"I'm a Good Person!"

The more I take the scary step of starting a conversation about God with a friend, a family member, or a stranger, I find that the most common reason people think they're going to Heaven, is that they are a "good person."

Instinctively, we all know that it comes down to this issue of "goodness," or as the Bible puts it, "righteousness." That is why Jesus made it the issue to the self-righteous seeker in Mark 10:17-22. It's always the issue with sinners. It will be the only issue facing us in the Court of Eternal Justice. Will we be innocent or guilty? On the Day of Judgment, all the money in the world will be worthless compared to the value of being found "good" in the eyes of God. But the Bible says, "There is none righteous. Not even one." Jesus said, "No one is good, except God alone." But this Biblical statement is very difficult to accept. I know many people who would be offended by this accusation, because they consider themselves to be very "good." But from God's perfect perspective, we all fall short of His standard, and are in desperate need of His forgiveness. So how do we help a person see themselves from God's perspective? We can do what Jesus did and show them the mirror of the Ten Commandments. (Mark 10:17-22, Luke 18:18-23)

Until people see themselves for who they really are, or aren't, they can't be helped. It is through the knowledge of our true sinful state, that we see our need for a Savior. As long as we fool ourselves into thinking that we are inherently "good," we will not see the need to turn from our ungodly lifestyles, and forsake our own goodness in order to receive the righteousness that comes from God. Until we agree with God that our heart "is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked," until we truly believe that "I am a worm…a sinner, unworthy, unclean, and unholy," we will not be willing to die to ourselves, forsake all, pick up our cross, and depend wholly on Jesus to save us. Until we see that we have the disease, we will not appreciate the cure.

And we must help others properly diagnose the disease in themselves or the cure won't make sense. If in our conversations with the unsaved, we remain on the surface of their "felt needs" without cutting deep into the issues of sin and righteousness, we are merely putting band-aids on their superficial boo-boos to make them feel better, but neglecting the gaping wound that is draining their life's blood.

It's like a doctor, not wanting to upset his cancerous patient, deciding its best not to talk about the cancer, but rather discuss the patient's feelings of unhappiness and discomfort. As the doctor gains the patient's trust and establishes a "personal friendship", he finally gives him some aspirin to relieve the pain. Upon hearing the news that his patient has died, the "compassionate" doctor consoles himself with the thought that at least he didn't upset or offend the patient before he died. Without the knowledge of his true condition, the patient will not benefit from the cure, but will die from the disease. This kind of doctor would be removed from the medical community without hesitation. His lack of honesty and compassion for his patients disqualify him and reserve him a place with the liars and cowards.

God's Word says, "the cowardly…and all liars will have their place in the Lake of Fire." (Revelation 21:8) If we merely call ourselves followers of Christ, but are unwilling to properly diagnose and treat the cancer of sin in our patients, we are merely giving empty promises in the form of spiritual aspirin. If we have been truly saved by God's grace, will obey Jesus' commandments (John 14:23), and faithfully preach the gospel to every creature. We have been commanded to snatch them from the fire before it's too late. We must not let our fears stand in the way of helping those we love. If we truly love people, we must not cave to the world's pressure of being "politically correct" and "tolerant" of their false beliefs, but rather go to them, and earnestly plead with them about eternity. We ought to be like a wise and compassionate surgeon, using the scalpel of the Ten Commandments to expose the cancer of sin, persuading each patient that his disease is "not good". Then they will desire the cure. They will thirst for true righteousness. And by the power of the Holy Spirit, they can be transformed by the grace and mercy of God.