ARE WE NO GOOD AT ALL; IF SO, WHAT IS SALVATION?

MATTHEW 19:16-23.

A wealthy young man approached Jesus, asking, “What good deeds do I need to do to enter Heaven?” Jesus responded, “Why have you chosen me to ask this question; don’t you know only God, who alone is good, can answer and grant your request." But if you think you can earn your way into Heaven, obeying His commandments would be the place to start. Confident he had fulfilled them, the young man wanted Jesus to quiz him on God’s laws. However, after the exam, the young man realized he wasn’t good enough to enter God’s kingdom because he walked away disappointed.

 Is that how you feel when made aware that you’re not good enough? It is statements like this one that even we (Christians) differ on what that means. Others are: All have sinned and come short of God's glory. Our righteousness is filthy rags to God, and no one is good but God, no, not one! There’s even a song that is a reminder of that, “You’re no good, you’re no good, baby, you’re no good!

To get the correct interpretation of these verses, one must consider James 4:17, which reads, “To know to do good, and do it not, is sin,” and verses like this. But how can one know to do the right thing if no one is righteous but God; is it possible to understand what good is if someone is no good? To answer this, I must explain what it means to be "good and not good at all." The word of God informs us that God is the source of goodness (Psalms 34:8), and nothing unintelligible or intelligent can possess this quality or exist apart from Him. (Genesis 1:1 - 2:17.) For these reasons, whatever God makes is good, and only God determines why it is not.

 Furthermore, anything He creates that can become the opposite of good must be able to violate a specific law or laws by its "Maker." That would explain how what was good becomes detestable in God's sight. Still, the freedom to defy Him does not limit God, who can also make good again what isn't. Romans, chapter 10:9, addressing the issue of sin, reads. “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, salvation is God’s gift to you.” Because God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34-35), neither does He find pleasure in anyone perishing (II Peter 3:9). And you can find more verses in the Bible that state the same. 

Thus, the view of “Total Depravity,” that nothing at all is good about us because we all have sinned, is true in the sense that when it comes to saving ourselves, we’re no good! A reminder, not a comparison between God and us, that justification before God is impossible without God.

However, there’s another interpretation of “Total Depravity,” which states that we are corrupt throughout our entire being and incapable of responding to God because of sin. For this reason, only those selected by God to love Him are redeemable. These are the ones who will have the opportunity to experience eternal joy, but everyone else is lost. What is interesting about this view (according to them) is that the ones who are Heaven-bound, God chose them in eternity before anything existed (including Adam and Eve) solely because He is sovereign. That means God did it without foreknowledge of future events. Those who believe this doctrine use various scriptures to support this view. One of them is Romans 9:15-21. It is verses like this one that have left many scratching their heads.

But, before anyone accepts such an interpretation of our sinful state, here are some questions to ponder. We must ask, is it possible for God to exhibit authority without being eternally true to His nature? In other words, can He be partially God at any time? For example, can God make any decision without using all of His attributes?  Use His authority, and not know why. Make judgments, without His love or righteousness, to determine the results. Can anything created by God ever become no good at all? If so, what purpose would it have? I suggest that if you study unclean things in the Bible (such as animals on the Ark), you will discover that the answer is no! In addition to that, Jesus said, "Even the rocks can acknowledge God." (Luke 19:37-40.) Another way to say that is, everything God created can respond to Him, which is why disobedience is a choice.

 In our opening scripture, Jesus was asked a question by a wealthy man who wanted to know if he was good enough to go to Heaven. By thinking Jesus was qualified to answer his question, the rich man unconsciously acknowledges that Jesus is God. What makes this encounter just as revealing is when Jesus said to him, “If you (really) desired to have eternal life, sell all that is yours and give it to the poor,” his countenance changed because he was convicted for his arrogance, thinking he was just as good as Jesus. (Matthew 19:23-26.) After that, everyone around Jesus knew that salvation was not the work of man. For who is anything without God?

So, "knowing to do good and do it not" is refusing to accept or believe in God, who is the giver of life. Everyone comfortable with that decision underestimates sin's dominion over them and their need for God's righteousness. These people are oblivious to the fact that the sentence due them is eternal gloom, also called endless death! However, the rest of us who know God as our Savior, although we too were guilty of having that rebellious spirit called iniquity in our heart, placed our faith in the righteousness of Jesus Christ—the only solution for everlasting life. (Read John 3:16-18.)

(Written November 11/2024 – August 2, 2025, by Pastor W. Land.)

Challenge: What scriptures in the Bible would you use to support or refute this reading? May God’s grace abound towards all who love Him because they seek the truth.