Will nice people (in the Matrix) be saved?

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[thePilgrim]

Will Nice People (in the Matrix) Be Saved?
by John Hendryx

"We must not suppose that if we succeeded in making everyone nice we should have saved their souls. A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world." (C.S. Lewis)

A reader recently responded to the above quote by Lewis with the following remark:

"True, but at least there would be less hatred!"

His answer is really how most of us naturally think. But helping to make people nice and moral is like putting a Band-Aid on cancer. Although many Christians may think making America more moral by strong political lobbying is our highest calling it may come as a surprise that morality and and making people nice is not our commission. We have not been mandated by God to do this and I believe this a diversionary activity. If the heart is not transformed or regenerated, all we do, then, is redirect the sin. We then make people into Pharisees and Jesus said that by making somebody a convert to our morality, we merely make him "twice as much a son of hell as [our]selves." This is just repackaged legalism, attempting to attain godliness by a systematic change of behavior which does not spring from a renewed heart.

Our condition is really worse than we ever imagined and we rarely take this very seriously. As an analogy, we could liken our spiritual condition to the the well-known movie, The Matrix. Humankind, in the movie, is blinded to the real world and is really made a slave to serve the interests of something else (batteries for the machines). Those caught in matrix are unaware of their own wretched condition and they go about their business completely oblivious to their plight. Morpheus points out, “the world that has been pulled over our eyes to blind [us] from the truth” and that humans are “slaves” in “bondage.” Reality is no different. Just try and perfectly obey God's commandments for a day and you'll know what I mean. God and our condition can only be known, however, as He reveals Himself in the Scriptures as the Holy Spirit opens our eyes that we might see - and He first reveals our fallen condition as being blinded so that we cannot see the truth:

"And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:3-5

In one scene of the movie Morpheus says, "Many of [the people in the Matrix] are so inert, so hopelessly dependent on the system that they will fight to protect it." Then in a similar vein the Apostle Paul likens our real condition to one of bondage where we actually do the enemy's bidding for him and tells us that with gentleness we need to correct those in opposition to the gospel if perhaps God may grant them repentance so....

"...they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. (2 Tim 2:25, 26)

Amazingly, The Matrix shows a deep grasp of our real world condition, whether consciously or not. The Scriptures testify that our problem is not just one where we need to be nice or moral. Just imagine in the movie, if Neo, knew the enslaved condition of mankind (blinded to the truth and made a slave to the machines), would he then waste his time telling people how to be nice or teach them how to change their behavior? If instead of helping to free people from the matrix cyber-prison, Neo decided that the solution was to tell people how to be good and tolerant as an answer to their problems, you would think he was out of his mind, engaging in worthless diversionary activity and we might have him institutionalized. But don't we often, as Christians, waste our time with similar thinking?

Using a similar analogy, theologian R. B Kuiper says,

"A man has been found guilty, shall we say, of a heinous crime and has been sentenced to death. He is now in prison, awaiting the day of his execution. A friend comes to visit him. This friend calls out: "I have good news for you!" Eagerly the condemned man asks: "What is it?" The answer comes: "Be good." In that message there is not so much as a shred of good news. It is most cruel mockery. Yet many a self-styled minister of Christ holds forth to sinners under the sentence of eternal death a precisely equivalent message as gospel."

