As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. In the continuation of our Sunday morning series that I have entitled Gospel Objections, This morning I want to provide an answer for those who stubbornly turn away from examining the biblical claims of Christ because they are thoroughly convinced that they are good, moral people. The conversations usually go something like this. in my talking to others about their spiritual condition, in my desiring to help others know what God's word says about the truth of the gospel. Nine times out of 10, when I pointedly ask them whether or not they think that they are in good standing with God, they respond by saying, well, I'm not perfect, but overall, I'm a pretty good person. Throughout my life, I've always endeavored to be an honest, hardworking individual. I've never killed anyone. I've never been arrested. I've never been to jail. I've never used illegal substances. I try to abide by the law. I try to do nice things for others when I can. So compared to others in this world, I believe I'm an actual good person. Sometimes I will meet individuals who claim to be Christian, and in my asking them to share their testimony of faith with me, in so many words they will say, I've always tried to live by the Ten Commandments. I pray. I read my Bible. I go to church on Sundays. I try to dress modestly. I refrain from drinking alcohol. I don't listen to secular music. I don't watch worldly TV shows or movies. And I give gospel tracts to others in the community. I know that I'm not sinless, but for the most part, I'm doing my best to honor God with my life. My question for you this morning is, when we meet with people who are sincerely convinced that they are good people who deserve to go to heaven when they die, how should we respond? What does the Bible say about our spiritual condition before God? I would strongly suggest that you respond by lovingly sharing the truths of God's word with them rather than letting them continue their life believing a lie. Enter into the conversation and share with them the truth that has the ability to set them free. If ever you find yourself involved in a gospel conversation and the conversation leads to someone stating that they believe that they are in good standing with God because, as they say, they think that they are a good person, I would encourage you to be bold in your witness for Christ by remembering and proclaiming four biblical statements. that may help them understand God's estimation regarding their affirmation. When I find myself engaged in a conversation with someone who strongly believes that they don't need God because they are moral, I always begin by affirming that God's word declares that you are not a good person. If you're taking notes this morning, this is response number one. When someone tells me that God will one day receive them into his kingdom because they are good, I always begin by making sure they understand that God declares in his word that they are not a good person. Look back at our text. The Apostle Paul says, as it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after God. For those wondering what Paul means by this statement, let me clarify. He means that all people are born into this world inherently unrighteous. All people are born into this world spiritually ignorant to the truths of the gospel, which means that there is not a single person who seeks after God on their own accord. Now, lest you think that the Apostle Paul is some fanatical Bible teacher who's creating some new strange doctrine about man's spiritual condition, I want you to notice that Paul begins his declaration by saying, as it is written. Meaning then that he, Paul, is quoting what someone else declared to be true from the Old Testament scriptures. If you have a cross-reference Bible, you will notice that the Old Testament reference that is attached to Romans 10 and 11 is Psalm 14, one through three. In Psalm 14, one through three, we have David writing under the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit, affirming this. The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. The word there is italicized, which means it has been added by the translators to give us explanation regarding what the text may mean. But in the original Hebrew, it says, the fool says in his heart, no God. There is no God. They have done abominable works. There is none that doeth good. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that did understand and seek God. They are all gone aside. They are all together become filthy. There is none that doeth good, no, not one. In other words, as God evaluates humanity from heaven, he does not see anyone who is morally good. In fact, the text explains that God declares that everyone who is born into this world lives as if there is no God. God, through David, declares that everyone is born into this life as a practical atheist. They might not declare themselves to be a verbal atheist, but in their actions, they live as if there is no God. They live as if there are no morals in life. They live as if we are the products of evolution or random chance. Sound familiar? God looks down from heaven to see if anyone on their own is born with the fear of God stamped on their hearts. And both Paul and David conclude that there is not one baby born with a nature of sinlessness or innocence. I'm sorry to have to break it to you a week after Mother's Day. But even the cutest, most precious, most, as we say, innocent