The ideas and claims of modern psychology have made deep inroads into our churches and theological schools in recent years in the form of so-called "Christian psychology." A major tenet of this new "gospel" is that the most devastating effect of sin is a low self-esteem and that Christ died to demonstrate our worth and thus give us a good self-image. It is claimed that our value is seen in the fact that Christ was willing to give up His glory and become a servant and die on a cross for us; therefore we must be very wonderful.

I'm sure I will make some folks angry when I declare that such teaching is diametrically opposed to the very clear Biblical teaching on the subject of man's condition apart from Christ.

We are also told that we must be very wonderful creatures because we are created in the image of God; that therefore we should regard ourselves very highly. The Bible totally destroys that kind of reasoning its very first book....Genesis. In the days of Noah (read Genesis 6:5-8), God looked down on the human creatures He had created in His own image... and what did He see? Did he see the fact that He had created man in His own image as a basis for man to have high self-esteem?

Here is what the Bible says:

"And GOD saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every imagination of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them."

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. It seems that being created in God's image wasn't much of a basis for wicked men to have high self-esteem. The same thing is true today.

"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." (Romans 3:10-12)

And it is also worth noting that even Noah had no basis for high self-esteem: He found GRACE in the eyes of the Lord. Grace is favor that is undeserved.

Yes, it is very tempting to try to find some basis for self-esteem in the "good" deeds we do, but God has made it clear that even the so-called good works of our natural flesh are not good at all. In Isaiah 64:6 we read:

"But we are all as an unclean [thing], and all our righteousnesses [are] as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."

The truth is that nowhere in God's Word are we told that we should have high self-esteem. On the contrary we are warned about pride and commanded not to think too highly of ourselves.

Humility, not self-esteem, is the badge of the true Christian. We can glory (boast) in the Lord... but not in ourselves. Our worth and value as Christians comes from our identification with Christ... it is not because of our merits. Therefore we need Christ-esteem... not self-esteem.

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