Romans 3:10-12
as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good, not even one.”
One of the benefits of being a teacher is occasionally being home by Oprah (feel free to reread that sentence with the appropriate sarcasm).
Today Oprah had a young woman on her show that had successfully hidden her pregnancy from her parents by starving herself and not gaining a pound. The night the baby was born she stabbed him in the chest, wrapped him in towels, placed him in a bag, and had her boyfriend throw him in a quarry. The story is one of the most tragic and heart breaking I have ever heard.
The comment the girl made that astounded me the most was, “I am a good person who did a bad thing.” She was telling the world that she stabbed a baby boy she had starved and hidden, thrown him in a lake, and managed to keep it to herself for six years, but she was a good person.
She is not a good person. She is a murderer, a liar, and a coward. I am telling you, when OPRAH doesn’t think you’re a good person, you are not a good person. The condition of the girl’s heart speaks volumes about the condition of all our hearts. Sin has made us unable to be humble before God and to always find a way to justify ourselves. Saddam Hussein went to the gallows justifying himself. Adam told God he ate the fruit because of Eve. Everyone has an excuse. Everyone justifies themselves. Everyone believes they are innocent.
I have two favorite quotes that came from the same sermon. I don’t know who originated the quotes, but both came from Tim Keller’s sermon on the Prodigal Son.
“Your sin is not the main thing keeping you from God. It is your damnable good works.”
“The difference between a Christian and a Pharisee is the Christian has repented for his goodness.”
I want to tell the girl she is not a good person. I want to tell her I’m not either. I want to tell her no one is. Our only hope is to quit hanging onto our own goodness and grab hold of Christ’s righteousness.
C.S. Lewis once said Christ didn’t die to make bad people good. He died to make dead men live. Our condition is not bad. It is dire. We are not sick. We are dead.
The words and commandments of Christ are terrifying. He calls those of us who hate murderers. Those of us who do good things to be noticed by men are liars. Those of us who pursue the riches of the world instead of the riches of heaven are cowards.
We are all going to stand before the judgment seat of a perfectly just and holy God. On that day, no one will be able to claim an ounce of goodness. When we are face to face with Goodness we will crumble in awe. Our only hope is to crumble now.
Romans 9:33
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
Those who do not fall on the rock will be crushed by it. Run to your Savior today. Leave your own filthy rag righteousness and cling to his perfect holiness. Only those who do will stand on that day.
11 comments:
Danny, that is one of the most powerful posts you have ever written. And I am so glad I finally get it that the goal is not for me to feel like a good person or to have others view me as a good person.
Janette, if you are reading this, this is the attitude that I was trying to convey at lunch. I know that I am not worthy of any good thing or blessing I have. Even my faith is a gift from God, initiated by God. I am so unworthy of his mercy and goodness to me. But I do not feel worthless. I know my value is the price He was willing to pay for me.
This is excellent, Danny and really ministered to me today. Yes, Shari, I thought about our conversation at lunch when I read this. But I still struggle with the question that if we are so bad and our very best is but filthy rags, then what is worth redeeming and how can He love us so?
I know all of this is Christianity 101 but it's so hard for me to grasp.
A couple of comments on the post gave me a moment of pause. The first one is "Sin has made us unable to be humble before God and to always find a way to justify ourselves." First, the passage from Romans 3 is a quotation from Psalm 14 and the context of Romans 3 is this--all have sinned and do not deserve salvation. It has nothing to do with our ability to do good things or humble ourselves. As a matter of fact, the Bible commands humility before God: "Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you" (James 4:10). God wouldn't command us to do something we were incapable of doing.
Two sentences that concerned me were "Everyone justifies themselves. Everyone believes they are innocent." I think it might be better stated, "Some justify themselves. Some believe they are innocent." Many confess their sins and are forgiven (I John 1:9). Many are driven to their knees in godly sorrow and repent (II Cor. 7:9-10). Baby killers, Saddam Hussein, and Adam are extreme examples that do not represent those who live their lives by faith.
Did I miss something?
I knew this one would bring Mr. Hayes back to the table!
Those who choose Christ only do so because he has chosen them.
It is on every page of the Bible.
James, why have you chosen him?
Janette, it's obviously not Christianity 101. Look what a struggle we all have in trying to comprehend grace vs. works!
You and I (and Danny) grew up steeped in works salvation. We were taught our souls remained dead to God if we had not spoken in tongues. Think how many times we were told that God was going to shake us out if we didn't measure up. I lived in fear of just being a weed. So I don't feel less valued by God because I'm unworthy, I feel more valued than ever because He has such great mercy for me and out of His sheer mercy and grace He chooses to offer me redemption and restoration through His Son. It is not because He sees something worthy of redemption in me. If I look at it that way, then I must be somehow a little better (in my own eyes) than the person who is unsaved. This is very humbling when you start to grasp it. And I think this understanding is where genuine humility comes from. We don't incorporate it through effort. We are transformed by His grace through faith in Him -- and recognizing our condition.
James, that scripture doesn't say if you humble yourselves, THEN you will be saved. It says if you humble yourselves, God will exalt you. That's kind of the point. We might be saved and not be exalted. There are so many verses where we receive instruction, but the context is not the requirements of salvation. We are not being told we will not be accepted if we ever fail to humble ourselves. The truth is, we do ALL justify ourselves. Maybe not every single day. But there is self-justification in all of us. It isn't just some of us.
