Is Good, Good Enough?

Listen: http://www.wayneamydutoit.com/Wayne/is-good-good-enough/

{Desire – to change, motivating factors / consequences / benefits}

I have heard people say that that are “good” people. That if there is a God and He is a God of love that He would not throw them into hell, because they are “good” people.

Most people will freely admit that they have done things wrong, lied, cheated, stolen (even a pen from work is stealing), so they don’t generally say that they deserve to go to heaven but they don’t feel they deserve hell!

If these are the only two options, when is “Good”, Good Enough?

If you can’t be good enough, has God stacked the deck and just waiting for us to fail, knowing we will fail then condemning us to hell because we failed?

What about all the good things I have done, are they worthless?

How is that fair?

Even if a God like that exists, I don’t want to believe in Him!

Is it all a big cosmic joke?

Who told you that you needed to be good enough?

Who made being good a requirement for getting into heaven?

Our world revolves around proving yourself, passing tests, working to gain approval.

The world is fallen and does not operate the way God operates, that is why the bible is so countercultural, why it states that the wisdom of the bible is foolishness to the world (1 Corinthians 1:18 – 25).

18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,

and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach[b] to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Corinthian 1:18-25 ESV)

{Knowledge – information that supports the need for change, deal with objections}

Let us agree that God works differently to us, He thinks differently to us (Isaiah 55:8-9)

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV)

Who told you that you needed to be good enough?

People struggle with not being good enough,

Perfectionism (trying to be good enough on your own), my parent had unrealistic expectations of me, blaa

Underlying each of us is the understanding that, we are not good enough. Deep down we know, we try to hide it to cover it up, but we know we are not perfect.

Why is that?

To find the answer we need to go way back, Genesis 3

3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast

of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You[a]

shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman

said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees

in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit

of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you

touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman,

“You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat

of it your eyes will be opened, and you will

be like God, knowing good and evil.”6 So when the woman saw that

the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight

to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to

make one wise,[b] she took of its fruit and ate, and she

also gave some to her husband who was with her,

and he ate. (Genesis 3:1-5 ESV)

A seed of doubt is sown “Did God actually say?”, once you doubt God you can ask questions and this can lead to unbelief or at least a belief that something has been withheld from you. Unbelief leads to pride, the self rises over God then to an action of Sin.