One of my all-time favorite movies is The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. I know, some people hate this movie and some love it. Good news for those who don’t like it: This article isn’t about the movie, so keep reading!
For this article I’m not so much interested in the movie, but the title. The title implies something that is believed on a very large scale in our world today. The title implies that some people are “good.”
Our Lord would strongly disagree with the title and, if you put the screenplay into His hands, would rename it, The Bad, the Bad and the Bad.
People hate to hear things like that. People want to believe, and do believe, that it is possible to be good. As a matter of fact, the majority of religion is based upon the idea of earning salvation or achieving goodness and righteousness through human actions. When you boil it down, there are only two religions in the world. The religion of human achievement and the religion of Christ’s accomplishment.
Here’s the problem with “good” people – Jesus says they don’t exist. Luke 18:18-19 says:
18 A ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone…”
Why does Jesus reply this way? The man questioning him believed that he had achieved goodness. He likely expected Jesus to say something like, “You’re so good! Just keep up the good work!”
Jesus spent His entire ministry combatting the man-made idea that it is humanly possible for mankind to achieve goodness. The bad news for us is that we can’t be good. Why? The standard for good is too high! The standard for “good” is absolute perfection. Have you sinned one time? Sorry, you’ve missed the requirement to be “good.”
The good news is that because we can’t be “good,” Jesus came to do it on your behalf! What we couldn’t accomplish, He did accomplish! And better yet, you have the opportunity to count His accomplishments as your own!
The bad news: I’m bad.
The good news: Jesus isn’t.
The best news: Jesus makes bad people good.
How? I can’t wait to share that with you in this week’s message!
Much love,
Wes LeFlore (918) 607-8489 or huskerwes1@gmail.com
