I ran across a quote the other day that struck a chord of conviction in me as I think about churches who emphasize life-transformation principles over gospel centrality. The quote is in CS Lewis’ chapter on pride in his renowned book, Mere Christianity. Here it is:
“The devil loves ‘curing’ a small fault by giving you a great one”
Of course, this quote can be applied to a number of examples–not even spiritual–and ring profoundly true nonetheless. But in this case, insofar as it relates to churches who emphasize life-transformation principles over gospel centrality, its truthfulness couldn’t seem any clearer and ring any truer.
Here’s what I mean: When pastors get in the pulpit and churches advocate study guides that encourage life changing theology in a primary sense–making people and life-changing steps the focus of each church service–they are appealing to people’s self-sufficiency, self-saviorship, and sinful pride: that they can fix problems in their life by their own strength.
Ok, that sounds technical, but if we Google-maps zoom out for a minute to see the bigger picture going on, here is what we find out: If our Christianity becomes more about personal life-change than Jesus, it makes us wonder who we are really worshiping all along.
Thus, in the process of ‘life-changing’ churches creating what they believe is a good solution, they are actually cultivating a deeper problem: causing sinners to depend on themselves for their self-salvation of whatever problems they are facing. It’s functionally equivalent to an individual making a work out plan to get stronger muscles all the while injecting himself with a deadly disease. Working out will do nothing but glorify the muscular appearance–the fruits–when what you really need is to address the interior depravity–the roots. Besides, what you feed to the roots will show through in the fruits, just as much as eating good food will show through in your work out results.
Alternatively, only the gospel, by its nature, can address our inner heart condition of sin. It declares us helpless to fix ourselves and calls us to cast ourselves on the able Savior. The remedy lies outside of us. Just as a terminally ill person doesn’t rely himself for healing, but instead goes to a doctor and antibiotics, so also should we not rely on ourselves and our strength to change facets of our life–we should go to the Doctor and feast on what He gives us for healing. In fact, self-help is no help at all, because self is no savior–regardless of what 37% of books at Barnes&Nobles say. What we need is a new life altogether. We need Christ.
Therefore, churches that dole out life-changing theology like Oprah does with refrigerators on her Saturday morning show actually serves to create an even bigger problem. Yes, your people will look churchy and nice and clean-cut. But their hearts will be blackened with pride and self-sufficiency. Alternatively, a church that proclaims the gospel will boast in their dirty rags because their hearts will be full of love for God and freed from the slavery of being inwardly obsessed. These people will be both humble and confident: humble because God is their Savior, not them; and confident because God is a greater source of strength, not themselves.
A church centered on the gospel produces the type of people that a church centered on ‘life-change’ could never produce.
