The Third Way
Enjoy this message from Pastor Tyler Schoenberger called "The Third Way" on Sunday, August 30, 2026 at Reach Church in Bear, Delaware!
Most people navigate life by choosing between two familiar paths: the way of wisdom, which says that following the right principles and making careful decisions leads to a good life, or the way of folly, which says to stop taking everything so seriously and just enjoy yourself. The book of Ecclesiastes takes both of these paths seriously and arrives at a deeply honest and uncomfortable conclusion. If the wise person and the fool both end in death and are both eventually forgotten, then what ultimate difference does wisdom make? The writer of Ecclesiastes does not sugarcoat his answer. He says he hated life, not because his personal circumstances were bad, but because life viewed only through what can be observed and measured offers no lasting foundation for meaning.
But Ecclesiastes is not the final word. The Apostle Paul points to something that exists outside of both wisdom and folly entirely. In 1 Corinthians, he describes how God chose to save people not through human wisdom but through the gospel, and how Jesus Christ Himself has become our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. This is the third way. It is not a better self-help strategy, and it is not a license to live without accountability. It is a completely different category of life rooted in what Christ has already done for us.
This gospel-centered way of living has real, practical implications across every area of life. In marriage, it means loving a spouse freely rather than transactionally. In parenting, it means guiding children faithfully without carrying the crushing weight of controlling their outcome. In conflict, it means speaking honestly without needing to win. In finances, it means managing and giving generously because Christ, not money, is the true source of security and identity. In forgiveness, it means releasing bitterness not because the pain was not real, but because Christ has already forgiven us. As Galatians 2:20 captures it, the life we now live is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave Himself for us. That is not a philosophy. That is a new life altogether.