Improving the First Adam

"You will not surely die." This Satanic verse not only fooled our first parents, but has been spewed throughout human history and has found its way into modernity through American pulpits and Christian bookstores. American Christianity appears content on improving the first Adam, whether by preaching moralism or the promise of the abundant and prosperous life. So, the gospel is then twisted from Christ dying for the glory of God to Christ dying so I might feel good and be the "real/authentic me." This ugliness builds local congregations into mega-churches and sells many books, but look closely and you might find dust clouds billowing from your preacher's mouth. My intent with this article is to reveal the false gospel that so many American Christians cling to and to present the sweet words of the real gospel of Christ Jesus.

Home Improvement

There is an older couple in my congregation that once lived in an old farmhouse that is on their property beside the home they currently reside in. This old farmhouse holds lots of memories of their long lives together, but the joists and frame of the old, wooden house is being plagued by termites. Many attempts to salvage the house has been thought of or tried to no avail. One could paint the house, spackle the dry wall cracks, and replace the carpet. The doom of the old farmhouse is inevitable, however. The house is slowly rotting and remains inhospitable.

The same could be said of our human life. Each of us are born with the inevitable reality of death. In many churches across the U.S., psychological improvement toward happiness and self-esteem has replaced the true gospel. In such churches, Christ died for your happiness and well-being. They paint the old farmhouse and move in new furniture and perhaps host a few parties inside, all while the termites keep feeding on the wood. What is even more depressing, when the consequence of termite damage to our souls find the walls collapsing and the roof caving in, the preacher espouses to keep a positive outlook and convince yourself of happiness.

Just as improving the old, decaying farmhouse is an absurdity, improving the old Adam with positive thinking is equally as absurd. Yet, visit the local Christian bookstore and you will find rows of self-improvement, books on your best life now, and so-called Bible studies that are more about human-centered abundant life through pop psychology rather than exalting God. What, then, is the true gospel?

The Death of Death

The farmhouse illustration is not enough. Many reading this consider their worldview outside that camp. However, many of you would suggest that Jesus died for your happiness in some form or another. If what you preach or listen to could be done without Jesus, then it is not the gospel. Plenty of people are happy; often this happiness, although worldly, is not what many might say is egregiously immoral. Positive thinking with works of charity and a care for the less-than-fortunate is a Christless effort. This Christless effort focuses on personal transformation. Such effort is being pushed in many American evangelical circles, both liberal and conservative alike. Yet, the gospel espouses something like what John Owen said is "the death of death in the death of Christ."

If the gospel is like painting a decaying farmhouse, or ridding one's heart of negative and destructive thoughts and replacing them with happy and positive thoughts, then all hope is lost. We did not introduce death and destruction into God's creation because we thought negatively about ourselves. We sinned and we sin against God. The old Adam dies and is at an infinite distance from the holiness of God. No positive thoughts about yourself or works of love will even get you on the first rung of a ladder to heaven. The Bible tells us that we are dead in our trespasses against God, not psychologically sick (Ephesians 2:1-2, Colossians 2:13-14).

In the death of Christ, however, is the death of the first Adam for those who believe (Romans 5:15). The resurrection of Christ is to walk in newness of life for those who believe (Romans 6:1-8). This is demolition to that old farmhouse and replacing it with a permanent structure not built by human hands. No longer are we combating sin with human effort. We are saved by the merit of Christ alone by faith alone through grace alone. This is not "Jesus gives me happy thoughts about myself." This is Jesus is exalted and highly praised for saving a wretched dead worm like me who could do nothing, not even take the first step of salvation. When you have been born-again by the Spirit, you no longer live life like a dead person - striving to do good and feel good - but live like a living, breathing person; that is, have the power of the Holy Spirit to put sin to death (Romans 8:12-13).

A Plea to End Moralism

Many people in the prosperity gospel camp, the abundant living churches, or the pop psychology feel-good circles of Christianity would not think that they are moralists. Yet the striving to change your own behavior, to replace negative thoughts and feelings for positive ones, and play make-believe that you are living the "abundant life" when your world continues to place stress upon your souls without relief, this is moralism.

Put down your paint brushes. Stop reading self-improvement books. Put an end to your attempts to exchange unhappy feelings for feel-good feelings about yourself. Trust not what you will get out of Christ to improve yourself, but what Christ has already done to make a new you. The glorious gospel of Jesus Christ is not about you and your psychological/emotional healthiness. The glorious gospel of Jesus Christ is about who Christ is and what He has done to resurrect dead sinners for the praise of our God of sovereign and free grace. The sweetness of the true gospel of Jesus Christ is that He has done for us what we could not do for ourselves.

We can change our behavior and think happy thoughts about ourselves apart from Christ, but we cannot make ourselves right in the just and perfect judgment of our holy God. Those with faith in self improvement change their own behavior and thinking without changing their status before God. Those with faith in Christ have their status before God changed by Christ, and the Spirit works in us to change our behavior and thinking to conform to Christ (Galatians 3:10-15).