Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.”
Pride…it is a foul smelling attribute that is unique to the human race. It permeates every element of society, every class of culture, every tribe, nation, and tongue. Apart from Christ, there is no human being, ever conceived, who is immune to its reach.
When Paul was addressing the Roman christians, he was reminding the jews of how their heritage did not exempt them from sin. Rituals and acts of symbolic servitude became positions of pride among a people whose hearts were far from God.
The disobedience of the jews had been condemned countless times by God Himself and those who were not jews could have felt superior in their practices, yet Paul reminded them that both Jew and Greek (gentile) were not immune to the ravages of sin. It wasn’t a new concept, the Lord spoke through David many years prior.
Psalm 143:2 “Do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
For in Your sight no one living is righteous.”
Righteousness is always determined by how well people walk in obedience to God’s commands. God’s commands are defined by His moral law. The Ten Commandments are universal in application and leave no one immune to its judgements.
Do you know anyone who has kept them?
Romans 3:10 “As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one”
When Paul rendered his conclusions, it wasn’t based off an opinion nor was it reflective of his generation alone. Paul was echoing the sentiments of every Patriarch before him.
Romans 3:11-12 “There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”
The term unprofitable is the word achreioó in greek. It implies something that has become useless or spoiled, like milk that has turned sour so has the mankind toward God.
Ecclesiastes 7:20 “Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.”
If everyone who has ever lived is unrighteous, then how can anyone ever stand in God’s presence and not be found guilty?
Luke 18:19 “Why do you call Me good?” Jesus replied. “No one is good except God alone.”
From Moses to Isaiah, David to Solomon, and even Jesus declared the utter loss of goodness found in any man or woman on earth.
Can a person who is unrighteous or lacking any measure of good be able to stand in the presence of the living God and live?
Psalm 5:4-6 “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness,
Nor shall evil dwell with You.
The boastful shall not stand in Your sight;
You hate all workers of iniquity.
You shall destroy those who speak falsehood;
The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.”
Unrighteousness is rebellion against God. For those who practice sin, their evil is personally offensive to Him and they will by no means stand in His presence. Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God(Rom. 3:23), then there is not one person in history who qualifies as being considered good, righteous, or worthy to be in His presence.
He made a Way
When the fullness of time had come, Jesus descended from Heaven and gave Himself as a sacrifice for sin. He was the only One who could make a way for people to enter into God’s presence.
The sacrifice for sin had to be done in perfection. The pure lamb of God could not be defiled Himself.
When Jesus chose to redeem His people back into fellowship with the Father, It was the greatest act of love the world has ever known.
Galatians 4:4-5 “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”
How many times do we declare something as good? “That was a good meal!”, we exclaim after mom cooks the dish to seeming perfection. “He’s such a good man”, others will declare for the one who stopped to help with a flat tire.
But goodness in God’s Kingdom looks far different than the measure of goodness the world doles out in every facet of life.
There are no good people apart from Christ. There is no one who does good. They have all turned aside, no one understands, no one seeks God, mankind is utterly corrupted.
What a sad testament to the human race.
For every work of man, in every generation, not one act has been profitable, or in other words, nothing will endure beyond this life. Nothing we do has eternal value on our own merits. Every act apart from God will burn up and be found useless before Him.
Jesus brings Value
When Jesus died upon the cross, He took the sins of all who would believe and paid their ransom. When Jesus arose from the grave, death was defeated, and satan lost the power to destroy. For all those who have believed in Him, they have been brought into a Kingdom that endures, it has value, and produces fruit that carries forth into eternity.
John 1:12-13 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
The children of God have been given a new nature….God’s nature. The Spirit of God who raised Christ from the dead, is the same Spirit who dwells in the lives of believers around the world. They too have been raised to new life and what was once useless, is now made profitable in Christ.
Matthew 7:16-20 “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”
The goodness of God plants seeds of new life in believers. He raises them up, nourishes them, and produces fruit through them by His power. As believers walk in obedience, they walk in the goodness of God and produce good fruit.
Profitable People
People can only be found good in Christ.
People can only do good works as Christ works through them. Only those who know what God’s goodness looks like can understand and recognize godly goodness in others. The world cannot differentiate between godly works and worldly works, they both look the same to them.
Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
Not only do believers possess the ability to do good works, but they were created in Christ specifically to do them. In other words, the believer is not to hide from the world, keep the good news to themselves, or sit in their house and wait for the Lord to return…they are called to be found faithful as God leads them.
Psalm 107:8-9 “Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!
For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness.”
Are you listening to God’s leading…will you be found faithful?
The person redeemed by the lamb is now a saint in the Kingdom of God. Sainthood is adoption into God’s Kingdom, through the blood of Christ, made new by the Spirit who dwells within.
God’s people are made righteous(perfect) because Jesus was righteous(perfect).
Romans 5:17 “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)”
The good news is that a people who once were useless have now been made profitable in God’s Kingdom. They will receive the rewards of faithfulness and will dwell with Christ forever.
What a blessed hope.
Do you know Christ, does He dwell in you? Do you know those who lack the knowledge of Him?
If you know…tell them. If you don’t know, then humble yourself, draw near with a contrite spirit, and He will draw near to you.
You will then have great value in a Kingdom that endures forever.
U.T. 