Can we really be good without God? I suppose to really answer that question we should examine what good means.Most people would say they are good people. They have never robbed a bank, stolen something from a store,or beaten a helpless person. They have paid their bills on time and obeyed the laws of the country.Why would they not call themselves good? But what is being good in God’s sight? In Luke 18 we read the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector. Look at what the Pharisee said, “I am not like other people. I am not a thief, an adulterer. I pay my dues. I give a tenth of my income.”He had every reason to say that he was good.He was evidently proud of himself. “Look at me. I am a good person.”
However, Jesus looked at it from a different perspective. He commended the tax collector who said from the bottom of his heart,”God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Jesus commended the tax collector, but condemned the Pharisee. The Pharisee might have been proud of what he did, but in Jesus’ sight he was self-righteous.He was proud of what he had done and looked down on the tax collector and others who were not as pious as he was. Self-righteousness is not good enough in God’s sight.Only those who acknowledge their weakness as the tax collector did are good in God’s sight.The Pharisee never gave credit to God for enabling him to do what he did. All he had and all he did was because of God’s graciousness. What we do is always due to the strength and power God gives us.We must recognize and give God credit for what he has done in our lives. The tax collector realized he was a sinner who had exploited people as he did his work.All those who believe they are good need to acknowledge what the Bible affirms, that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.God says that we all were sinners, coming short of what God required
None of us are good without the mercy and grace of God. We may think we are good,but in God’s sight we are not good enough.That is why we can never be good without God, as the chaplain’s book proclaims.God made us good through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. All our sins were canceled when Christ died on the cross.Now we are good in God’s sight because of Jesus Christ. We are still sinners saved by God’s grace and made good by the grace of God.We may think we are good, but we are not good enough without Christ in our lives.There is no such thing as being good without God.We are good because God has made us good in his sight through Christ.
But we are still weak because our goodness is dependent on the strength of God.We still sin and fall short of what God would have us to be and do. We must depend on God’s strength to live good lives.We never boast about the good things we have done. We depend on the strength of God to do good. All of us are weak and dependent on the strength of God to do good.The power of God gives us the strength and motivation to do good. We depend on God for all the good things we do.
To all those who claim to be good without God, who gives you strength to do good? To all those who claim to be good without God, who restrains you when the temptation to do wrong comes knocking at your door? To those who claim to be good without God, who corrects you when you tend to treat others with disrespect? Being a Christian is not a do it yourself thing. You need some help along the way. I am glad I can be good and do good with the help of God. You may think you can be good without God, but I need him everyday. Good luck with your do it yourself religion. I am glad to be good with God. I am glad there is a God who not only gives me strength to be good to others, but who is also good to me. God has smiled on me. He has set me free. God has smiled on me. He’s been good to me.
How has God been good to you?
