The Bankruptcy of Effort and the Higher Sense of Faith | C. S. Lewis

Deep Dive to Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis - FaithIn this chapter, C.S. Lewis addresses the concept of Faith in a "higher sense," noting that this understanding typically arises only after a person has earnestly attempted to practice Christian virtues and failed. Through this failure, the individual discovers their spiritual "bankruptcy," realizing they cannot offer God anything that is not already His and that they cannot perfectly keep His law. Lewis argues that one can only truly discover this inability by trying their very hardest to be good.This struggle leads to a crucial transition from trusting in one’s own efforts to a state of despairing of self-achievement and "leaving it to God". This change, whether sudden or gradual, involves trusting Christ to share His perfect obedience with the believer and make up for human deficiencies. However, Lewis clarifies that handing everything over to Christ does not mean ceasing to try. On the contrary, trusting Christ implies listening to His advice and trying to obey Him, but in a "less worried way". One acts not to acquire heaven as a reward, but because a "faint gleam of Heaven" is already present within them.Lewis resolves the dispute between faith and good actions by comparing them to two blades of a pair of scissors. Serious moral effort is necessary to bring a person to the point of giving up on self-reliance, while Faith is necessary to save them from despair at that moment; subsequently, good actions inevitably flow from that Faith. He concludes by noting the biblical paradox that humans must work out their salvation while God simultaneously works within them, leading ultimately to a state where goodness is reflected naturally from God rather than achieved through anxious rule-following.Reformed Theologian GPT: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-XXwzX1gnv-reformed-theologianYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@ReformedExplainerSpotify Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1t5dz4vEgvHqUknYQfwpRI?si=e-tDRFR2Qf6By1sAcMdkdwhttps://buymeacoffee.com/edi2730