Survival of the Unfittest

 

“I cannot pray, except I sin. I cannot preach, but I sin. I cannot administer, nor receive the holy sacrament, but I sin. My very repentance needs to be repented of and the tears 

I shed need washing in the blood of Christ.”  William Beveridge

 The Christian faith is the antithesis of the faith of social Darwinism and its principles of progression and perfection. Christians know that they aren’t part of the “survival of the fittest.” The Bible teaches we’re the “survival of the worst” or “survival of the weakest.” You can’t be a Christian until you honestly face your own spiritual vileness and impotence.  

  Christians know that they’re not good people. If we’re honest, we’re not  even nice people. We are instead transformed people because of the cross, new life in Christ, and the love, mercy, and grace of God.

  It’s been said that: “There are only two kinds of people in this world – there are those who wake up in the morning and say, “Good morning, Lord,” and those who wake up in the morning and say, “Good Lord, it's morning.” But I think author Tom Robbins had a better understanding about the two kinds of people in this world. He said that there are “those who believe there are two kinds of people in this world and [there are] those who are smart enough to know better.” Christians know that there is only one kind of person in this world – those who apart from the gospel are a huge mess. That’s exactly what the Bible teaches.

  God’s Word clearly states: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:10-12, 23).  

  Philip Yancey, in his book, What’s so amazing about Grace? shares a powerful story told to him by a Christian friend. “A prostitute came to me in wretched straits, homeless, sick, unable to buy food for her two-year-old daughter. Through sobs and tears, she told me she had been renting out her daughter—two years old!—to men interested in kinky sex. She made more renting out her daughter for an hour than she could earn on her own in a night. She had to do it, she said, to support her own drug habit.

  I could hardly bear hearing her sordid story. For one thing, it made me legally liable—I’m required to report cases of child abuse. I had no idea what to say to this woman. At last I asked if she had ever thought of going to a church for help. I will never forget the look of pure, naive shock that crossed her face. ‘Church!’ she cried. ‘Why would I ever go there? I was already feeling terrible about myself. They’d just make me feel worse’.”

  Yet, that broken woman is exactly who should feel at home among Christians and in our church. When Jesus walked this earth, women (and men) just like her prostitute fled to Jesus, not away from Him. The worse a person felt about herself, the more likely he or she saw Jesus as a refuge.

  Over the years I’ve had individuals tell me they’re good people because they obey the Ten Commandments. Not me. I’m a loser. I totally bomb out when it comes to the Big Ten. As I study the Ten Commandments I see what a spiritual failure I am. Just take the last half…

  “Honor your father and your mother…” If that includes rolling my eyes, talking back, or knowledgeably disobeying – I get a goose egg.

  “You shall not murder.” The Bible says that hate is murder (1 John 3:15). If it includes bad drivers, people talking on their cell phones in restaurants, or my siblings when I was growing up. Again, I flunk.

  “You shall not commit adultery.” Jesus said that lust is committing adultery in your heart (Matthew 5:27-28). Only a very naïve person believes this is only a male problem. I know that I’ve failed this one.  

  “You shall not steal.” If that only includes checking social media when I’m supposed to be working, I get another zero. What about “borrowing” office supplies from work, etc.?  

  “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” We may call them a “white lie” but a lie is still a lie. Even an exaggeration is a lie. I’m in the spiritual cellar again.

  “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” Obviously, this would include another person’s physique. Personally, I wish Planet Fitness would do a better job of marketing to people who have my physique. It seems like the ones who don’t need Planet Fitness are its most loyal members…and I feel a twinge of jealousy…more than I want to admit.

  The Bible is clear – we’re all spiritual losers. None of us measure up. Yet, most of us don’t realize the seriousness of what we consider “little sins.”

  Back in the 1990’s one research firm considered the advertising slogan for a popular soap that was “99.4% pure.” They followed up with an important question: “What if everything in the world operated at 99% efficiency?” What they discovered is shocking! Drinking water would be unsafe one hour out of each month. Two planes would crash land – every day - at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. 500 hundred surgeries would be botched each week. And 20,000 prescriptions would be improperly filled each year.

  Would you want to drink that water? Be on one of those planes? Would you want to have one of those pharmacists or surgeons anywhere near you or your family?

  99% efficiency isn’t acceptable in any of these areas. Missing these things by just “that much” (1%) can be deadly. The same is true spiritually. James 1:10 says, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.” It’s 100% or fail! And we’re all guilty of failing all of it. It’s why we need Jesus. It’s why we need a Savior. He died to rescue the worst of the worst…like you and me. Without committing our lives to Jesus as our Savior, we have no hope. We’re part of the “unfittest.”

  Jesus died so that we all could be “fit” for heaven but He has to be your Savior. My friend, is He your Savior?  

Can we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.