little baby is not innocent in God's sight. All babies are born into this world with a sin nature. All babies are born into this world with a heart inclined toward evil. Now, thankfully, because of God's grace in their infancy, they do not manifest their inclination toward evil as they could. But as those babies grow, to be toddlers, and then children, and then teenagers, and then adults. You know that their stubborn, sinful wills begin to show. That sweet little baby you used to stare at at night grows up to stare angrily at you. and defiantly says no. That sweet little precious angel who can never do anything wrong, as you used to say, is actually a spiritually depraved dragon who, like Saul of Tarsus, breathes out selfish fury against God and others. Parents, do I really have to convince you of this? Who teaches a toddler how to throw himself down on the ground because he doesn't get his way? Did you teach him that? I would like to see that if you did. Take your three-year-old. Here's how you do it, son. And you're an adult throwing yourself on the ground at the grocery store because you didn't get the starburst. Who teaches a young child how to steal things that do not belong to them? Who teaches a child to pinch and hit and kick their siblings and other kids? Who teaches them how to lie? Who teaches them to defy the authorities in their life? I'll tell you, no one has to teach them how to sin. The Bible says that they are born in such a condition. No child is born into this world loving God. They are born into this world loving themselves more than God. And as they mature and age, they learn to love their parents more than God, their toys more than God, the TV more than God, their phones more than God, their friends more than God, sports more than God, and anything else that will gratify their flesh. The Old Testament Scriptures and the New Testament Scriptures are in perfect harmony in its declaration that all of us are born into this world spiritually separated from God. All of us are born into this world as sinfully depraved people. I know that this is not a pleasant thing to hear on a Sunday morning, but it's true. I will not lie to you. I will speak the truth of God in Christ. Listen to what God declares about us in his word. God, through the prophet Jeremiah, declares, Jeremiah 17, that our hearts are desperately wicked. Who can know it? God, through King Solomon, says that there is not a just man on earth who does good and sins not. God through the prophet Isaiah says, all we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. God through the apostle Paul says throughout his epistles that we are spiritually dead in trespasses and in sins. We are without Christ and without God in this world. Paul says, there is no fear of God before our eyes. We naturally mind the things of our flesh. We cannot on our own understand the truths of God's word. We are under a curse. We are defiled. We are children of wrath. We are walking according to the desires of Satan. How's that for a Joel Osteen sermon? The Bible says we are sinners. in thought, in word, and in deed. We sin by doing things God commands us not to do, and we sin by not doing things God commands us to do. Do I need to prove this further to you? Suppose I had a cable that could be inserted into your mind to show everyone on the screen above me just your thoughts from the last week. Suppose I had a connector, a cable, a cord that could connect to the church projector to your heart that showed everything you thought, said, and did over the last month for all to see. Now suppose That same connection could show everything you have ever done throughout the entirety of your life. Every secret thought, every selfish motive, every perverse action, every unkind word, every bitter attitude. I guarantee you, if we could only view three seconds of your sin In your life, you would run from this place never to show your face here again. Why? Because it would show the point that I'm trying to make. You are not a good person. You're just like everyone else. A spiritually blind, spiritually deaf, spiritually defiled sinner in God's sight. What would I say to someone who claimed that they are morally good and because of their moral goodness they deserve heaven when they die? I would begin by stating first that God's word declares that you are not a good person. I would then proceed by showing them second that God's law demonstrates that you are not a good person. This is response number two. Response number one, God's word declares that you are not a good person. Response number two, God's law demonstrates that you are not a good person. You say, what is God's law? God's moral law is what we know to be the 10 commandments. The 10 commandments or the moral law is God's objective standard of right and wrong. When someone wants to boast that they are good with God because they quote, do good things in their life, many times I proceed by asking them if they have kept the 10 commandments. Which typically leads others to say, I try. I then will walk them through a little survey that I learned from a faithful evangelist named Ray Comfort. The survey goes like this. Have you ever lied before? Well, who hasn't? How many lies have you told in your life? Oh, I don't have enough fingers and toes. I've told a lot of lies. What do you call someone who lies? A liar. All right, the Bible says in the moral law, the 10 commandments, thou shall not lie. You've broken that one. Yeah, I've broken that