If you know you are sick you may go to a doctor; if you don’t know you’re sick you won’t-you just die.

Tim Keller’s book The Prodigal God drives home the following point: Moralistic religion works on the principle, “I obey, therefore God accepts me.” The gospel works on the principle, “I am accepted by God through Jesus Christ, therefore I obey.”

These are two radically different, even opposite, dynamics. Yet both sets of people sit in church together, both pray, both obey the Ten Commandments, but for radically different reasons. And because they do these things for radically different reasons, they produce radically different results-different kinds of character. One produces anger, joyless compliance, superiority, insecurity, and a condemning spirit. The other slowly but inevitably produces contentment, joy, humility, poise, and a forgiving spirit.

Romans 12:2 tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. Maybe redefining lostness is a start.