Most 21st-century Western people would say that human beings are, overall, good.

One day’s worth of news, however, will quickly call such a notion into question. And one day in our own company should also undermine the claim. For, if we’re completely honest, we must admit that our own hearts are unruly and out of control—and popular solutions to this problem, such as greater education or changes to social circumstances, never seem to fix things. Humanity continues to be a mess.

When we turn to the Bible, we discover an ugly truth about ourselves: the reason we feel alienated from the people around us—the reason I sometimes feel alienated from myself—is because we’re alienated from God. Our horizontal alienation is indicative of a far more serious vertical alienation. God made us so that we might have a relationship with Him, yet our minds are turned away from Him. We don’t think of Him. We don’t love Him. We don’t even look for Him.

There is, however, good news. As followers of Christ, while we were once wasting away, we’ve now been renewed. We were alienated, but now we’ve been reconciled. We lived in a dark place, and now we’ve been brought into the light. We were trapped, and now we’ve been set free. We were dead, and now we’ve been made alive with Christ. That’s the experience of those who know God as He has revealed Himself through His word.

This transformation isn’t simply the result of a decision to revamp life. At some point, most of us have thought, “I’m turning over a new leaf and making a change. I’m going to be more thankful this year than I was last year.” And good! There’s nothing wrong with that at all. Our friends and family would probably be thrilled to hear it. That alone is not the end goal for a Christian though. Rather, change in the Christian’s life is motivated and initiated by the saving grace of God. We go on as we began: by grace.

The good news of the gospel is the fact that Jesus of Nazareth came on our behalf to bring an end to our alienation. He, and He alone, has done what we most need but could not do for ourselves. So the call to us is very simple: to “continue in the faith … not shifting from … the gospel.” We never need to move on from the simple gospel of Christ crucified, risen, and reigning; in fact, we dare not. And yet how easy it is for us to grow cold to these truths; for familiarity to breed if not contempt, then complacency. So consider your heart honestly. Acknowledge your sin. And come back to the gospel once more, in awe “that thou, my God, shouldst die for me.”[1]