Two Paths that Take Believers Away from the Gospel

Have you heard this logic before? Jesus hung out with sinners and tax collectors. Therefore, I should hang out with the most sinful people I can find. This is often the argument that takes place between a person who has a hard time getting out of his old life and a seasoned church-goer who would never be comfortable brushing up against someone with a felony or smelling of cigarettes. On one hand, we don't want to revert into becoming such a Pharisee that we exude nothing but pride, self-exaltation, and surface-level condemnation. On the other hand, we don't want to promote lifestyle compromises that will involve "being like the world" in order to reach the world.

Here is a major thing that both sides need to realize: God is honored in us when we live most sincerely toward Him (or, as Piper put it, when we are most satisfied in Him). Our priorities will become evident--whether it is the priority of self-righteousness or the priority of belonging with the world. In neither case is our priority on Christ. (Maybe that is why those two sides have a hard time coming to a resolution; they are just pulling the other side into another unhealthy mentality.)

If Christ was the priority for the compromiser, then he would realize that none of those things that defined his unsaved life can replace the fulfillment that Christ brings. No earthly friendship is so valuable that it is worth insulting and disobeying Christ to try to maintain it. Since we are under grace, though, it becomes so easy to do the things we shouldn't do with no fear of ultimate consequences. Even though the consequences may not relate to one's salvation, they do impact the quality of the relationship. Like in a marriage, avoiding the spouse, or deliberately doing things they despise may not lead to the loss of marriage... but it sure doesn't promote a healthy marriage. And if you don't care enough to promote a healthy marriage, then your priorities are really screwed up. 

The early Corinthians were screwed up in this way. They were unruly, extremely sexually deviant, and proud of it. "Yay, grace," they probably said. But they were alienated from Christ by their disregard for his standards. They would rather promote instant gratification than a disciplined lifestyle that promotes a "healthy marriage" with their Lord and Savior. Paul condemned their tolerance of compromise, not because they were around sinful unbelievers, but because the sinful lifestyle was as bad or worse among the so-called believers. This was no way to show the reality of the life-transforming Gospel. Thankfully, many of them got their act together. (Read the first part of 2 Corinthians 2 to see how Paul's heart burned for them to recover that light of Christ.) In short, a life focused on Christ steers away from worldly compromise.  

If Christ was the priority of the Pharisees, then they would see how stupid it is to rely on their own righteousness. Not only is it a dead end, it also alienates a person from Christ, as Paul says to the Galatians: "You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace" (5:4). They fell for what is now known as legalism. This means that even though they began with proper faith, they quickly turned their faith in Christ into a set of rules to follow. These rules would become their man-made way to be right with God. Paul condemned this, saying, "Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" (3:3).

We either come to God on His terms or not at all. And, though it is surprising to our selfish flesh, His terms are far simpler than the man-made ones. The terrible thing about using self-effort to make ourselves right before God is that it ignores and insults the beautiful sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice. Christ's atoning sacrifice means that there is nothing I can do that is a more satisfying and valuable offering to God than what he did. The terrible thing about the opposite path is that it also insults the beautiful sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice. As different as these two wayward paths seem, they really have the same resolution--humble and consistent appreciation of what he has done for us. Our living response is an echo of what he did; never can it become our own noise to drown out what he did.