Are you honest enough to admit how bad you are?

In Repentance and 21st Century Man, C. John Miller says that two concerns motivated him to write the book:

“First, many who call Jesus their Savior are loaded down with pretense and evasion, and have no heart for confessing their ways as God commands them (Prov. 28:13, 1 John 1:8-10). Secondly, many others have an awareness of their guilt but do not know how to go to Christ and rid themselves of their dark blots. In their secret heart God is viewed as an unsympathetic tyrant not as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

In my (admittedly limited) experience many Christians seem to know little of the deceitfulness of our hearts (Jeremiah 17:9) - the "secret heart" as Miller calls it. Thus many in his first category will readily assent to what he says but not even consider how it might apply to themselves. People are more than happy to talk about sin - just so long as it is't their own. How contrary to the gospel this is! The gospel is for people who acknowledge they are sinners in need of a remedy which they themselves cannot provide. So, having believed the gospel, why do many Christians try to cover up their sins? Surely we should be open about how bad we are so that we can speak of how great our Saviour is, so that the worst of offenders, the murderers, the rapists, the idolaters can see that the gospel is for them!

Common Myths

Jared Wilson has a great list of myths common in many churches: http://gospeldrivenchurch.blogspot.com/2009/08/25-evangelical-myths.html

I just wanted to add a couple more - very common amongst non-christians:
When you die, unless you were a really nasty criminal or something, you go to a "better place"

When you die God weighs up all the things you have done - good and bad - and if, on balance, the good things outweigh the bad then he lets you into heaven