Bad behavior is really only a symptom of a much greater concern. Likewise, the natural man is in bondage to his fallen nature and chooses only what that inner principle desires most. At the fall we lost the indwelling of the Spirit and now the Scripture testifies that the resulting consequence we find ourselves in is that we are hostile to God, hate the light and no one understands because the things of the Spirit are foolishness to us (John 3:19, 1 Cor 2:14). The real world and our true purpose remains hidden from our eyes due to no fault but our own. Without the supernatural intervention of God to redeem us we are caught in a situation worse than that of the Matrix. In the movie Neo says to Morpheus that he had been looking for him all his life. Morpheus tells him that this is only because he was looking for him first. This is similar with God toward us. He calls us out of darkness, out of slavery to sin and to the devil who has taken the natural man captive to do his will. Our desires are for things we have replaced God with, paltry and vain things. While we build up our dunghill here with our material possessions and pride that replaces the true God with ourselves, God has created us to inherit a much greater promise, the restoration of our original purpose. Don't get me wrong, certainly, as Christians,we ought to be engaged in building up culture, and we should be taking the lead, but a desire to do good does not come about by law, which does, however, serve a positive function of restraining evil. But if we really want to transform society and culture, the inward principle of grace must first take place in individuals. Law is powerless to change their hearts. This new desire will only come to unbelievers by a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in the heart which changes their dispositions, thoughts, inclinations and affections so that they might delight in doing good. Spiritual resurrection is needed in those dead in sin who have been taken captive to do the will of another. The people trapped in the Matrix could not see beyond the limitations imposed by their captors. Their primary need, before all others, was to have a true view of who they were and what their condition was. Then and only then can life be lived in truth.

It is not about niceness or morality... it is about our condition. If everyone become moral tomorrow it would have no consequence on our enslavement. What we need is the new birth, a resurrection of our soul, a restoration to God's original intent for humankind. What we need is the gospel. Theological liberals and conservatives alike need to recognize that our spiritual condition is much worse than we had thought. The conservatives have a tendency to condescendingly to look down at people with moral corruption and behaviorisms like sexual impurity, homosexuality and adultery all the while forgetting that God is equally if not more angry at pride, anger and bigotry. They are just as dreadfully cracked about the head and desperately in need of mending as the liberal. God's wrath hangs over those who trust in good works, those who somehow really are tempted think they are more deserving than another. Jesus said that many will come to Him on that Day and say, "did we not do [this or that] in your name." Jesus said he never knew them. Why? Because they trusted in themselves, in their goodness, rather than on the finished work of Christ. We must remind ourselves daily that it is grace, grounded in the redemptive work of Christ ALONE that saved us. You are just as much a child of wrath as the liberal if you think you are more deserving.

The liberals then come and say we need to be tolerant and embrace diversity, allow for people of all orientations to continue in their ways since we now know that this is natural and this is who they are. In doing so, they also promote a change of behavior that conforms to the socially constructed philosophy of the day, as gospel. Thus, being taken captive by the culture around them, they strip the gospel of all supernatural influence and fail to recognize that, we all are naturally incapable of obeying God and the gospel. There is no one who is naturally inclined to the humbling terms of the gospel. Prior to God's work of regenerative grace we all have an inward natural principle which is bent on rebellion against God. Conservatives and liberals alike are hold in common the fact that they are spiritually impotent and in desperate need of regeneration. The "world that has been pulled over our eyes to blind us from the truth" (Morpheus) needs to fall like scales from our eyes (like Paul). Both groups need to repent of trusting in their good works and despair of any hope from themselves, which is the first (graciously bestowed) prerequisite of a sound conversion. The good news is that in the gospel God reveals the same righteousness and faith for us that God demands from us. What we had to have, but could not create or achieve or fulfill, God grants us freely, namely, the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21) and the faith of Christ. The faith we have is ours but it arises from a new disposition of heart that God freely gives those He came to save. As Jesus said to Nicodemus, "we must be born again."

[thePilgrim]

One of my favorite movies (at least the first one) and a wonderful article using it as a means to explain man's fallen nature.

[thePilgrim]

Ping to a few friends on both sides of the fence.

In the service of the Lord,
Christian.

[PetroniusMaximus]

Generally, I'm in complete agreement with the author.

But I've always found puzzling those portions of the Gospel where Jesus praises people for their virtue, i.e. the widow with the mite, the centurion with faith, etc.

It seems that some pre-regeneration action can elicit the praise of God. That seems to be somewhat at odds with the harsher statements of total-depravity that I've heard or even verses like "all our righteousness is as filthy rags" etc.

Thoughts?

[elkclan]

Yes, even more puzzling is when Jesus asks the crowd to stop stoning the adulturess or calls the bad tax-collector man down to talk to Him. He asks them to change their behavior and be nicer people, hmm?

