A Gospel of Grace...

In Friday's Whitefield post, I highlighted the following phrases:

[Now we] are fallen, there is nothing lovely, nothing desirable in man; his heart is a sink of pollution, full of sin and uncleanness.

...

If I was to paint man in his proper colors, I must go to the kingdom of hell for a copy; for man is by nature full of pride, subtlety, malice, envy, revenge, and all uncharitableness; and what are these but the temper of the devil?

Not unlike everyone else on the internet, I was attempting to, in some small way, respond to the discovery of Ted Haggard's improper conduct. I started to work out some profound, wordy post to offer further reflections on all this.

Thankfully, centuri0n and Tim Challies (both of whom are far better writers than I will ever be) said it all. So, read what they said and envision me nodding. Not to slight Frank Turk, but I found Tim's post especially poignant.

If we look to Ted Haggard as a representative of all that is wrong in Evangelicalism, I think we miss the most important lesson. The lesson we need to learn is that we are every bit as sinful and fallible and willful and depraved as Haggard; perhaps more so. It is only the grace of God that, like a spider being held over the flame by a nearly-invisible web, prevents me from giving in to all the sin that is in me and being dragged down by it. Oh, that He would continue to extend this grace! And oh, that I would take heed lest I, too, fall, for what is in Haggard is in me.

It's in me, too... Sadly, there's a ton of it at the surface which means there's gobs more hidden underneath.