What sounds holy isn't always
Monday, October 6, 2008 at 1:41PM 
This past week, I heard two prominent pastors, both of whom have large audiences, declare their wretched, sinful nature over the airwaves. Nothing particular was revealed, just a general confession of miserable unworthiness. It's the "let's just admit we're screwed up and be honest about it" thinking.
I'm all for authenticity, but isn't being authentic admitting who you really are? Apparently, we don't know who we really have become in Christ. One of these church leaders said that his job was to "make Jesus look good and sometimes that means I need to honest about how bad I am." He followed that claim with the idea that we need to believe that God is sovereign and that we're "totally depraved." (Echoes of Jeremiah 17:9 --"The heart is deceitful above all things..." ) The problem with harkening back to a passage like that in Jeremiah, is that it expresses an Old Covenant reality, not a new one. Remember, there is a progression in Scripture for how God relates to his people.
We've been taught to read the entire Bible, including the Old Covenant, as if it is a current and enduring description of the human personality (including those who have trusted Christ). In some cases, it is an accurate and timeless description of the human condition. In some cases, it is no longer. Jeremiah 17:9 is a good example. The statement is true...of a heart that has not come under the transforming redemption of Jesus. Those who reject Christ are still under the ruined nature of a depraved heart. Those who have said 'yes' to Jesus are no longer under ruin. Their hearts have been restored through supernatural, invasive surgery---the giving of a new and radically pure heart for a corrupted, diseased heart. This is the promise of Ezekiel: 36:26: "I will give you a new heart and a new spirit..."
I like these two guys because they've dumped much of the religiosity of contemporary churchianity. It seems, though, that their self-disclosers, while sounding holy, are a gross misrepresentation of their actual identities, their new and renovated hearts.
We need a different version of 'authenticity' that both acknowledges our areas of brokenness and sin, while stubbornly rehearsing our new nature. Our natural inclinations as Christ-followers have now become those of Jesus, whether those inclinations are obscured and buried or not. Authenticity must now be about confessing a new self and indulging the deep desires of our new identities.
Reader Comments (2)
Jim,
Great post. Indeed, I alway sigh...in my heart when I hear someone bashing themselves with the cliched "I'm such a rotten miserable wretch." I honestly think it does so much damage not only to the person saying it, but to all our brothers and sisters (and even non-believers if they hear it as well) because, in essence, that person is denying the Truth that they are NOT wretched. As you well know, when someone comes to Christ, we are new creations. Our hearts are GOOD because the Holy Spirit...God Himself...lives within us. Everytime we "one-down" ourselves to look or seem "humble" we are, in essence, doing what the Pharisees did. It's actually a very "selfish" act, because deep down there is an agenda there: it's called the "look at me! I'm acting so humble here." Bashing ourselves does no service of pointing to God. Why would someone who is putting themselves down think that they are glorifying God when they are, in essence, bashing their hearts...bashing the ONE who is living and dwelling within their new, transformed heart?!
Great post, Jim. Always love them.
Blessings,
~Amy :)
http://amyiswalkinginthespirit.blogspot.com
So true. Romans 12:1 doesn't promise a temporary transformation. It's a lifetime change that, if we allow it, can remind us of His love at every turn, in every situation, every minute of the day. My journey is so much different today than it was when I thought I needed to be re-saved every few months or so.
Thanks for your thoughts.
-Darrin
http://visaliacrossroads.blogspot.com