No Good In Me But Christ Jesus Alone.

Matthew 7:21/23 will be the determining factor on whether one lived for Jesus as He commanded (Matthew 22:36/40, Matthew 28:18/20), or if they merely did 'good works' to be seen by others or to keep appearances.

Psalm 16:2

O my soul, you have said to the LORD, “You are my Lord, my goodness is nothing apart from You.”

• How do you respond when people say: “You are such a good person”? I generally joke and reference “None are good, no not one”. And while this is true in the sense of sin and salvation, it is the nature of man that cannot be good outside of Christ Jesus. YES, people can do ‘good deeds’ whether as a follower of Jesus or not, but they can never do enough of those good deeds to get into eternity. Only in the finished and perfect work of Jesus does one even begin to have any ‘good’ at work in them because of the New Mind, New Heart and the guidance of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26, John 16:13).

• In my own life, before and as a follower of Jesus, I have almost always attempted to do the ‘right thing’, and even at times find out that my motives were wrong. This either leads one to deep reflection before the Lord, or one trying to make sense of it in their own understanding. If emotions lead, chaos can come. If the Holy Spirit leads, growth will come. We do not become ‘more good’ of our own efforts, because we do not have the ability to do so on this side of eternity. Only in pursuing Christ Jesus our Hope do we find the ‘Good’ which we become.

• Do not strive to be a ‘good person’ as much as you strive to point people to Christ Jesus alone, not to be a ‘good person’, but that they may find salvation, communion and relationship with their Creator, and their fellow man.