Religion, irreligion, and the Gospel

We’ve started small groups at church and the study we’re doing is Tim Keller’s “The Gospel in Life.” It’s already been rather convicting in that we examine our heart and the motivation for doing things. He talks of three ways of living. One is being religious, that is being moral. It’s being moral for the sake of being moral. A lot of Christians may be even like this. They believe that they obey and therefore they are accepted. The irreligious don’t care either way. These are the atheists, the agnostics, or just the average person. They may be moral or not. They live like they want to. The third way is the Gospel way. These are those who trust in Christ. Their mindset is, they’re accepted, therefore they obey.

He uses the example of the prodigal son to show that the younger brother is the irreligious, but is one who repents as a result of the Gospel. The elder brother represents the religious. He’s moral, but that doesn’t mean he’s saved. The true elder brother is Jesus Christ, who, even though he has everything, gives it up for us.

Which are you? Are you good for the sake of being good? Do you not care? Or, are you good because of the Gospel in your life?