Sermon Series: Misconceptions About Christianity 

You Have to be "Good Enough" 

Romans 3:10-25 

CBC Bishop, 11/16/03

In a nutshell: Being good enough for God is impossible for us to achieve. It is something only God can do in us, through His power.

I. Introduction

A. Common Misconception: Everyone is basically good

A common misconception that many people hold about Christianity, is that in order for you to be a real Christian, you have to be a good person. In fact, I've had several friends over the years who have used the phrase, "a Good Christian", to define someone who has done a lot of good for a church or who has done a lot of good in the community. But what is good?

At the same time, there's an equally wide-spread misconception about human beings in general. This misconception believes that every human being is basically good. Many social experts and so called "experts" in human behavior have been telling us for years that if you strip away the social/economic pressures that are on people, or if you educate them, or helped them get beyond their upbringing…you would wind up with a society of people who are deep down "good".

B. 9/11

And as proof of man's inherent goodness, many people point to the goodness that was displayed in our nation during the tragedy of 9/11. There seemed to be a lot of goodness that led hundreds of policemen and firefighters and rescue personnel to sacrificially storm into the towers of the World Trade Center to rescue helpless people.

Or others would point to the huge number of Americans who donated millions of dollars to charities right after the attacks. People who believe in the innate goodness of man, reason that those actions show some basic goodness inherent in human beings.

And those are good examples to consider. But at the same time, you also have to reckon in the flipside. What about the terrorists who lived among us for so many years? They enjoyed the best that this country had to offer. They probably made at least a few friends over here. Yet at a moment's notice they were ready to kill the very people they rubbed elbows with on a daily basis. Where is the goodness in a human being who is able to look at the crying pleading faces of children and adults and still ram airplanes into occupied buildings?

-Would you say the terrorists of 9/11 were basically good inside? -How about the scam artists who almost immediately set up false charities to rip off well-intentioned donors? -What about the average people who stole stock certificates from the remains of the Towers? Are they basically good?

Here's another way to consider this issue: If the restraints of the law were removed would people naturally do what is right? If moral codes were abolished and God told us just to do our own thing…would we tend to live as righteous people or would we plunge headlong into unrighteousness?

While you're thinking about that, let me take you to Scripture and show you what God says about human goodness. If you have your Bibles, I'd like you to turn to the New Testament book of Romans, chapter 3. And I want to start reading at verse 10…

II. What God says about Human "Goodness"

Romans 3:10-12 10 As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."

A. Morally Corrupt

Whoa! That's pretty harsh! The Bible directly contradicts what popular culture wants to believe. According to what we just read, we're nowhere near being "good". All of humanity, from the youngest to the oldest is morally corrupt.

But I know what you're thinking… "That may be true of most adults, but that can't be talking about children, can it? After all, kids are innocent. It's the parents that influence them to be bad." That sounds reasonable, …until you've had children. A Minnesota Crime Commission just a couple of years ago, recorded these findings:

Every baby starts life as a little savage. He is completely selfish and self-centered. He wants what he wants when he wants it - his bottle, his mother's attention, his playmate's toy, his uncle's watch. Deny him these once, and he seethes with rage and aggressiveness, which would be murderous were he not so helpless… He has no morals, no knowledge, no skills. This means that all children - not just certain children - are born delinquent. If permitted to continue in the self-centered world of his infancy, given free reign to his impulsive actions to satisfy his wants, every child would grow up a criminal - a thief, a killer, or a rapist. (R.Scott Richards, Myths the World Taught Me)

Take away the restraints and we naturally revert to what we truly are…corrupt, self-centered, and evil at the core.

Illustration: On October 7, 1969 the Montreal, Canadian police force walked out on strike. Because of what resulted, the day is known as Black Tuesday in Canada. -On that day, a burglar and a policeman were killed. -Forty-nine persons were wounded or injured in rioting. -26 robberies took place at gunpoint. -1,000 plate glass windows in a stretch of 21 business blocks in the heart of the city were smashed and literally hundreds of people hauled away stereo units, radios, TVs and clothing. -professional burglars entered stores by the front doors and made off with truckloads of goods. -A smartly dressed business man was seen running down a street with a fur coat over each arm. With no police around, anarchy took over.

In the words of that grand old comic book philosopher Pogo: "We have met the enemy and he is us."

B. Spiritually Corrupt

But not only are all human beings morally corrupt, God says we're spiritually corrupt too. If we were left totally on our own, we'd never seek God. In fact, our natural bent is to turn away from even acknowledging that God exists.

So, what is it that causes people to seek God? How is it that most of us here, today, have come into a relationship with God, when it's not self-motivated? The answer is: It's all God's doing, none of ours.

He calls us. He interrupts our selfish life. And He shows us our need for Him. God gives us everything we need to accept Him or reject Him. If you've crossed over the line to have faith in Him, be very thankful. Because without God seeking you, you would have never sought Him.