one. All right, let's continue. The moral law, the Ten Commandments also say, thou shalt not steal. Have you ever stolen anything? Well, I've never stolen like a Ferrari from a hot rod shop. You ever cheated on a test? You ever downloaded music illegally? Have you ever stolen time from God? Have you ever stolen glory from God? Oh yeah, I guess I'm guilty of that one too. What do you call somebody who steals? Sometimes I say a stealer, no, a thief, a thief. All right, so two commandments. Thou shalt not lie, thou shalt not steal. You admit you've lied, you've stolen. Let's continue. We'll only look at two more. We won't go through the whole 10. The Bible says, thou shalt not commit adultery. Jesus magnifies that command. And he says, if you look at a woman and lust after her, you commit adultery in your heart. So then I'll press, have you ever had sex outside of marriage? Have you ever looked at someone with lust? Sometimes they'll try to lie and I say, you just admitted that you were a liar. Can I believe you? All right, they bow, I'm guilty. What do you call somebody who's committed adultery, an adulterer? All right, one more. The law, the moral law, God's word says, thou shalt not take God's holy name in vain. Sometimes using God's name in vain looks like replacing it with a four-letter cuss word and using God's revered name in a flippant manner. Some people say, oh my, and they use God's precious most holy name as a cuss word. Or they use the precious name of Jesus Christ as a way of vocalizing their filth. Others, When they come to church to worship God, leave their hearts at home. That's a way of using God's name in vain. Others have done something in the name of God that has been selfish or sinful. That's also using God's name in vain. What do you call someone who uses God's name in vain? Answer, a blasphemer. So then I will say, we've only examined four out of the 10 commandments. And by your own admission, you have told me that you are a liar, a thief, an adulterer, and a blasphemer. When you die and you face God on judgment day, will you be innocent or guilty? Do you deserve heaven or hell? Most of the time people will try to dance around the conviction settling in their heart and they will justify themselves by saying, well, I don't do those things anymore. I'm trying to do better. I think that God is a loving, forgiving God. And then I say, if you break the law in this life and you stand before the judge who lays down the law, you can say, I'm not trying to do that anymore, all you want, you're still guilty of the crime. God is a loving, forgiving God, but he's also a just and holy God who doesn't allow sin into his presence. God doesn't care what you're doing now, You've broken His commands. You stand as a rebel before Him. And the Bible says that the wages of our sin is death. Just as our crimes against others deserve to be punished in this life, so our crimes against God deserve to be punished in the life to come. What I'm seeking to do in holding up the moral law, the Ten Commandments, is solidify the truth that they are not good. Paul says in Galatians chapter three, that the law serves as a schoolmaster to expose our sinfulness. Notice what Paul says in verses 19 and 20 of Romans chapter three. Romans three, verse 19. Now we know that what things soever the law sayeth, it sayeth to them who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in God's sight. By trying to keep the 10 commandments, you will never enter into the kingdom of God, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Paul is saying, in essence, no man can ever keep the Ten Commandments, for the Ten Commandments are the gavels that conclude that there is none righteous, no, not one, there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. Man in his sinfulness tries to treat the commandments as a ladder to get to God. And God tells us that the commandments are nothing about gavels that say guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty. What can we say to someone who boasts of being righteous before God? The first biblical truth I would suggest is God's word declares that you are not a good person. The second biblical truth I would suggest is God's law demonstrates that you are not a good person. The third biblical truth I would suggest is Christ's teachings and sacrifice clarify that you are not a good person. Christ's teachings and sacrifice clarify that you are not a good person. Sometimes I meet individuals who claim to believe the truths of God's word and they will tell me that, quote, their Jesus would never judge anyone so severely. They tell me that their Jesus would never speak so negatively about other people as the way I'm speaking. They tell me their Jesus loves everyone the same. Their Jesus thinks everyone is deserving of heaven. Their Jesus is this woke, teddy bear God that they've created in their own image who will never send anyone to hell for their sin. And thus we have the problem of all problems in our deceived culture. We do not know and we are not proclaiming the biblical Christ. That's the problem with evangelicalism today. And by the way, the biblical Jesus is not anything similar to this fake Jesus portrayed by Hollywood or these so-called Christian video producers. We need to stop violating the second commandment. making God into our own image. Christians, listen, stop supporting this trash. Stop supporting all this hype, these Jesus cartoons coming out around Easter time. Don't get pulled