It is increasingly common to hear someone say, in response to an invitation to accept Christ, that they are a good person. As a good person, they do not believe any punishment should be waiting for them.
Of course, there are multiple questions which arise from such a statement. The most glaring are how do we define “good” and who gets to decide that we meet the criteria for being a “good person?” If we judge our own behavior, our judgment is obviously jaded. We will tend to justify our own behavior, even if it is wrong or undertaken out of ignorance. Another question is why it matters if we are “good” if there is no God who will hold us accountable?
If we want to really know who is “good,” Jesus has already answered that question in Mark 10:17-18.
However, the verses we will cover today are found in 1 John 1:9-10. Verse 9 should be very familiar, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Verse 10 is also familiar, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.”
In reading these two verses, John seems to be addressing, among others, those who profess to be good enough to merit an eternal reward, or at least to merit avoidance of eternal punishment.
First, the benchmark is not whether we are good or good enough. The benchmark is whether we accept and believe in Jesus Christ. Those who deny Him will be denied by Him. Matthew 10:33 Those who believe Him or profess to believe in Him will do the will of God. This is the main thrust of the book of 1 John.
Essentially, the “good person” falls under 1 John 1:9-10 because they do not admit any sin and are quick to excuse what they believe to be inconsequential sins. If we confess our sins, that is, if we admit that we are a sinner in need of an advocate before God, He is faithful and just to forgive us.
This is where the “good person” is fouled up. They either do not want to admit that there is a God or they want to believe in God but do not want to live up to His expectations. The latter is, unfortunately, just as common in the church. There are some who want the benefits of following Christ but are not willing to put forth the effort to truly obey Him and surrender to Him.
John says that if we say we have no sin, that is, sin deserving of punishment, we make God a liar. Elsewhere, we read in the Bible that the soul which sins shall die, Adam and Eve were told their sin would lead to death, and the wage of sin is death. We render these verses void by denying that we have sinned at all. We also render the death of Christ on the cross useless. I cannot imagine standing before Christ at the end of time and telling Him, as He sits on the throne marred by the scars of the cross, that His suffering for us was useless.
If we can avoid eternal punishment or obtain an eternal reward by being a “good person,” there is no need for God, Jesus Christ, or the cross. That there is no need for God is one of the dangers of believing we can be “good enough” on our own.
We are certainly called to be good people. However, our human nature is altered by the effects of sin, and we cannot measure up before God without help. That help must come from outside of us, and it comes in the form of Christ.
Instead of believing we can be “good enough” on our own, we must ask what God requires to be found acceptable. When we do, we must be prepared to follow Him despite the cost. This, I would say, is the real reason a “good person” avoids accepting God.
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