Gospel Basics: Who We Were

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. (Titus 3:3)

The Gospel, which means 'good news', comes to those who desperately need good news. Lest we, as readers, think that then the Gospel is for them [the bad people], not us, the Apostle Paul makes it unambiguous: "we ourselves were once . . ." He does not say, "Some of us were . . ." but "we ourselves were . . ." The only people who have received this good news were formerly bad people. Indeed, Paul, in describing what 'we' were, is describing the condition of every human being apart from the Gospel.

We were foolish. It is not just that we were ignorant and didn't know what to do. No, we were foolish, knowing to a degree what was wise - and yet walking in the path of folly. A fool is not pitiable; a fool is contemptible. We can pity the ignorant who stumble into error, but we rightly despise the fool who sees danger and continues straight into it. That is precisely where all of humanity is before the coming of the Gospel.

We were disobedient. The nature of our folly was disobedience - at least to conscience, and in many cases to more direct revelation from the only true God. Every human being knows the experience of having a pang of conscience (which comes from God), and then foolishly, wickedly continuing on the path of error. This is our common human situation. No matter what degree of knowledge we have, every human being has turned away from what is right and good.

We were led astray. Is it possible that it wasn't our fault, then, if we were led astray!? No; it is possible both to be led, and to be responsible. Consider the two young boys in a convenience store: One says to the other, "Let's steal some candy!" The second boy, who had no impulse of his own to steal, gives in to the other and they both steal candy. The first clearly led the second astray; yet no one would rightly say that the second boy was not responsible for his action in stealing. Just so, we have been led astray and we bear responsibility for our folly and disobedience.

We were slaves to various passions and pleasures. If we can't pass it off on whoever led us astray, then certainly the language of slavery allows us to lay the blame at someone else's feet! Sadly, this kind of slavery makes us only more miserable, and responsible. For the passions and pleasures to which we are enslaved are our own passions and pleasures. The Apostle Paul uses the language of slavery to show us that the human condition is one of bondage and slavery from which we cannot free ourselves. We cannot simply turn away from folly and disobedience whenever we choose.

We passed our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. As we were led astray from the right way into foolish disobedience, we were enslaved to our own passions and pleasures. Functionally, we made ourselves the measure of all things, and the other people with whom we were made to live in love became enemies, rivals and competitors. So it is quite natural that in this condition, we hate one another, envy each other, and have malice for others. They threaten the satisfaction of our passions and pleasures (our masters), and make us even more miserable.

This is the desperate and miserable state into which the Gospel speaks. Before it speaks good news, it must speak truth, which is bad news, about the human condition. That truth is that our foolish disobedience has alienated us from our Creator, and from one another. As if that wasn't bad enough, this condition is enslaving and we cannot free ourselves from it. This is what the Gospel says about the human condition.

The greatness and glory of the Good News rest on this perspective of who we were. Any attempt to soften the bad news only tends to diminish the good news. The Gospel liberates us from slavery, reconciles us to God, makes peace with our neighbors, and brings us into wisdom and obedience that we could not accomplish by ourselves; the greatness of the salvation it offers is magnified by the contrast with the misery of the condition from which it snatches us.

[What this means for parenting, I hope to later unfold.]