III. Evidence of Our Lack of Goodness

Then the apostle Paul gives some overwhelming evidence for our lack of goodness. Look at verses 13 and 14…

A. The Evidence

1. What We Say

Romans 3:13-14 13 "Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit." "The poison of vipers is on their lips." 14 "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."

Illustration: Aesop, the ancient storyteller, told this fable: Once upon a time, a donkey found a lion's skin. He tried it on, strutted around, and frightened many animals. Soon a fox came along, and the donkey tried to scare him, too. But the fox, hearing the donkey's voice, said, "If you want to terrify me, you'll have to disguise your bray." Aesop's moral: Clothes may disguise a fool, but his words will give him away.

What we say is evidence of our lack of goodness. Our words show who we really are. I challenge you to just pay attention and be completely honest for a day regarding what you say. -Notice how many times you justify yourself and your actions - no matter how wrong you may have been. -Notice how you always paint yourself in a better light so you'll be acceptable to others. -Notice your gossip or words of envy and jealousy. -Just try and keep track of all the times you tear other people down. -Notice how many times you're not completely honest with others, and you shade the truth. …And you'll realize how much your words are evidence of your innate badness.

2. What We Think

But there is also a link between what we say and what we think. Jesus told us that our words show what's really inside us, and the picture isn't pretty.

Matthew 15:18-19 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.

There was a popular slogan a number of years ago that said, "You are what you eat." Well, there's some truth in that statement. But it's even more accurate to say that you are what you think. Can you honestly say that your thought life is without flaws? If even one nasty thought has entered your mind, you've got an impurity in your life.

Illustration: It reminds me of something a friend of mine did one time with his two kids to illustrate this concept to them. He told them he was going to bake a batch of cookies. He mixed all the ingredients together in a bowl. His two kids gathered in the kitchen with their mouths watering. Then my friend sent his son on a strange assignment. He told him to go out into the back yard and scoop up just a little bit of their dog's waste product and bring it into the house. The kid was confused at this strange request, but did it anyway. When the poop arrived in the house dad took just a small bit of it and dropped it into the cookie dough. And his kids were aghast when he actually baked the stuff. When they were done the cookies smelled great and he asked who wanted one. Of course, they both said, "Yuck, no." That was a good illustration on how just a tiny bit of impurity spoiled the whole batch.

Our thought life indicts us in the same way. It only takes one rotten thought to reveal what we truly are on the inside.

3. Our actions

Then there's the next obvious piece of evidence regarding our corruptness. Look at our actions…

Romans 3:15-18 15 "Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and misery mark their ways, 17 and the way of peace they do not know." 18 "There is no fear of God before their eyes."

C. S. Lewis wrote… We are always sinners; we are at all times and under all circumstances in opposition to God, because we are never what His law requires us to be. If we have never made it our purpose to do His will, if we have never made His glory the end of our actions, then our lives have been an unbroken series of transgressions. Our sins are not to be numbered by the conscious violations of duty; they are as numerous as the moments of our existence. (C. S. Lewis, quoted in Against the Night, by Charles Colson).

But, the good news is that God has a solution to the problem of our lack of goodness.

IV. God's Solution for Our Lack of Goodness

A. None of Us Can Ever Be Good Enough to be Good Enough

The first part of God's solution is to realize that none of us can ever be good enough to be good enough. But I'm afraid our present society is losing sight of this fact-even in the church…

According to a poll done a few years ago, 88% of Catholics and over 50% of Presbyterians and Methodists believe that "if people are generally good, or do enough good things for others during their lives, they will earn a place in heaven." (National & International Religion Report, 8-23-93).

But friends, God says something very different…

Romans 3:20 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

Most of you know the "big rules" in the Bible. Things like the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule, The Beatitudes, etc. Those rules are great guidelines for us to follow. But not only that, a big part of their purpose is to show us that not one of us can follow them completely. Now, this isn't supposed to make us despair, rather it's to drive us to the mercy of God.

A. W. Tozer wrote the words I put on the front of your worship folders this morning… "Until we believe that we are as bad as God says we are, we can never believe that He will do for us what He says He will do. Right here is where popular religion breaks down." (A. W. Tozer quoted in The Berean Call, September 1993).

We can never be good enough to be good enough for God.

B. Let God Remove Your Badness.

The second part of God's solution is let God remove your badness.

Illustration: Martin Luther used to say that a man's heart is like a smelly stable. Wheelbarrows and shovels can only remove the surface filth, and even then you wind up littering the walk way when you carry it out. So what are we supposed to do? Simple, run a river through the stable and the flood will sweep away all the pollution.