[Dr. Eckleburg]

Great article, Pilgrim. The first "Matrix" was a terrific movie.

Some say it was plagiarized from Sophia Stewart and thus, the great and awful differences between the first and the subsequent follow-ups.

Be that as it may, this article and the first "Matrix" and all of Scripture speak to the dead heart of man only being reborn by the hand of God.

These verses from Ezekiel show where God illustrates that the Law cannot save us. Even when our hearts have been turned from sin to righteousness, without the Savior we still fall short of the glory of God.

"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God." -- Ezekiel 36:-28.

So even with good intentions, we still reside asleep in the Matrix. Even with a heart of flesh given by God, unless we are regenerated in Christ, our good works fail us because we've been shown so clearly that none can keep the Law perfectly but Christ.

"The good news is that in the gospel God reveals the same righteousness and faith for us that God demands from us. What we had to have, but could not create or achieve or fulfill, God grants us freely, namely, the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21) and the faith of Christ."

Amen.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

But I've always found puzzling those portions of the Gospel where Jesus praises people for their virtue, i.e. the widow with the mite, the centurion with faith, etc.

That's what this article is addressing. Man can experience a general, temporal happiness on earth. Just like Cypher who wanted to return to the Matrix in order to experience the earthly pleasures of a good steak.

But just like Adam, none of us can obey Him perfectly, and thus all fall short of the glory of God. Left to our own devices, we will always fail and we will always deserve damnation for that failure.

Only by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ are we saved. Christ paid the price for our sins, every one of them, according to His plan for His creation ordained by Him from before the foundation of the world.

He alone ends the Matrix.

[scottro]

I think that everything that God does is true and I also know that Grace in that we must walk in constant Love. My flesh is doomed to die but my spirit will live on for ever because of what Christ did for me. My thoughts on sin; God saved me the worst of sinners so I must show that same mercy toward others and pray for the harvest so that He will send laborers in to the field. I only know what He shows me and I can't go beyond.....

[thePilgrim]

***Thoughts?***

I'll see if I can get to something tonight in between a whirlwind of "time off" activity during the weekend because, well, I think the Isaiah verse you cite has particular relevance to the theme of this thread.

In the service of the Lord,
Christian.

[PetroniusMaximus]

Another verse for the mix...

Matthew 7:11
"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"

Christ affirms that we are evil. It is a blanket statement.

He also affirms that we are able to do good.


Seems like the two ideas need to be held in tension and are not contradictory.

[PetroniusMaximus]

***God saved me the worst of sinners so I must show that same mercy toward others ***

Amen to that my friend!

[PetroniusMaximus]

***He asks them to change their behavior and be nicer people, hmm?****


Yes, but you know, in both these cases the people could change their behavior because they had met Jesus. I think that is the key.

An encounter with Jesus will make the right kind of hear want to be good.

[PetroniusMaximus]

***Man can experience a general, temporal happiness on earth. Just like Cypher who wanted to return to the Matrix in order to experience the earthly pleasures of a good steak.***


To me that would be more representitive of the carnal man - definitley not something God would praise and quite different from the selfless actions of the widow.


*** Left to our own devices, we will always fail and we will always deserve damnation for that failure.***

I assume you mean in the global sense, because Jesus did not see the widow's action as a failure or something that demanded damnation.

There's the contradiction, some theologies represent every act of pre-regenerate man as something utterly vile and repulsive to God. I don's see that in the Bible. Think of the pre-regenerate Cornelius...

"At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, "Cornelius." And he stared at him in terror and said, "What is it, Lord?" And he said to him, "Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God."



"...Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God."

Now that will mess with some folk's theology.

[GLENNS]

Common grace.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

"That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." -- Matthew 5:45

All the world benefits from God's generous bounty, and all the world is instructed to sing His praises.

But saving grace, faith in Jesus Christ who took upon Himself the sins of the elect, was ordained by God from before the foundation of the world. None of the sheep whom Christ came to gather will be lost.

[k2blader]

"Niceness" does not save.