into all these films that support the spirit of Antichrist. That's exactly what it is. It's not the true biblical Jesus, therefore it is Antichrist. I'm getting off topic for a moment, but this is important. God's law commands that we should not take the image of the infinite being of God and make it into a likeness of things below. Yet this is exactly what is being done through these TV shows and movies depicting Jesus, God in the flesh. You wanna know something? that the Hollywood Jesus will not emphasize about you that the biblical Jesus does? Your lost, depraved condition. The biblical Jesus is honest about your sinful, wicked, evil heart. These Hollywood Jesus are not. Listen to what the biblical Jesus says, Matthew chapter seven, verse 11. Comparing men with God, The biblical Jesus says that all men are evil. Christ says, if ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father, which is in heaven, give good things to them that ask? Likewise, Jesus says, Mark chapter seven, for from within, out of the heart of man comes evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness, all these evil things come from within and they defile a person. How's that for a comforting word from Jesus? Jesus, the biblical Jesus says that your heart is a factory of filth. Jesus, the biblical Jesus says that your mind is a manufacturer of immorality. Jesus says everything about you is corrupt. Do you realize there is not one statement in the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John that affirms that we are good, moral people. Why do you suppose the biblical Christ teaches this? Here it is. To show us the reality of our lost condition so that we might see our desperate need of his saving grace. And this leads us then to the cross of Christ. to the one who proclaims that they are good and that they are doing their best to do better for God, I would ask them, why did Jesus have to die on a cross? This is an important question that others need to think hard about, especially religious worshipers who are trusting in their Christian activities and their Christian affiliation to get them to heaven. There have been instances in my witnessing opportunities where someone will tell me that they are a Christian, they believe the Bible, all the while they are telling me that they're trusting in their baptism to save them, they're trusting in their standards and convictions to save them, they're trusting in their affiliation with the church to save them, and then I will simply ask, then why, tell me why, did Jesus need to die on a cross? If you claim that something other than Christ can save you, namely some goodness that you have in your heart or some good thing that you have done for God, why did Jesus suffer and die? If we were good and we could do it on our own, why did Jesus lay down his life? Romans chapter 5 answers the question. Romans 5, 6 through 8. Notice it. When we were yet without spiritual strength, namely, when we were dead in trespasses and sins, and we could not get to God on our own. In due time, Christ died for who? The ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man would one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commended, God demonstrated his love towards us in that while we were what? While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Christ died for those who have come to know their sinfulness and have cried out for his mercy. You see, Christ did not die for good people. He died for evil people. Jesus says, Mark 2, verse 17, 17, they that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick, Jesus says, I didn't come to call the righteous, I came to call sinners to repentance. In other words, if you think you are good with God, then Christ will have nothing to do with you. Why do you need him if you are already good? That's logical. Jesus says he's the great physician. Jesus says he's come to heal the souls and the hearts of men. But if you throw back your hands and say, I don't believe that, then why do you even need Christ? What's the purpose of the cross? What can we say to someone who verbally professes to be a good person? Truth number one, God's word declares that you are not a good person. God's law demonstrates that you are not a good person. Number three, Christ's teachings and sacrifice clarify that you are not a good person. Truth number four, your continued boasting confirms that you are not a good person. Your continued boasting confirms that you are evil. In fact, God says, Your boasting about your goodness is only a sign that you're deceived. 1 John 1.8, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. John continues and declares two verses later, verse 10, if we say that we have not sinned, listen, We make God a liar and His word is not in us. Do you hear what God declares? If we argue with the truths of God's word about our spiritual condition, if we argue that we are actually good when God says that we are not, you might as well shake your fist at God and call Him a liar. And I say the fact that you will justify yourself after hearing truth after truth after truth about your spiritual condition only confirms that you are what the Bible says, namely spiritually insensitive to the things of God. You are dead to the reality of God's word. To profess to be good when God says you are not is to be anti-God. To try and justify yourself as the Pharisees did when God can see right through your hypocritical behavior only proves that you have a heart that is