Pride

I don't know about you, but I often struggle with pride. Wesley and I were just talking about this last night, in a roundabout way. On Thursday's chapel we had a guest speaker, Junior Hill, who gave a great sermonette on John the Baptist. He ended with a story about a friend who had fallen in the midst of temptation--had an inappropriate realtionship with his female secretary. He challenged us to hold our ministry with high regard, and not to let Satan tempt or sway us. It was a good word. But as he walked back to his chair at the end of his talk, I was surprised that we had been left with a hint of despair.

Junior had just recanted his friend's words, "I'm a walking dead man." He explained how his friend had lost everything as a result of his sin--his family, his ministry, etc. And indeed, sin has terrible consequences--especially sexual sin. ...But what about the gospel? Romans 6.11 tells us that we are "dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus." What I wish Junior would have said--what I wish that his friend would have said--is that while his sin had left him desperate and alone, hopeless, Jesus came and rescued him from that body of death. Hallelujah! What a Savior!

I remember reading a book a number of years ago in which the author talked about his friend who had had an affair. He said something to the effect of, "I wished, suddenly, that I was him. Not that I had had an affair, but that I could experience the grace of God poured out on my soul. That I knew that, in the worst of times, Jesus cared for me. That no matter what I did, Jesus was fond of me. That despite my sin, Jesus loves me." That quote has stuck with me through the years, and brings me back to Junior Hill and my original point:

I think that people like Junior's friend have the opportunity to experience and believe the grace of God in a way not all of us will. Most of us think we're okay (not that we are, but we think we are, at least!). We affirm the doctrine of orginial sin and agree with the verses that say we're God's enemy because of our rebellion. But we go to church on Sundays and lead Bible studies and listen to Christian music and we're okay. Yes, we're sinners. But not the worst kind. It's not like we're gay. It's not like we've had an abortion. It's not like we've robbed a bank or harmed a baby or instituted dog fighting (sorry, I couldn't resist). We're quietly prideful and self-righteous.

But do we see? God's wrath has been poured out against us. Not just against those who we deem "worse" than we are... against you and against me. We can vote Republican and plaster our cars with Jesus fish as much as we want. We are not good people, and we are not okay.

Junior's friend realized that, and that truth sunk to the bottom of his soul. He despaired. But at just the moment when he lost all hope--at "just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly" (see Romans 5). How cool is that?? How incredible! This is the gospel. This is hope.

But are we--the ordinary, the "good"--capable of such despair? Do we understand the gravity of our sin? Do we realize that we're nothing apart from Christ? That we have no hope, and no chance of life? That our very existance hangs, as John Piper eloquently puts it, "on a slender thread of sovereign grace"? I think we would do well to be in Junior's friend's position. Maybe then we would really cling to Jesus. I venture to say we would be more thankful for the gospel we proclaim. And we would assuredly lay down our lives in humble praise.