It’s that time of year when the sports media are hyping the upcoming College Football Playoff: Who’s In?

I just read a sermon by Tim Keller: The Sin Against the Holy Spirit that speaks to this important issue – not with respect to football, but the Kingdom of God.

It’s a very powerful sermon, and I encourage you to read it in its entirety. (If you have trouble with the above link, try this one.) Without getting into all the details, I want to highlight that Dr. Keller observes that Jesus warned religious leaders about blaspheming the Holy Spirit. In general, Jesus reaches out to both religious leaders and “sinners:” Nicodemus (John 3) versus the woman at the well (John 4). All the good people around, and Jesus talks with Zacchaeus (Luke 19). The Luke 15 parables, directed at the religious leaders who didn’t appreciate Jesus spending time with “sinners” on which I wrote a series of five blogs.

Dr. Keller observes:

Jesus Christ calls them both in. In every case, the faster one, or sometimes the only one, to respond, is the irreligious person. – Tim Keller

We don’t understand salvation by grace. Navigator author Jerry Bridges often wrote: “Preach the gospel to yourself every day.” This is what is actually wrong in our churches that the Atlantic article is pointing out. 

In addition to there not being enough disciple-making and teaching in churches— enough to counteract all the teaching people are getting through tv, talk radio, and podcasts—many of us in churches believe we’re better than other people. If poor people only worked as hard as I do, they wouldn’t be poor, etc. It’s always “us/them” “inside/outside.” Keller reminds us:

Jesus Christ came and redefined the kingdom of God. What was that redefinition? First of all, he himself came in weakness and in love and in service, which was not at all what they were expecting. Second, he said the real problem is not Rome, the problem is the sin and evil in all of your hearts, the “good” people and the bad. And finally, he said, therefore, it’s not the good people who are in and the bad people who are out; it’s the humble people who are in and the proud people who are out. – Tim Keller, emphasis mine

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18.9 – 14, ESV)