Day 5 of 28
We Have Cause to Be Uneasy
The Law We Cannot Keep
Scripture Readings
Today's Reading
Read Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Then read Ecclesiastes 7:20: "Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins."
Reflection
Lewis ends Book I of Mere Christianity not with comfort but with a diagnosis. He has argued that there is a moral law, that it points to a Lawgiver, and now he delivers the uncomfortable conclusion: we are all guilty of breaking it.
This, Lewis insists, is where Christianity must begin. Not with warm feelings or inspiring ideas, but with the honest acknowledgment that something is wrong with us.
"Christianity tells people to repent and promises them forgiveness. It therefore has nothing (as far as I know) to say to people who do not know they have done anything to repent of and who do not feel that they need any forgiveness."
This is classic Lewis — direct, unsentimental, almost abrasive. The gospel is not a self-help program for people who want to feel better about themselves. It is a rescue operation for people who are drowning. And the first step is to admit you are drowning.
The moral law, Lewis argues, serves precisely this function. It is not just a clue to God's existence — it is a mirror that shows us our own failure. We know the law, but we do not keep it. Not one of us, not consistently, not from the heart. This is the "cause to be uneasy" that Lewis's chapter title names.
"After all, it is not like a mere convention which might have been different — it is not like a taste or preference. It is a real law, which we did not invent and which we know we ought to obey."
Paul and the Preacher of Ecclesiastes agree: "all have sinned," and "there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins." The verdict is universal.
Going Deeper
Lewis is preparing his reader for Book II, where the Christian answer will be presented. But he knows that the answer will mean nothing unless the problem is felt. A doctor who walks into a room full of people who think they are perfectly healthy has nothing to offer.
Today, resist the temptation to skip ahead to the cure. Sit with the diagnosis. Let the moral law do its work — not to crush you, but to make you honest. That honesty is the door through which grace enters.
Key Quotes
“Christianity tells people to repent and promises them forgiveness. It therefore has nothing (as far as I know) to say to people who do not know they have done anything to repent of and who do not feel that they need any forgiveness.”
“After all, it is not like a mere convention which might have been different — it is not like a taste or preference. It is a real law, which we did not invent and which we know we ought to obey.”
Prayer Focus
Honestly confessing to God the gap between what you know is right and what you actually do
Meditation
Do you feel the weight of falling short of your own moral standards — not just God's, but even your own? What does that gap reveal?
Question for Discussion
Lewis says Christianity has nothing to offer people who do not think they need forgiveness. Do you think our culture has lost the sense of personal moral failure, or has it simply relocated guilt to different issues? How should the church present the need for repentance without sounding self-righteous?