God Is Not on Your Side

Good or God

“As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.” Mark 10:17-18 (NASB)

In our previous devotional, I shared my personal story of coming to a humbling realization after identifying as a Christian for many years, that I had not been following God’s will for my life. Thereafter, I spent time reflecting on how I arrived at such a place. Examining my own heart, I learned that thus far in my life I had assumed God was on my side and therefore would bless whatever decision I made. If I simply “lived a good life,” God would bless me and I would be within His will.

There were a number of logical fallacies I had believed that made me feel as though God was on my side, but the first, and the topic of this devotional, is the assumption that on my own I can do good. We live in a culture where it is assumed that people are inherently good, and we are taught through television, movies, media, music, etc. that if we just “look within our heart” or “find our truth” we will then know what is good and life will have purpose. This false theology has not only infected American culture but the Christian Church that finds itself within America.

Consider for a moment the scripture quoted above from Mark chapter 10. For many years, I found Jesus’ response to the rich man strange, but if we look within the entirety of scripture, it is very clear that the Bible teaches the heart of man is not good, but evil (Matthew 7:11). So for Jesus to respond the way He did is completely in line with the Holy Scriptures, especially if we consider this man was coming to Jesus not as the Son of God, but as a teacher.

Read through the Bible and look at the stories of those great men and women who have lived lives which glorified God. The list is extensive, from Moses, to Joseph, David, Daniel, Mary, Peter, Paul, etc… you will find that when given the opportunity to take credit for good they had done and glorify themselves; they instead would have a common response, “I am not able, but God is…” In Roman’s Chapter 7, Paul captures this sentiment well:

“For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out...What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Roman’s 7:18, 24-25a (NASB)

There is currently a lot of confusion in our culture and in the American church regarding what is good, simply because we want to believe that we are able to determine what good is. This error is being committed by both those within the church and outside the church.

Outside the Church, the culture has normalized murder of unborn babies in the name of “compassionate healthcare”, homosexual lifestyle and other alternative lifestyles are normalized because people are being “true to themselves”, fornication and adultery are normalized becuase people are “following their heart”, and the list goes on. These sins are normalized in the name of a false goodness, not as defined by God but born out of the heart of sinful man.

Within the church we have our own set of struggles. We do not welcome the sinner and the broken and point them to Jesus to heal their sin and brokenness; but expect people that show up at church to look and act just like us. Or worse, as the culture around us has started to normalize sin, many within the church choose not to stand on the Word of God as absolute truth but instead agree that we as human beings can define what goodness is, and so essentially begin to define sin exactly as the non-Christian world does. Still others, instead of taking up their cross and following Jesus, see patriotism or politics as the way to lead people to salvation; so shun the widow and the orphan (James 1:27) and act directly against the teachings of Jesus(Matthew 5-7) in the name of patriotism. In these cases, although many within the Church have heard or read the truth in the Bible that we are all sinners saved by grace, this truth has simply not been internalized.

Once we begin to understand that there is no good inherently in any of us, we will be able to accurately see ourselves and those around us, and truly ready to be seekers of the source of absolute goodness, God himself.

Discussion Questions:

1. In what ways does the culture around us teach that we are inherently good? Can you think of a few examples?

2. Notice that Paul in Romans 7 states he has “the desire to do what is good, but cannot carry it out.” What do you think he means by this? Is it possible to do something “good” or with “good intentions” but actually cause harm?

3. Very commonly, people will consider sin as acceptable if the person committing the sin is “a nice person.” Why do we as human beings tend to rationalize sin in this way? Is it possible to be a “nice person” or live a “good life” and still die and go to hell? Why?

4. If we truly grasp Paul’s words in Romans 7 and see ourselves as “wretched” and hopeless, but saved by the grace of God through his son Jesus Christ; how does that impact how we receive non-Christians at church, or interact with non-Christians in public, and even on social media?

5. Please reflect on your own personal testimony and consider who you would have been if you had not met Jesus. Would your life look different? If so, how can you share the same Jesus who changed your life with the audulturer, alcoholic, homosexual, fornicator, liar, cheater, stealer, etc… and give them the hope that He can also change their heart and life?