A quote every once in a while just hits you on the forehead. This is a short quote from USA Today at Easter time called "Has the notion of sin been lost". The article has previously been talking about merely helping people change without them recognizing the root of sin as a problem in their lives.
The Rev. Michael Horton, professor of theology at Westminster Seminary in Escondido, Calif., calls this "moral therapy."
"It’s changing your lifestyle to receive God’s favor," Horton says. "It’s not heaven in the hereafter but happiness here and now. But it is still up to you to make it happen."
He finds sad truth in an old newspaper headline he once saw: " ‘To hell with sin when being good is enough.’ That’s the drift of American preaching today in a lot of churches. People know what sin is; they just don’t believe in it anymore. We mix up happiness and holiness, and God is no longer the reference point."
In other words, he asks, if you can solve your problems or sins yourself, what difference does it make that Christ was crucified?
People have to see themselves as sinners — ultimately alienated from God and unable to save themselves — for Christ’s sacrifice to be essential, Horton says. "(The apostle) Paul didn’t see Easter as therapy."
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