I’m a Good Person…

Posted on by kevinjandt

good-person

I don’t believe I’ve ever met a person that hasn’t thought themselves a good person, for the most part. Most of them will say, “I’m not perfect, but I’m basically good.”

I’m old enough to be a Seinfeld aficionado and there is an episode “The Bizarro Jerry”. Jerry, Kramer and George, have exact opposites and Elaine becomes friends with them. They are actually nice and the George counter-character is not cheap but generous. They like to go the library and read, not sit in a coffee shop making fun of people.

Christianity is kind of like the Bizarro-world. Everything is upside down. “The first will be last and the last will be first”, “he who desires to save his life will lose it and he who desires to lose his life will find it”. The Son of Man came to serve and be a ransom for many; it goes on and on…

So why is it not surprising to me that when people think they are “good” they are not? They might be nice, they might be kind and they are probably “good” by the world’s standards but how do they measure up to the biblical standard?

“They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one.” – Romans 3:12

Matthew 19:17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

And of course this man said to Jesus, “whew…I didn’t think I could be good enough to keep the commandments, now what should I do?” Unfortunately, just like you and me, this man thought he was good enough. His sin had him deceived and the hard impenitent heart must be broken and crushed. If Jesus didn’t love him He wouldn’t have exposed his sin. He would have allowed him to stay in his deception.

When I consider whether I really love someone or not I must expose sin in their life or there’s no chance to break up the “good person” fallacy. I must be like Jesus.

Matthew 19:21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

That was it…the challenge to this young man’s life was to sell everything he had. Give up everything that is important to you. Abandon your life as you know it…   Stop sinning, and follow Me!

What do you place as a priority in your life over Jesus?

If it’s anything and I really do mean anything you are the rich young ruler. You MUST be willing to sell it all. The command is clear. It’s easy to read it plainly and understand what Jesus is demanding, so don’t tell me Jesus didn’t really mean I need to sell everything. Maybe He did for you? Maybe He did for me? I don’t know for sure, but I know He’s telling you and me today, that we are holding onto something that we deem more precious than Him.

This is why Christianity is even more bizarre than the Seinfeld Bizarro-world, it’s completely upside down and counter-cultural, and the world hates it. The world hates it because it loves sin, and we love our sin, until the great physician heals us.

The biggest question you can ask yourself today “Is this the Christianity that I know?” Will you willing give up your life as you know it to follow Him?

Are you “good person”, or are you in need of a Lord and a Savior?

When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” – Matthew 9:12-13

If your hope is built on anything but Christ’s righteousness, you only have your own righteousness. You are not sick and don’t need a physician. But if you realize your goodness can only be found in Him then you’ve found the right Jesus.

I must and Believers must expose the “goodness” of man for what it is, filthy rags, and call sinners to repentance. If you are to imitate Paul as he imitates Christ, then we must be like Christ in how we evangelize, if we truly love them and desire the best for them.

As we learn to love people more and more we must also realize that they crucified Jesus. His love was the perfect love, but it didn’t mean the message was always popular.

Let’s go out today and “Be Like Jesus”

Kevin

Take the good person test

Born again?

Posted on by kevinjandt

Sunrise w man B&W

John 3:4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

What a strange thing to be born again, what does this mean?  Jesus tells us we “must” in order to see the kingdom of God but what is He talking about?  We certainly cannot enter the womb a second time so we surely understand this is not a physical rebirth.

Jesus goes onto say, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”  John 3:5-6

Is Jesus telling us without a water baptism one cannot see the kingdom of God?  Many believe this but we know that Jesus welcomed the thief on the cross into the kingdom and he certainly was not baptized nor was he capable of any sort of works.  What does he mean by being born of water?

John Calvin gives a simple answer:

By water, therefore, is meant nothing more than the inward purification and invigoration which is produced by the Holy Spirit. Besides, it is not unusual to employ the word and instead of that is, when the latter clause is intended to explain the former. And the view which I have taken is supported by what follows; for when Christ immediately proceeds to assign the reason why we must be born again, without mentioning the water, he shows that the newness of life which he requires is produced by the Spirit alone; whence it follows, that water must not be separated from the Spirit  Calvin Commentaries 

Jesus affirms the doctrine of human depravity (Romans 3:10-12, Genesis 6:5), as he explains that in the flesh we cannot see the kingdom.  Again, there must be a newness of life (2 Corinthians 5:17), a change that is recognizable to us and to the others around, a newness that produces a difference.

This newness of life is generated or I should say regenerated by God’s Spirit.  The natural man is dead in sins and trespasses, all of humankind is dead from the moment they are born and without God’s work we will die in our corruption, and we are under the power of Satan.  (Ephesians 2:1-2)

Unless the Spirit breathes life into the dead… we will remain dead.

The word Spirit is pneuma a current of air, that is, breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively a spirit, that is, (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel, daemon, or (divine) God, Christ’s spirit, the Holy spirit: – ghost, life, spirit (-ual, -ually), mind.

If one is to truly comprehend the magnitude of this miracle it must be understood that God does the work in the heart of sinful man.   Mankind cannot save himself…  Many or I should say “most” will say, what do I need to be saved from, I’m not that bad.  I’m a “good” person.

Unless you’ve been morally perfect your entire life, you are not a good person.  You might be a good person by your standards, or even by the standards of comparison against others in the world, but if you hold your life up to the perfect standard of Christ you are incapable.

Have you ever told a lie?

Have you ever stolen anything?

Have you looked lustfully at another person?

Have you loved God with all your heart soul and mind?

This is the standard by which you will be judged and no man has met this perfect standard.  In order to receive the Spirit you must recognize your need for the Spirit.

James 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

If you’ve broken any of God’s law you are guilty of breaking it all.  This puts you in the same class as the worst villains in all of history.  Do you understand this; is it something you can really believe?

If you can recognize your sin you have an opportunity to be saved, to be born again.  Jesus tells us we must receive the Spirit, but how?  What causes His Spirit to come to us?

Repentance!

Acts 17:30-31 “Truly these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained.  He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

Repent is the Greek word: metanoeō – to think differently or afterwards, that is, reconsider (morally to feel compunction): – repent.

This is a complete turning from who you were to receive a new life in Christ, recognizing the need for a Savior, calling out to Him, the only One that can save.  To recognize your sin has separated you from God and that separation has you dead spiritually.  There must be a newness of life and a change of direction.

If this is new to you I ask you to consider the words of Christ.  They are the words of life and without them you will not see the kingdom of God.  That’s clear.  Isn’t it?

Kevin