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The myth of good people

I frequently run into people who think that they are good, and then they talk about “those” people who are bad. They frequently follow this with the idea that there should be sermons against those people. The first problem with this is that such sermons would not help the person making these suggestions. The only sermons that help me are those that preach law and gospel to ME. If a sermon does not address my sin, then there is no reason for me to listen to it.

The second problem with this request is that it is based on the myth, or perhaps I should say lie, that there are good people. In Mark 10:18, Jesus says that there is no one who is good except for God. In 1 John 1:8 we are told that “if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” In other words, if someone thinks that they are a good person, they are lying to themselves. Some might reply that they may sin, but their sin is not as bad as other people’s sins. We hear in James 2:10, that if we keep all of the law, but break one commandment, then we are guilty of breaking all of the law. In other words, in God’s eyes, all sins are equal: there are no big sins or little sins. Paul tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All people are sinners, and all people are equally sinners. There are no good people or bad people: there are just people.

When people hear that everyone is a sinner, and that everyone is equally sinner, they may object. They may say that they have made progress, and that they do not do some of the sins that they once did. This may be true, and it is good that they have given up certain behaviors. That is good, but they forget a couple of things. The first is that the first and greatest commandment is to love God perfectly. We never do this. Some people are able to admit that they never love God perfectly. Other people are not able to admit this. They think that they are able to love God perfectly. In other words, they are pretending to be equal to God. They are pretending that they do not need God. The main point of preaching the law is specifically to show people that they need God.

The main point of the law is to show us how we have messed up. It is not to show us what we should do, but what we have not done, or what we have done that is wrong. Why do I say that it is not to tell us what to do? Because when we look at the law as telling us what to do, we start to think that we can actually keep the law. We start to think that we can earn our salvation. We start to think that we do not need Christ. This is the primary impulse for sin. This is the main reason for sin: to be independent of God. On most days, most people would rather be God than serve God. I have heard many people say that they would make major changes if they were in charge of the world. This is saying that they can do it better than God. This is saying that they are smarter than God. We are not smarter than God. We are not able to do things better than God.

Instead of trying to be independent of God, we need to turn back to God and admit that we cannot do it on our own. We need to turn back to God and admit that nothing that we do is ever perfect. We need to return to God and admit that everything that we do is twisted by sin. We need to admit that we are sinners, and turn to God. This is because God is waiting for us. God has forgiven our sin, but in order to accept forgiveness, we have to admit that we are sinners. On the cross, Christ destroyed the power of sin to enslave us. On the cross, Christ died so that we would be freed from sin. Christ is offering us forgiveness, but in order to accept forgiveness, we have to admit that we are in the wrong: if we have done nothing wrong, then there would be no reason for forgiveness. This is the point of confessing our sin. This is the point of admitting our guilt. This is why we repent of what we have been doing: to say that we are sorry for the mess we have made.

I remember someone who was complaining about another person who had not forgiven him. He said that the other person should forgive. I then asked, did you apologize. His response was I didn’t do anything wrong. I then said, if you didn’t do anything wrong, then there is nothing to forgive, right? If we cannot apologize, and tell God we are sorry, it is because we think that we have done nothing wrong. When we do finally admit that we have sinned, and tell God that we are sorry, then we are able to receive God’s forgiveness.

(“From the Pulpit” is a weekly sermon provided by the clergy members of The Weirton Ministerial Association)

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