"I'm a Good Person... Isn't That Enough?"

Most people believe they'll go to heaven for one simple reason:

They're a good person.

They try to do the right thing. They help others. They're honest, generous, and kind. Surely that's enough... right?

In this episode of Beyond Sunday, Pastor Nic tackles one of the most common beliefs in our culture and one of the most dangerous misunderstandings about the gospel.

Recorded from Honduras during a mission trip, this conversation explores what the Bible actually says about goodness, salvation, grace, and why comparing ourselves to other people can leave us with a false sense of security.

You'll discover:

• Why being a "good person" isn't the standard God uses
• The difference between human goodness and God's holiness
• Why the cross of Christ changes everything
• How grace provides what good works never can

If you've ever wondered whether being good is enough or how Christianity differs from every other religion, this episode is for you.

Our hope isn't that we're good enough. Our hope is that Jesus is.

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

Transcript

Speaker 0:02

Hey, welcome back to the podcast. I'm in a series, and I've kind of paused it because life just keeps getting, busy. Regular podcasting is hard. But the series is, It Sounds Right, But It Isn't. Things that you've heard over the years about scripture, about certain verses, about God, that you hear and it sounds right, but it just isn't. It's not biblical. Have you ever heard someone say, "I think I'll be okay. I'm a pretty good person"? May- maybe you've said it yourself. Maybe you've heard it at a funeral. Maybe you've had a conversation with a friend who doesn't attend church but genuinely believes that when all is said and done, God grades on a curve. They're kind, they're a generous person, they're an honest person. They are the kind of people that try to help And their conclusion is simple: I'm a good person, surely that's enough. Today I wanna talk about why that idea sounds right, but isn't. So I'm recording this episode in Honduras. I'm sitting here on a mission trip, and over the last few days, I've preached in villages, spent time with families, played soccer with kids, worked alongside people, had conversations through translators. We've planted orchards. We've worked on roads. We've played with kids. A lot of soccer's been played or as they call it here, football. And one thing that always strikes me on trips like this is how similar people really are. The language is different. The culture is different. The scenery is different. But the human heart isn't. Everybody wants hope. Everybody wants purpose. Everybody wants forgiveness. Everybody wants to know they're okay. And that brings me back to this question: What makes someone right with God? Because if we're honest, most people answer that question with some version of goodness. "You know, Pastor, I haven't murdered anyone. You know, I try to do the right thing." Some even are bold enough to say, "I'm better than most people. I help others. I'm a good person. I go on mission trips." I mean, whatever it is, the problem is that scripture never asks whether we're better than other people. Scripture asks whether we're holy before God, and that's a very different question. And here's what we tend to do. We compare ourselves horizontally. We compare ourselves to the neighbor, to the coworker, to the politician, to the criminal, to the person on the news. And when we do that, we can usually find someone worse than us. But God doesn't compare us to the worst version of humanity. He compares us to His holiness, and suddenly the standard changes. Romans 3:23 says it this way, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Not some, not just a few people, not just the bad people, all. The Bible doesn't divide humanity into good people and bad people. It divides humanity into sinners who need grace and sinners who need grace If you're not following along, that's everybody. Now, I know that's not a popular message because we live in a culture obsessed with self-esteem. We're told to believe in ourselves, trust ourselves, look within ourselves. But Christianity starts somewhere different. Christianity begins with the acknowledgement that we cannot save ourselves. Now, that's not bad news. That's actually the beginning of the good news. Imagine, if you will, standing at the base of Mount Everest and someone says, "You can get to the top if you just try hard enough." Truth is, most of us wouldn't make it very far. Now, imagine another person standing there and saying, "You can't get there on your own, but I've made a way." That's the gospel. The gospel doesn't say try harder. It says Jesus made a way. One of the biggest misunderstandings about Christianity is that it's primarily a religion about good behavior. People assume Christianity teaches that bad people go to hell and good people go to heaven. But that's not the message of scripture. The message of scripture is that nobody is good enough. Romans 3:10 says, "There is no one righteous, not even one." Truth is, that's a hard verse because most of us know some pretty good people. In fact, some of the kindest, most generous people I've ever met weren't Christians. Yes, I said that. You heard me right. Some of the kindest, most generous people I've ever met in life weren't Christ followers. But here's the issue. Human goodness and divine righteousness are not the same thing. A person can be kind and still need salvation. A person can be generous and still need salvation. A person can be moral and still need salvation. A, a person can be religious and still need salvation. That's exactly why Jesus came. If goodness was enough, the cross was unnecessary. Think about that for a moment. If people could earn their way to God through morality, why would Jesus endure the cross? Why would God send his son to suffer? Why would there be a need for atonement? The very existence of the cross tells us something important Our problem was bigger than behavior. Our problem was sin, and sin required a savior. That's why Ephesians 2 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast." Notice those words. Not by works, not by effort, not by achievement, not by goodness. Grace. And that's what makes Christianity different. Every other religion ultimately says some version of do more, try harder, and earn it. The Gospel says it has already been done. Jesus paid the price you could never pay. Jesus lived the life you could never live. Jesus accomplished what you could never accomplish. That's why salvation is a gift. Now, before someone misunderstands me, let me say this: good works matter. Christians should absolutely do good works. We should serve, give, love, care, forgive. You should be someone that shows compassion. But those things are evidence of salvation. They are not the cause of salvation. We don't work for acceptance, we work from acceptance. And that's a massive difference. And honestly, that's freeing. Because if your standing before God is based on your goodness, you'll never know if you've done enough. How much is enough? How many good deeds do you have to do? How many acts of kindness? How many mistakes cancel out your good works? You'll spend your entire life wondering. The gospel though, it removes the uncertainty. Your confidence isn't in your goodness. Your confidence is in Christ. And maybe that's exactly what someone listening needs to hear today. Maybe you've spent years trying to be good enough, trying harder, working harder, doing better, hoping somehow it all balances out in the end. Friend, the gospel is better than that. The gospel says Jesus already did what you could never do. You don't need a better resume. You need a savior. That's why our hope isn't I'm a good person. Our hope is Jesus is a great savior, and that is enough. Hey, thanks for joining me today on this episode of Beyond Sunday. If this episode encouraged you, challenged you, or helped you clarify the gospel, share it with someone else. And next time, we'll tackle another belief that sounds right, but isn't.