I have stopped viewing myself as being "above" anyone who has done something horribly atrocious. Yes, those people are extreme examples. But the first step in recognizing my need of the Savior is confronting the fact that I am so fallen, the only way I could be saved was through the EXTREME sacrifice of Christ on the cross on my/our behalf. It took THAT MUCH to accomplish my salvation. To me, humility is accepting that He suffered and took ALL sin upon himself. That includes the sin of baby killers and even Sadam Hussein if he had chosen to repent and make Christ Lord of his life. I must not be that much better in God's eyes if it took the same sacrifice to save ME that it did to save a murderer.
The thing we lose sight of is that God's holiness is so far above any of ours, even when we are not one of those extreme examples. Godly sorrow and repentance are the only way to be clothed in Christ's righteousness. You have to stop thinking you have a righteousness of your own. You might be surprised how many "Christians" out there don't comprehend this the way you think they do. Most that I have known spend more time justifying themselves. And I include myself. Although I desire this to not be so! And I know that through trusting God more, I will be changed incrementally by God's grace.
I don't know about you, but I am not satisfied at this point in my life that I have fully learned how not to justify myself and how to be 100% humble before God. That is why I am SO thankful to know He accepts me because of the cross.
Danny,
Thanks for this post. When someone does not understand TOTAL depravity everything else is awry.
DT
Ephesians 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
I don't believe Lazarus made a choice in or initiate his resurrection from the dead. It appeared to be a gift and his faith came after he was brought to life.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
I certainly had no decision in my natural birth nor initiate it. I reckon my spiritual birth to be even a greater miracle, and believe I did not initiate that either.
Eph2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Even the faith is not of ourselves, otherwise we would say, I was the one that made the decision, the guy next to me didn't. If I was to say that then it would imply that I had something to boast as I had something to do with it. Part b of Eph 2:8 covers that saying " and that not of ourselves:" , what is "that" ? FAITH. why is it not of ourselves? Because we would boast.
The following is from John Reisinger and helps clarify the doctrine of depravity:
What does the phrase "total depravity" mean?
I. Negative. Let us note what we do NOT mean by "total depravity."
A. We do not mean that man is without a conscience or any sense of right or wrong.
B. Total depravity does not mean that every sinner is devoid of all the qualities that are both pleasing to men and useful to society when those qualities are judged only by a human standard.
C. We are not saying that every sinner is prone to every form of sin.
D. We do not mean that every sinner is as intense as he can be in his sin.
II. Positive. What we DO mean by "total depravity." What DOES the Bible itself teach?
A. Every sinner, including you and me, is destitute of, or without, that love to God which constitutes the fundamental and all-inclusive demand of God's law.
B. Total depravity means that every sinner is guilty of elevating some lower affection or desire above regard for God, His Law and the Gospel.
C. That "something else" that all men love is an idol called "self" or "me."
D. Every sinner is possessed with a nature, inherited from Adam's fall, that is completely hostile toward God.
E. By total depravity, we mean that every part of man's being and nature has been affected by sin.
F. Man has a nature that will not permit him to choose God or righteousness.
Janette said: "But I still struggle with the question that if we are so bad and our very best is but filthy rags, then what is worth redeeming and how can He love us so?"
That is the love of God, that he saves us when we come broken before him realizing that nothing in us is worth redeeming. We are redeemed first for His Glory. God's Love is beyond our comprehension and when He is glorified we are the recepients of that glory.
Isa 43:7 Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Matt Perman wrote the following:
"First John 2:12 says that "your sins are forgiven you for His [Christ's] name's sake." God forgives our sins so that His name may be magnified and exalted. Whenever someone turns to the cross of Christ for forgiveness, the saving grace of God in the work of Christ is magnified and exalted. Since God will not deny Himself the pleasure of magnifying His saving grace or the pleasure of making a people for Himself through the work of His Son (1 Samuel 12:22 and 1 John 2:12), we can be confident that God will most definitely grant us forgiveness if we repentantly turn to the cross of Christ for forgiveness. And He will not forgive us angrily or begrudgingly, but joyfully because God delights to honor the work of His Son which was done for His glory. And how does God honor the work of his Son? By giving the forgiveness that His death has provided for His elect."
John Piper quote on the wonder of the cross: "The death of Christ is the wisdom of God by which the love of God saves sinners from the wrath of God, and all the while upholds and demonstrates the righteousness of God."
Todd, I really appreciate you taking the time to post all of that. And I love the Piper quote. It is concise and powerful.
I'm still trying to understand the concept that I can't humble myself before God. I realize that James 4:10 doesn't say "you will be saved," but if I were incapable of humbling myself and if failure to do so had no affect on my salvation, why is that verse in the Bible?
Let's be clear; I don't believe in ANY works-based system of salvation. I completely understand that when Jesus said, "For God so loved the world," that world included me and every Saddam Hussein and baby killer. Without Jesus, I would die in sin. I know and believe Romans 6:23.
I'm also glad I don't need to understand complicated man-made theological terms like total depravity to be saved.
Dead theologians, your intellectual superiority is the reason I usually stay away from these types of sites anyway. It just complicates things when people like me who aren't able to quote every theologian since the Reformation get on here and cause everything to turn "awry."
James,the point isn't that we don't choose him. The point is nobody would unless the Holy Spirit drew them. I don't believe free will is negated by election.
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