“Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be
to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
Christianity
is not a “self-help” program. It is not a “help” program at all. It is a reconstruction project.
God is not
taking what is good in us and improving upon it. He is replacing our depravity with His
holiness.
The only
answer to our sin is Jesus. If someone
is preaching about self-help, they have missed the point. You cannot repair
yourself. The sin you were born in has
produced an unsalvageable body of death. Therefor you must be “reborn” a new
creation in Christ.
Our
society has tried to “market” Christianity by minimizing the offensiveness of
our sin. You don’t find many church web sites today that refer to your
wretchedness and need of redemption.
But our “wretchedness”
is the only reason for the Cross… and that is central point of the gospel. It
is our death and rebirth through the cross that sets us free.
It is
misguided to think you can find a way to be good enough to be saved. The opposite is true. You are bad enough to need saving.
When you
accept Christ’s death and resurrection as your own, you can rest in the fact
that the old is passed away and you have been reborn in the righteousness of
Jesus.
Rejoice in
your new life of freedom and offer others the same redeeming love and forgiveness you
have been freely given.
“The greatest enemy to human souls is
the self-righteous spirit which makes men look to themselves for salvation.” - Charles
Spurgeon
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