Questions for Discussion and Reflection:
1. Keller refers to a Flannery O’Connor character, Hazel Motes, who seemed to feel that in some ways the goal to live a “sinless life” is so that God will be more certain to bless you (and therefore save you). This is sometimes referred to as works-righteousness. Assuming (only for the sake of argument, of course) that there is a little of this works-righteousness in all of us, what area(s) of your life are susceptible to this pride of morality? That is, what acts or habits do you have that, if you were to really examine yourself, are motivated at least in some small part by the belief that God will certainly repay you for your kindness?
2. According to Keller, Dr. Jekyll’s efforts to do good works in order to compensate for his evil tendencies “do not actually shrivel his pride and self-centeredness, they only aggravate it. They lead him to superiority…” (p. 176-7). Do you find this to be the case in the lives of people you know – that the more they practice good, the more self righteous they are likely to become? Or do you find the opposite – the more they practice good, the more humble they become?
3. A teenage Christian girl lives in fear that she might somehow say or do something that is less than perfect; she tells you that she strive for perfection because she wants to be a good example for the sake of her non-Christian and new-Christian friends. When you suggest that she might be trying too hard, she assures you that everyone should lead a sinless life, if they are serious about their faith. What would you say in response?
4. Keller describes the Christian “gospel” as believing “that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued… that Jesus was glad to die for me” (p. 181). This is contrasted to “religion” which is a set of rules that must be obeyed to gain divine approval. Are these two characterizations accurate, in your experience?
5. Since we are saved by sheer grace on God’s part, and not by our particular style of worship or doctrine (paraphrasing Keller) we don’t have to be intimidated by, or insecure in the face of, anyone – regardless of their personal piety. How might this attitude affect your relationship to someone who seems “better” than you? How might it affect your relationship with someone who seems “worse” than you?
6. Keller says that the above attitude “means that I cannot despise those who do not believe as I do” (p. 181). Why does it seem that this attitude is so frequently missing from the “dialogues/debates/arguments between Christians and non-Christians (or, for that matter, between different Christians)?