TOPIC:"When Being Good is Not Enough"
by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap
TEXT:Titus 3:3-8
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit" (3:5).
One of my favorite questions that I put to people is this: If you were to stand today before a holy God on what basis would you ask Him to let you into Heaven? Do you know what the number one answer people give me to that question? It is this: "I'm a good person. I do good things. I'm a good husband. I'm a good wife. I live a good life." But I want to tell you that being good is not enough in God's sight for entrance into Heaven.
A few weeks ago I asked a lady bank teller what church she attended. She answered, "I don't attend church," and she left the impression that even though she didn't go to church she still considered herself to be a very good person. Would I surprise you if I said that Jesus would say to this lady, "I can't do anything for you."
Now why do I believe that Jesus would say that? Well let Him answer for Himself. His answer is found in Luke chapter 5 verse 32: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." The New Living Translation uses the word "good" here. It reads: "I have come to call sinners to turn from their sins, not to spend my time with those who think they are already good enough."
Or give ear to the words of Paul as found in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 and 9: "For by grace are ye saved through faith: and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." The New Living Translation renders verse 9 this way: "Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it." Or come to our text: "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us."
There you have the answer as to why being good is not enough to get us into Heaven. There is no one who is that good. As a matter of fact, listen to these amazing words as found in Romans chapter 3 verse 10: No one is good - not even one" (NLT). Here Paul is referring to Psalm 14:3 where David declared: "There is none that doeth good, no not one." What these words mean is that no one is innocent. Every person created by God has fallen into sin and because of sinful condition have become alienated from God. They must now be redeemed and forgiven by Christ.
Now the man who wrote those words in Romans saw his self-righteousness bust like a bubble on the Damascus Road. Saul of Tarsus saw for the first time his deep unrighteousness when compared to the righteousness of Jesus Christ. But . . .