I think too many Christians often buy into the lie that "niceness" trumps taking a stand for righteousness (biblical truth).

[Dr. Eckleburg]

"Niceness" does not save.

Exactly, K2B.

If it did, we wouldn't need a Savior. Just an etiquette book and breath mints. 8~)

[PetroniusMaximus]

*** All the world benefits from God's generous bounty, and all the world is instructed to sing His praises.***


Though I agree with much of what you've said (except the limited atonement part) I still don't see how statements of man's total depravity such as:

"This means that his nature is so thoroughly corrupted by sin that it is incapable of producing anything good. There is nothing which the sinner can do which is pleasing in the sight of God. "
http://www.prca.org/fivepoints/chapter1.html

... can be reconciled with the Biblical account of the widow, the centurion or Cornelius. All these people did things which received the approval of God prior to a conversion.


(One of the things I appreciate most about the Bible is that it winds up breaking most systematic theologies at some point or another. As sophisticated as our theology may become, we're still looking through a glass darkly.)

[PetroniusMaximus]

***Common grace***

Wouldn't common grace make us all commonly good?

I don't think common grace can account for...

"...Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God."

Do you?

[Gamecock]

I think the bottom line is that those people of virtue did those acts out of faith, not in order to be virtuous. The filthy rags has to do with self-righteousness not the righteousness recieved by faith in Christ.

[thePilgrim]

I'm still busy, but I popped in to see what was up. So, without answering any specific verse because I disagree that everyone you mention has NOT been regenerated by God, I offer up this answer to a general question by the author of the article....

How do we account for the apparent "good" that comes from those who have not been regenerated and, thus, have no faith?

Good question because the meaning of total depravity is often misunderstood. It should first be pointed out what "total depravity" does not mean. The doctrine does not refer to man being as evil a creature as he can be. All fallen, unregenerate human beings are endowed with many of God's common graces. God has blessed all men with a conscience and the capacity to promote virtue and civil righteousness. It is abundantly clear that many beautiful aspects of the world we live in have been brought forth by those which are unredeemed by God's regenerative grace. God has gifted natural men and women with the skill to create beautiful music, make profound works of art, to invent intricate machines and do countless things that are productive, excellent and praiseworthy. Even John Calvin said,

"Those men whom Scripture calls "natural men" were, indeed, sharp and penetrating in their investigation of inferior things. Let us, accordingly, learn by their example how many gifts the Lord left to human nature even after it was despoiled of its true good." (Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 274-275).

It would be natural to ask, then, if man is totally depraved, how is it that he can bring forth so many good things? This question is indeed valid but misunderstands what is meant when we talk about man as being rendered depraved by the fall.

So what is meant, then, by the total depravity and spiritual inability of the natural man? It means that man's many good works, even though in accord with God's commands, are not well pleasing to God when weighed against His ultimate criteria and standard of perfection. The love of God and His law is not the unbelievers' deepest animating motive and principle (nor is it his motive at all), so it does not earn him the right to redemptive blessings from a holy God. The Scripture clearly implies this when it states "...without faith it is impossible to please Him." (Hebrews 11:6a, NASB) and "whatever is not from faith is sin." (Romans 14:23) So if man "is restrained from performing more evil acts by motives that are not owing to his glad submission to God, then even his "virtue" is evil in the sight of God." (John Piper) His purpose for doing good works are not from a heart that loves God. But regeneration has enabled us, for the first time, to be pleasing to God on the basis of Christ's work and, from this, the work of the Holy Spirit in renewing our affections for God, giving us understanding of, and a delight in, spiritual things and turning our heart of stone to a heart of flesh.

Total depravity only means man is lost (Luke 19:10) and that he is impotent to recover himself from his ruined estate (John 6:44, 65, Eph 2:1, 2:5; Rom 3:11; 2 Corinthians 4:4-6). Fallen man does not desire God, he loves darkness and hates the light (John 3:19,20) so he will not come into Christ at all except he be reborn by the Holy Spirit (John 3:6, John 6:37, 39, 44, 63-66).

sola gratia
John Hendryx