The Godlessness of the Good Man
The Sin of Self-Righteousness
“There is none that doeth good, no, not one.” – Rom. 3:12
Do you like to surround yourself with good people? Modern society teaches us that goodness comes with age and maturity. Ask your parents and they will tell you that life experiences have a way of causing people to outgrow the phase of brazen mischief and riotous behavior. Professionals tell us that education and intelligence can make good people even better. Nevertheless, God says the exact opposite.
“There is none that doeth good, no, not one.” – Rom. 3:12
“…there is none good but one, that is, God.” – Mk. 10:18
Are you a good person? Sinners only get worse with time. Anyone claiming to be good is committing yet another act of rebellion, and it’s called the sin of self-righteousness. This is when people claim to be righteous while the LORD clearly says that they are sinful and justly condemned.
“There is none righteous, no, not one:” – Rom. 3:10
Now is the time to start questioning what you have been told your whole life. Few people will ever come to a knowledge of the truth because of their downright refusal to take a different path than the world (Ps. 10:4).
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” – Matt. 7:13-14
The unpopular path is the narrow way (Lk. 16:15). Rarely will the wise and noble men of this world ever take this path because they don’t want God to tell them what to do (1 Cor. 1:26-29). They are too busy caring for the things of this world to get right with God (Lk. 12:16-21). They feel they have more important things to do than to be religious (Luke 14:16-24). They are too wise in their own eyes to believe that their success in this world is “unprofitable”, without merit, and totally “vain” in the sight of God (Rom. 3:12, Isa. 5:21, Eccl. 1:2-3).
“There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” – Rom. 3:11-12
“For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” – 1 Cor. 1:19
The best man of this world is totally blind (Eph. 4:17-19; John 3:3, Matt. 13:14-15, 15:14). The good man is godless! Literally, these people are living a life void of the presence of God (Rom. 8:7-8). That’s not to say that they aren’t trying to do “good things”. Many of them try to do what is right with the knowledge that they have of the Bible. Nevertheless, because they are attempting to keep the commandments of God in their own power, in the flesh, all of their righteous deeds are as filthy rags in the sight of God.
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” – Isa. 64:6
The good man is still godless even if he is imitating the commandments of God in the flesh. This is nothing more than a pretty mask on an ugly face. The LORD doesn’t want mere imitators that proudly appear righteous outwardly while inwardly they are still sinners by nature (Matt. 23:27-28; 2 Pet. 1:4). It is impossible for people to characteristically copy the LORD in the flesh in an attempt to glorify God, and in this the Word of the LORD is fulfilled, “That no flesh should glory in His presence.” (1 Cor. 1:29).
“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” – Rom. 8:5-8
Even the “good” things that wicked people are doing amount to more sin against God (Isa. 64:6). You can love your wife and kids, work hard, go to Church, and give to the poor, and you will still die and go to hell at the end of the day. Why? Because God didn’t create you to live a life independent from Him with an alien sense of your own righteousness and morality in the flesh (Rom. 10:3). Therefore, anything and everything you have ever done for every second of every minute of every hour of every day has been nothing but sin your entire lifetime. For this reason, Jesus said, “You must be born again” (John 3:3, 5). Only then will you come to live, move, and have your being in God (Rom. 8:1, 13, Gal. 5:16). You must be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ by the power of the Gospel (2 Cor. 5:17-21)!
