Is Human Goodness the Answer to what Ails America?
By Dennis Love
McDowell County
It would be interesting to know how many Americans will resolve to live better in 2023. Americans, for the most part, are good people and they want to strive to be better people. As Christians, we support morality. As Christians, we strive to be better people. We’re certainly not in favor of immortality. We despise wickedness and hate evil. However, we must understand that God’s divine favor cannot be earned by human “goodness.” Even our goodness falls way short of God’s demands. Jesus said in Matthew 5:20, “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of Heaven.” The scribes and the Pharisees were considered the best of the best people in that day, but their goodness was not the answer for the ails of Israel. That is why the best of human good works are likened to “filthy rags” in Isaiah 64:6.
Being moral or good was never the message of the Old Testament. It was never the message of Jesus. It is not the message of the New Testament. It has never been God’s message to the world. Good people die every day without hope. Almost 158,000 people die every day without Jesus. (That number should motivate and move us as believers into action!) And the vast majority of this great number are good people.
Remember this: It was people who considered themselves highly moral, good and religious who killed Americans by flying planes into our buildings. It is people who consider themselves highly moral, good, and religious who are right now plotting evil ways to kill Americans. It was people who thought of themselves as being highly moral, good, and deeply religious who conspired with the Romans to crucify Jesus. It was the moral and the immoral who schemed together to kill Him, and in His death, He provided salvation they both desperately needed.
So, human goodness is not the answer to what ails America or even this world. Being more moral is not the answer to what ails America or even this world. Higher moral standards alone will never earn God’s blessing on our country or any other country. The answer to what ails America, and the world is the GOSPEL. And our calling as individual believers and the church is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with all nations regardless of what unbelievers in our nation do.
The answer to the ails of America is for God’s people to get back to sharing the Gospel with other people. If we would resolve to share the Gospel in 2023, I believe He would once again bestow upon this great nation His blessing. May each of us resolve to be a witness right in our county, our state, our country, and the nations just as He commands us in Acts 1:8. “But you shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and you shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
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Dr. Dennis Love is the Associational Missions Strategist for the Blue Ridge Baptist Association in McDowell County. Dr. Love has been in full-time ministry work for 31 years. He and his wife Vicki have been married for almost 42 years, and they have lived in Marion for almost 8 years. They have two sons, four grandchildren and two step-grandchildren. He can be reached via email at: dlovebrba@yahoo.com
Read more of his Christian news articles here
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