Historic Reformed theology is a way to understand most of the reasons why we do what we do, because it is an understanding of the bible’s covenantal themes. Reformed theology is Covenant Theology, which is the underlying doctrine of the great exchange. That is the good news of the imputation of our sin to Christ, which is born away on the cross, and Christ’s righteousness imputed to us. We are to rest not in our sanctified selves, but only in Christ’s righteousness for us.

The bible explains the human condition. It explains why we do what we do, and what God has done to rescue us out of our condition.

When the bible speaks of God saving us, part of what we’re being saved from is our broken status as works based self-justifiers. Since we’re made in God’s image, we’ve got the moral law of God written on our consciences. This law is summarized in the 10 commandments, and is further summarized as loving God and neighbor. We see this law at work when even an atheist jumps into a freezing pond to save someone he doesn’t know. John Calvin points to that kind of example and explains that by doing this he is simply responding to the law written on his heart to love his neighbor. One could even say that earth worship done by some Druidic pagan is seeking to love God, though it’s redirected to a more abstracted universal concept or transcendent deity. We know that man is built to worship, whether it’s a football team, beauty, or a god of his own making.

We also see the principle at work in people who can’t or don’t ever apologize have a righteousness (an I’m-good-enough) of their own that they’re trying to achieve or maintain. Their self-worth is based on performance, and internally it would crush them to admit that they’re a failure. The internal lawyer that accuses them is so strong that to give in and admit that the lawyer is right is a horror that they simply cannot face. If these people are Christians, they have not been taught, or they refuse to give up what they “bring to the table” and simply rest in Christ’s righteousness for them. Theirs is a type of treadmill Christianity where Christ forgives them, but they’re looking to sanctification to be a place to silence the lawyer. Often comparing themselves with others becomes the standard.

For the unbeliever, they have nothing to rest in, but must continue on that treadmill where they try to fill that black hole of their own lack of enoughness, and so they must also find a group of others that they can compare themselves to and come out looking better than. This is the human condition. The condition of mankind who has the law written on the heart, it came from Adam who was made for works-based righteousness.

Biblical Christianity, (which is Reformed Christianity with a proper covenant theology) understands and can explain the human condition. We know why people (including ourselves) do the things we do. There is this craving to do something and be declared righteous for it. To “do this and live”, or at least be enough. This is why many Christians tend to regard sanctification as leaving vice and doing virtue. What they don’t understand is that true sanctification (set-apart-ness) includes the forsaking of our own righteousness and resting in Christ’s righteousness. That is what happens in large part at conversion. If a person has not forsaken their own righteousness to rest in Christ’s alone, they’re not understanding or believing the saving good news.

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