Author Tim Keller spoke with LifeWay’s Chris Turner during this special edition of Inside LifeWay.
Paraphrase from the interview:
You might have a church where there’s not a lot of emphasis on the “Law”, there’s not a lot of emphasis on what we would consider “legalism”, which is: “We don’t smoke, we don’t chew, and we don’t go with girls that do.” Everyone is more dressed down, and there’s not a lot of talk about “no drinking, no smoking”. And yet the messages are “Here’s how to get your life in order. Here’s how to get your manage your money well. Here’s how to trust God. You really have to trust God and get your life in order, and serve him.” What is that? Its not what we would consider legalism, but it is what we’d consider moralism. Its saying, “You’ve got to get your life together and God will bless you.” But that will crush you. It was better to be an old-fashioned legalist, because at least its something that you can kind of “do”. At least its a model you can maintain. It makes you self-righteous, but at least its not going to destroy you. But when you say, “Study your Bible. Be a good person. Trust in the Lord. Really surrender. Attempt great things for God,”–that will crush you. Because you’ll never attain to that. The implicit message is, “…and that is how you will find God’s blessing.” Because there’s no emphasis on the finished work of Christ.
Jeff
I’m not so sure it’s an “implicit” message. I hear that sort of thing explicitly all the time. “You’ll never have God’s blessings on your life until you start…” or “God’s never going to bless you unless you stop…” And those phrases are never finished with even the half-redeeming statement “…recognize that God’s blessings aren’t contingent on your performance.” They’re always finished with with something about some spiritual work I need to be doing. Or some fleshly work I need to stop doing.
I don’t want to continue in sin so that grace might multiply. But I do want to remember that I have a continually saving Savior, who saves me from more than my death and lives for more than my life.
Jeremiah
The quote sounds similar to something he wrote in The Prodigal God.