06.07.10
the myth of human goodness – 10
“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” – Jeremiah 17:9
“The default mode of the human heart is religion.” – Martin Luther
Last night we went to Fuel (Eastview Christian Church’s college ministry) and their college pastor Brandon spoke on Genesis 11 and about our hearts. I thought it was really really good and wanted to share some of what he said and also some of my thoughts.
The passage in Genesis 11 is where the people started building a tower to the heavens. Brandon explained the history behind this tower saying that what they were building was called a ziggurat and the purpose of it was not so that the people could somehow climb their way to God, but as like a momentum to the people so that they would “make a name for [themselves] and not be scattered” (which would guarantee them salvation in the afterlife) and that the “gods” would see what they did and come down to them and bless them for their works.
The heart of “religion” is that you can somehow make God love you more or be good enough for Him by following rules or doing good deeds. Every world religion besides Christianity is all about what you can “do” to be saved, about doing enough good deeds, or about not doing the bad deeds. Christianity is the only religion where everything was already done for you. It’s not about what you can do, but about how you CAN’T do anything. We would never be good enough, never be able to do enough good deeds to be saved. Ever. But that’s the beauty of grace, is that when we couldn’t do anything, God said, “I did it for you.”
Even today we build our own ziggurats so that God will see our efforts and come down and bless us. But that’s not what it’s supposed to be about. It’s always been and always will be about God’s grace. That we are so completely undeserved but God saved us. That we don’t deserve anything and yet God sent Jesus to die for us and give us eternal life. Everything we have is really a gift, because if God gave us what we “deserved” we’d all be on our way to hell. Our hearts are desperately wicked and the only way for our hearts to be pure is by Jesus’ blood purifying our hearts and giving us new clean hearts.
The people in Genesis got what they wanted. God did take notice and He did come down, but He didn’t bless their efforts and good deeds. Instead He confused their language and scattered them. Brandon had a really good take on this act of God. He said that it was an act of grace. That by scattering them He gave them another chance. A time of reflection to turn their hearts back to Him. Where as in Jeremiah it says that our hearts are wicked, in Ezekiel 11:19 it gives a promise, “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.” That’s an awesome promise. That God can give us an undivided heart, a heart of flesh.
This was Brandon’s prayer for us when he closed his message and I want to pray it over myself and anyone reading this. “Father, help us to stop building ziggurats in an effort to please You. Help us to realize that it’s all because of Your grace and not because of anything that we could ever do. I pray that we would serve because You first served us. That we would show compassion because You first showed us compassion. That we would love because You first loved us. That we would show grace because You first were gracious to us. Help everything we do be an overflow of what You have shown us. Thank you for everything you have done for us, even when we didn’t deserve any of it.”
Grace wins. Religion fails. Always.
