to be good anymore. You don't have to wear a mask or hide who you are. You don't have to be right. You don't have to fight to be accepted and admired. You don't have to be one of the cool kids. When a Christian realizes what I just said is true, there is a life-changing exhilaration in response to that truth.

Just a quick point before we go any further. What I just said doesn't mean that you can be as bad as you want to be now, even though you could and Jesus will still love you. It means that you can do better at being good as you really want to be because you know that being good isn't what the Christian faith is about. Being His is what it's about. Augustine, I think, said this: "If you want to be great, be. If you want to be great, be."

Let me give you a key to understanding the world. Everybody wants to be admired, honored, appreciated, and praised. You do too, I do too. If that's the goal, how do we achieve it, especially if we don't have a lot in our lives to warrant admiration and honor and appreciation and praise? Scripture teaches that nobody does. That doesn't mean there aren't places in people's lives worthy of all of that, but there's also a downside.

The flip side of human achievement is human failure and sin and selfishness. A failure to recognize that is incredibly destructive to nations, to communities, and individuals. And how one deals with that reality determines one's political, social, educational, economic, and theological views.

For instance, the statism/anti-statism debate is at the heart of so much darkness in our culture. A statist believes in the use of the state, of outside power, of government to free the general goodness that is resident in human beings. And the anti-statist believes that the use of the power of government to make people abide by doing good things does just the opposite.

The anti-statist suggests that there is very little natural goodness, that power corrupts, and that absolute power corrupts absolutely. One side believes that human nature is perfectible, while the other side believes it isn't. Just a cursory reading of the Federalist Papers—that's a primary document in American history containing 85 essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay—and it shows that the division of powers in the US Constitution, the checks and the balances, was driven by a negative view of human nature.

In other words, nobody is good enough to have too much power. Not only that, nobody is good enough to bask in self-righteousness or virtue signaling, the ways we signal to others that we are wonderful and good. I have no desire to start a political rant here. There is, of course, a place for government and maybe a more important place for human responsibility.

However, I want to point out that every nation, every movement including the church, every political party, every police department, every social organization, every business at reform and organization geared to social betterment is flawed. I am too. And I wouldn't even admit that to you if it weren't true of you too.

For instance, the problem with pointing out the flaws of past historical leaders and tearing down statues honoring them is that it's hard, actually impossible, to find anyone to whom we can erect a statue. All heroes are flawed. If you want to change the name of an academic or civic building because of the flaws of those who are named in that building, to whom are you going to dedicate the building?

We best get rid of all statues and all named buildings if we're going to be honest. Or be realistic and face the fact that some people do great things and we need to recognize it and to lift them up and remember that they have their flaws too. They are sinners too. They are people who need grace too, who need grace too.

Maybe that's a pretty cynical view, and I'm cynical and old. I've been around a long time and I'm no longer surprised when I discover that nations and individuals are horribly flawed. Motivations are hardly ever pure, and nobody I know is without secrets that, if revealed, would cause extreme shame. I'm not surprised at me either, and I won't be surprised at you either. Hey, remember what I taught you and think about that. Amen.

Matthew: Thanks, Steve. We've been on an unhurried tour through the biblical truths that inspired Steve's new book called God's Not Mad At You. That book is out in September and as a reminder for a limited time, you can pre-order that book for a special discounted price. Just go to keylife.org/notmadbook for details. And do join us tomorrow for Friday Q&A with Steve and Pete. That's when they'll explore a really big and really interesting question: what is Reformed theology?

Well, I want to let you know about a special booklet called Through the Eyes of Grace: Acts and Romans. This is taken from Steve's classic overview of the New Testament. How did the early church get its start? The leadership, Pentecost, the fellowship of believers, the persecution—it's all there. In two weeks, Steve and Jerry Parries will take a unique look at Paul's missionary journeys, and I think this booklet is going to be nice to have on hand for that.

So get your copy right now by calling us at 1-800-KEY-LIFE. That's 1-800-539-5433. You can also email Steve at steve@keylife.org to order that booklet, or go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing address. Again, just ask for the free booklet called Through the Eyes of Grace: Acts and Romans.

And before you go, would you consider giving to Key Life to help the work of our ministry? Giving is easy, just charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope, or just take out your phone and text KEYLIFE to 28950. That's KEYLIFE, one word or two, doesn't matter. Text that to 28950, then follow the instructions. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and 4C in Canada, and Key Life is a listener-supported production of Key Life Network.