I get the sense that men have engaged in a philosophical argument for their entire existence, arguing that God is bad while making themselves look like good people… a total contradiction of Scripture. The Bible tells us over and over that God is good. The goodness of God is well documented all through Scripture. David declared the goodness of God all through the book of Psalms. When Moses wanted to see God’s glory and insisted before God in doing so; while God was showing Moses his glory, He uttered the following words, “…The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth…”  Exodus 34:6 (NASB)

            On the other hand, there is not one human who is good in comparison to God. We seem to go through this life pretending that we are who we are not; we seem to insist in our own goodness. However, In Mark 10:17-18 Jesus addresses this argument when the rich man called Him good, Jesus tells the rich young man, “…Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.” Mark 10:18 (NASB). In Romans 3:10-12, Paul tells us,

“as it is written,

“There is none righteous, not even one;
¹¹ There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
¹² All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.” (NASB)

            We need to think that even when humans were at their best; in the Garden of Eden, they still fell short. The reality is that if you look at humans in history or today, one thing is for sure; we will all disappoint at one point or another; that is our reality. Husbands will disappoint their wives, wives will disappoint their husbands, our children will disappoint us, we will disappoint our children, friends will disappoint, politicians will disappoint, celebrities will disappoint, and the list goes on and on.

           We are all guilty and our only hope is Jesus Christ; HE is the only one who can resolve the mother of all of human problems; our sin, transgression, and iniquity problem. He is the only one who can make us righteous through HIM. He is the only one who can remove our guilt through Him… all through HIM.

          But make no mistake about it; the Gospel is offensive because it takes you out of your bubble of self-righteousness. Without Jesus we are all sinners deserving of all that Jesus went through on that cross. Without Jesus you are under the curse of the law. Galatians 3:13 tells us, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (NASB).

          Jesus took the punishment we all deserve on that cross. Jesus followed the law; the entire law; he never sinned, he did not die for his sins, he died for ours. But why does Paul speak of the Law as a curse? It is not that the Law is a curse within itself; this means that those who are living their lives without Jesus are judged by the Law of Moses. The reason there is none good is because goodness is defined by God according to his Law and no human in history has been able to follow the Law to perfection” “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

          The Bible is very clear, nobody is able to successfully apply the Law in their lives… Nobody. Have you ever heard the expression that nobody is perfect? Well we serve a God who demands perfection. In order for us to make it to Heaven with Him, we MUST be perfect. The Law failed to make us perfect, therefore we stand separated from God because of our sins, transgressions, and iniquities. However, when Jesus died on the cross, He carried our sins and now through Him we can get near to God. Hebrews 7:18-19 explained this principle the following way,

“For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.” (NASB)

           How do we draw near God? By repenting of our sins and believing in Jesus; we can’t even do that on our own. That is why Paul tells us “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹ not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB) If God is touching your heart while your read these words repeat this prayer:

“Jesus I am a sinner; please forgive me of my sins. I believe that you lived among us 2000 years ago and that you die for our sins on the cross. I believe in your resurrection and that today you are seated at the right hand of the Father. Jesus, save my soul, come into my heart, be my Savior and be my Lord… In Your name I pray… Amen!”