God has a plan very similar to that. He has a way to remove all the dirt of our badness… completely and forever. And here's how He does it. Look at the next verses, starting with vs. 21…

Romans 3:21-25 21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-

There's an old story that puts this in perspective:

Joke: A man dies and goes to heaven. Of course, St. Peter meets him at the pearly gates. And Peter says, "Here's how it works. You need 10,000 points to make it into heaven. You tell me all the good things you've done, and I give you a certain number of points for each item, depending on how good it was. When you reach 10,000 points, you get in." -"Okay," the man says, "I was married to the same woman for 50 years and never cheated on her, even in my heart." "That's wonderful," says St. Peter, "that's worth three points!" "Three points?" the man asks. -Then he says, "Well, I attended church all my life and supported its ministry with a tenth of my income and a lot of volunteer service." "Terrific!" says St. Peter, "that's certainly worth a point." "One point? Good grief!" -So he says, "How about this: I started a soup kitchen in the poor area of my city and worked in a shelter for homeless veterans." "Fantastic, that's good for two more points," Peter says. "TWO POINTS!!" the man cries out, "At this rate the only way I'll get into heaven is by the grace of God!" And Peter said, "That's worth 10,000 points! Come on in!"

Friends, the only difference between that story and reality is that God requires we place all our trust on His grace before we die NOT afterward.

When you and I trust in Jesus' death and resurrection to take away our sin, God transfers the righteousness of Jesus to our spiritual bank accounts, while He withdraws, from those same accounts, the accumulation of our unrighteousness that we've put there.

And that leads us to the third part of God's solution for our badness…

C. We Are Set free from Bad and Empowered to be Good

Look at these verses that are from a later chapter in the book of Romans…

Romans 6:17-19 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you have obeyed with all your heart the new teaching God has given you. Now you are free from sin, your old master, and you have become slaves to your new master, righteousness. … Before you let yourselves be slaves of impurity and lawlessness. Now you must choose to be slaves of righteousness so that you will become holy. (NLT)

The third part of the solution is that We are set free from bad and empowered to be good. It's not something we have to become, it is something we are because we have been set free from evil and now have the freedom to be good-God's goodness (or righteousness) works it's way out in our lives, when we allow Him to lead our lives.

In another of Paul's letters that we studied earlier this year, in the book of Philippians He tells us how this works.

Philippians 2:13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him. (NLT)

When you really have the desire to do what's right by cleaning up your words and purifying your thought life, and acting rightly…friends, that's God who's motivating you to do it-it doesn't come from within-because that's not human nature. And along with the desire, God also gives you the power to live a "good" life. But understand, even after you put your faith in Jesus, it's still your choice of whether or not you're going to follow His leadership.

V. Conclusion

A. Story of Raynald III

In the 14th century, there lived a duke by the name of Raynald III. He ruled a territory that is now in what we call Belgium. Raynald was grossly overweight. In fact he was known by his Latin nickname, Crassus, which means "fat."

After a violent quarrel, Raynald's younger brother Edward led a successful revolt against him. And Edward captured Raynald, but he didn't kill him. Instead, he built a room around Raynald in the family castle and promised him he could regain his title and property as soon as he was able to leave the room.

Now, this wouldn't have been difficult for most people since the room had several windows and a door of near-normal size, and none of those were locked or barred. The problem was Raynald's size. To regain his freedom, he needed to lose weight. But Edward knew his older brother very well. So, each day he sent a variety of delicious foods, pastries, candies and meats up to the room. And instead of dieting his way out of prison, Raynald grew fatter.

Whenever anyone would accuse Duke Edward of cruelty, he would reply: "My brother is not a prisoner. He may leave when he so wills." That was the truth…and because of that, Raynald stayed in that room for ten years and wasn't released until after his brother, Edward, died in battle. By then his health was so ruined he died a few short months later. . . a prisoner of his own appetite.

B. Application

Listen to me, Christian friend, you have the freedom and the power to be good, to do good, and to live right. The prison door of sin, and bondage to sin has been permanently opened for you by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But you have a choice every day. 1. You can choose to follow Jesus' leadership in your life, and when you do… all your words, all your thoughts and all your actions will be good, through the power of God that is in you. 2. Or you can stay exactly where you are and be a prisoner to your sin until the day you die.

Being a Christian doesn't mean you're good enough. It means you've be released from the power of evil that grips every human being, and have been given the opportunity to be good-not through your own power-but through the power and leadership of Jesus Christ in your life.

Illustration: Thomas K. Beecher, was a preacher of some renown in the mid-1800's. He was a person who could not bear deceit in any form. It used to bother him greatly that the large clock on the steeple of his church was habitually either too fast or too slow. So, this honest preacher finally hung a sign on the wall below it which read, "Don't blame my hands. The trouble lies deeper."

And friends, that's where the trouble lies with us… …when our hands do wrong, …or our feet, …or our lips, …or even our thoughts. The trouble lies so deep that only Jesus' leadership-power can deal with it. Sin goes very deep in each one of us, but if you have a relationship with Jesus…that goes even deeper.

Prayer: (on screen) Jesus, I know I'll never be good enough to be good enough. But with your power in my life I will be as good as you want me to be. Lead me with your power, today.