vile. Do you want to know what man's chief problem is when it comes to assessing their spiritual condition? They want to assess themselves by anything and everything but the standard of God's Word. They want to assess themselves by others who they deem to be more wicked than themselves. Here's what people tell me. They say, I'm quoting, I know I'm not perfect, but I'm no Hitler. I know I'm not a saint, but I'm not like those people who abuse children. I know I have some sin in my life, but I'm not in the occult. I don't worship Satan. Compared to them, I'm a pretty good person. Listen to me for a moment. If you honestly assess yourself, by what God says in his word, you will come to see that you are not less evil than Hitler. In your heart. You are not less evil than Jeffrey Epstein. In your heart. You are not less evil than those who abort babies. In your heart. You are not less evil than those who openly worship Satan. Those who have ears to hear, let them hear. If you will honestly assess yourself by what God says in his word, you will see that you have the same depraved nature as all men, which means that you stand in need of the same merciful savior that all men need. You will never understand the beauty of the gospel unless you first come to feel the ugliness of your sin. You will never be found by God in Christ, the good shepherd, unless you are thoroughly convinced that you are lost. You will never be saved unless you first see that you are a wretched sinner before the infinite holy God. If you would know God's saving grace in a personal and saving way, you must come before him broken over who you are and not just what you've done. Did you hear what I said? I said you must come before God acknowledging your sin, not just your sins. See, you're interested on the branches and the fruit. God is interested in the root. Some people think the way of salvation is, well, I'll stop smoking. I'll stop chewing tobacco. I'll stop cussing. I'll start treating other people right. I'll start praying. I'll start going to church. What they're doing is they're cutting down the branches, but because of the root, the branches keep growing back. You need a root change. You need a heart change. You need a change of nature. This is what the new birth is all about. If you are to see the kingdom of God, Nicodemus, Jesus is talking to a nice, moral, religious man who knows the scriptures, who goes to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. Men respect him as a great rabbi. If you are to see the kingdom of God, Nicodemus, you must have a new heart. You must have a new nature. You must do what only God can do. You must be born again. Jesus says, blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those who know their spiritual bankruptcy, for theirs is the kingdom of God. Jesus says, come unto me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden. Heavy laden with what? Heavy laden with their sin. They're sick of it, they're tired of it. They try to deal with it on their own, they can't. Jesus says, you come to me, I have the infinite power to take away that burden. You come to me and I will give you spiritual rest, meaning you can't give yourself spiritual rest, only God can do it. Paul says, only godly sorrow works repentance unto salvation, not to be repented of, but the sorrow of the world brings death. Perhaps I've been preaching this morning and the Spirit of God is convicting you that my message is not just for others out there, but it's for you. Perhaps you've come into this place thinking yourself to be good, thinking yourself to be religious. Perhaps you've come boasting in something or someone other than Jesus Christ as the hope of your salvation. If that is the case, I plead with you at this moment to call in desperation on the name of the Lord. whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. I plead with you to ask God to wash your sinful heart with his blood. I plead with you to ask Christ to receive you unto himself and to clothe you in his righteousness. You need a wedding garment to enter into the heavenly feast. And that wedding garment is Christ. He must cover your sin so that you can be received into his gates. All who come to Christ, Jesus says, John 6, he will in no wise turn away. Though your sins be as scarlet, if you come to the fountain, they shall be as white as snow. It's God speaking to you this morning. Don't push it away. Don't resist it. Listen and take heed to the call of the gospel. The call of the gospel is to repent and to believe that Jesus Christ is the only sufficient Savior. He's the way, He's the truth, He's the life. No man can go to the Father except through Him. Jesus is the only mediator between God and man. God made Him Jesus. who knew no sin, to become sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Paul says, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to do what? To save sinners of whom I am chief. And that's the point you must come to if you are to be saved. You must come to see yourself as the chief of all sinners. You must, like the publican, come before the Lord and say, God, be merciful to me, the sinner. I have no boasting. I cannot compare myself among others. I compare myself to your holy law. I'm guilty and I stand in need of forgiveness. That's how you must come. Have you come to God in such a way? If not, what's keeping you back? what's hindering you from claiming that you are a wretched sinner in need of a gracious Savior. Let's pray together.