Again, I really do value the voice of Tim Keller in the evangelical community. He is such a brilliant man. I am so thankful for my friend Dan emailing me this quote so long ago that his senior pastor quoted on a Sunday morning...I will let this quote do the work on your heart without any more insight from me:
"The gospel is not just a way to be saved from the penalty of sin, but it is the fundamental dynamic for living the whole Christian life--individually and corporately, privately and publicly. In other words, the gospel is not just for non-Christians, but also for Christians. This means the gospel is not just the A-B-C's but the A to Z of the Christian life. It is not accurate to think 'the gospel' is what saves non-Christians, and then, what matures Christians is trying hard to live according to Biblical principles. It is more accurate to say that we are saved by believing the gospel,and then we are transformed in every part of our mind, heart, and life by believing the gospel more and more deeply as our life goes on.
"Unless we believe the gospel, we will be driven in all we do--whether obeying or disobeying--by pride ("self-love") or fear ("of damnation"). Mere moral effort without the gospel may restrain the heart but cannot truly change the heart. Mere moral effort merely "jury-rigs" the evil of the heart to produce moral behavior, out of self-interest. (For example) it would be possible to use fear and pride as ways to motivate a person to be honest, but since fear and pride are also the roots of lying, it is only a matter of time before such a thin tissue collapses. Luther was right. If you are obeying the law without deep joy in your acceptance in Christ, you are not loving God with all your heart. You are not obeying God for God. You are being moral so that you can put God in your debt, so he owes you a comfortable life. You are being moral so that you can feel secure in your uprightness. You are being moral in the service of self-salvation, out of the fear and pride that arise without an identity built on Christ in the gospel.
"At the root, then, of all Christian failures to live right -- i.e. not giving money generously, not telling the truth, not caring for the poor, not handling worry and anxiety – at root is the sin under all sins, the sin of unbelief, of not rejoicing deeply in God's grace in Christ, not living out of our new identity in Christ.
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Well said Seth ... er, Dr. Keller. That quote by Keller is awesome, and his essay 'The Centrality of the Gospel' hit me right in the heart a year or two ago when I first read it. Keller helps me come back the Gospel in all its fullness (and Christ's transforming relevance always!) time and time again. Thanks for sharing it.
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