I'm a good person

I’ve got some bad news for you: You’re not good! I know this may come as a surprise but momma’s little pumpkin is truly a sinner...no matter how much mamma loves you. Guess what? I’m a sinner too. My momma loves me but she truly recognizes I’m a sinner and is willing to admit it. In fact, she even believes she is a sinner. You may be upset or even indignant towards discussion of you actually being not good. How much more so because I said you’re a sinner? Do keep in mind I’m just agreeing with God about what He says about us. I ask for a moment of your time to consider what is written below. I pray you will take heed to what God says to all of us:

Romans 3

10 As it is written:

“There is none righteous, no, not one;

11 There is none who understands;

There is none who seeks after God.

12 They have all turned aside;

They have together become unprofitable;

There is none who does good, no, not one.”

Um..ok, so God is apparently saying: there is no one righteous, not a single person. There’s none who understand, none who seek after Him. All have turned aside and have together become unprofitable (to Him I’m assuming). There is no one who does good, not a single person. Man that’s emphatic (forceful and definite in expression or action).

At this point I’d like God to cut me a little slack. Remember all the good things I did? I’m sure some are thinking that their good works outweigh their bad and God will sort of glance over the bad. He’s a good God isn’t He? Surely He’ll let me in….right? One angle to look at this dilemma is:

Isaiah 64

“But we are all like an unclean thing,

And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;

We all fade as a leaf,

And our iniquities, like the wind,

Have taken us away.

7 And there is no one who calls on Your name,

Who stirs himself up to take hold of You;

For You have hidden Your face from us,

And have consumed us because of our iniquities.”

We are like an unclean thing? That’s pretty insulting. All our righteousness is as filthy rags? Our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. There is no one who calls on Your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of You (same idea as no one who seeks You). Really again? God hides His face from us and consumes us because of our iniquities!

OK ENOUGH! THERE IS NO HOPE FOR ANY OF US...WHY AM I EVEN READING THIS? Well that’s a great question. I believe you are reading this because God has brought you to these words. In the brief time I have, I would like to sum up what God tells us about ourselves and Him:

1. We don’t automatically seek God, He doesn’t hold that against us.
2. We aren’t good, be sure to understand your definition of good and God’s definition of good probably aren’t the same.
3. God desires a relationship with us, one full of His love.
4. We can’t earn our way into heaven, His solution ----> He provides a way.
5. We need to be willing to accept the truth about ourselves, we’re sinners.
6. We need to be willing to look outside of ourselves for the answer:
1. Sin costs eternally (we are dead spiritually), “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” Romans 6:23
2. Someone had to die since we have earned spiritual death
3. That someone had to be perfect (God required a perfect sacrifice to die for the sin of another or a nation [Exodus 12])
4. If we can’t be perfect and can’t die for our own sin, who could?
1. ONLY JESUS
2. He’s described as the spotless lamb who was slain for the sins of the world
3. While He died for each person that ever was and ever will be, we still have a responsibility to believe what He has said and what He has done
4. John 3:1-21 covers the importance of being born again, we need to be born of the Spirit of God.
7. We enter the kingdom of God by believing in His sacrifice for our sins!
8. Our faith in His perfect sacrifice means we receive Christ's righteousness!!
9. That is the ONLY way we enter Heaven is upon Christ's perfect holy sacrifice. :)
10. I pray you are made alive in the Spirit and get to see you in Heaven.

Romans 4

"5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, 6 just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:

7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,

And whose sins are covered;

8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”

John 3

“3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

5. We are called to believe in the finished work of Jesus Christ:
1. That He lived a perfect sinless life
2. That He died for your sin
3. That He was Resurrected the third day (removing the sting of death)
6. This belief in Jesus will create a desire in you to want to get close to him and run from your sin.
7. You will choose to turn away from those things that harm your relationship with God as you behold His glory.
8. It’s a process, be patient with yourself. God sure is!!

John 1

“29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

1 Peter 3
“18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit…”

1 Peter 1

“18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

Acts 4

“10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. 11 This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Revelation 5

“8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll,

And to open its seals;

For You were slain,

And have redeemed us to God by Your blood

Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,

10 And have made us kings and priests to our God;

And we shall reign on the earth.”

11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice:

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain

To receive power and riches and wisdom,

And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”