three ways to live

The gospel tells us that our root sin is not just failing in our obedience to God but relying on our obedience to save us. Therefore, the gospel is the “third way,” neither religion nor irreligion. The religious person may say, “I am dong the right things that God commands” and the irreligious person may say, “I decide what is right and wrong for myself.” But both ways reject Jesus as Savior (though they may revere him as Example or Helper). Both ways are strategies of self-salvation – both actually keep control of their own lives. So the gospel keeps us from legalism and moralism on one hand, and from hedonism and relativism on the other.

Tim Keller, The Prodigal God