11/2/07
A Quote on Poverty of Spirit
“When the gospel comes to you, it will come to you only if you get rid of your middle class spirit and become poor in spirit. You cannot be a Christian unless you are poor in spirit. You cannot be a Christian if you are middle class in spirit. What do I mean by that? I will tell you. Religion appeals to the able. Religion appeals to people who say, “I can do it if I work hard enough.” But the gospel only comes into the lives of people who are poor in spirit who say I have absolutely nothing of value, and I have no power, and no choices, and I need to rely completely on the salvation and sheer grace of Jesus Christ. If you are middle class in spirit you cannot be saved. You’ll enjoy religion. You’ll love religion. But the gospel is not religion.” Tim Keller
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3 comments:
Did he really say, 'if you are middle class in spirit, you cannot be saved?' Did he mean 'saved for eternity' or saved as in 'hopelessly lost in this world, but still saved for eternity'? I'm curious what you believe.
OK so I know I tend to joke about the chart...but seriously, it almost sounds here like what he is saying contradicts the chart to an extent. If by the gospel coming to us he is referring to salvation, then is he suggesting that we have to fully grasp our own depravity before we can receive the gospel? Because if he is then this view would seem to stand in opposition to the view that once we begin our new life in Christ we begin to see more and more of our own depravity and ineptitude as we draw closer to Him and see more and more of His greatness an holiness.
katie, i don't think it contradicts the chart. true poverty of spirit is also a recognition that we can't even fully recognize our own poverty. when we become christians, god shows us a glimpse of our own sinfulness while showing us a glimpse of his holiness. a full look into either of those categories would leave us hopeless. as we grow, we see more of his holiness, and in turn, more of our own sinfulness. poverty of spirit isn't a work. it isn't a one time achievement. it is an attitude. it is a place to live and return to every day. the beauty of it is when we admit can't obey enough to earn anything, we are then free to obey because we see the law as beautiful. when people obey to earn salvation, they will inevitably either be scared to death of the law or try to reduce it in some way to a list of keepable rules. when we believe christ has kept the law on our behalf, we don't have to be scared anymore. we are completey free to obey out of love, thankfulness, and appreciation.
are you guys going to the a. osenga concert?
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