04 Nov No One Does Good
Read: Romans 3:1-20
Last Sunday Pastor Ken preached from Romans 2:17-29 on glorifying God by practicing what we preach. This Sunday Pastor Josh will preach from Romans 3:1-20 on man’s unrighteousness according to the Law and hope in Christ’s righteousness alone. As you prepare your heart for our corporate gathering, let these words from Timothy Keller challenge you and spur you on to reject self-righteousness and trust in Christ’s righteousness alone.
Heart Preparation
Why Goodness Isn’t Always Good
If it seemed an exaggeration for Paul to say that no one seeks God, it will certainly appear outrageous for him to claim that “no one does good” (Romans 3:12).
Now, how can Paul say this? After all, many non-Christians do many good things, using their talents and wealth in ways which are kind and generous and which make the world a better place. And the Lord Jesus himself commanded us to do “good works” (Matthew 5: 16).
But we need to remember what kind of “goodness” Paul is talking about here. His focus is on our relationship to God, and whether our good deeds can fix that broken relationship; whether they can establish a righteousness of our own. The teaching is that, ultimately, our good deeds cannot do anything to get us saved. In fact, they can leave us further from, not closer to, righteousness.
The Bible sees a truly good deed as being good in form and in motive. For example, if you help an old lady across the street, that is good in form; it conforms to God’s will for our behavior. But why are you helping her? If it is because it is dark on the other side and you will be able to rob her; or (less extreme, and more likely) it is because you are hoping she will give you some money in gratitude; or because you have seen a friend further down the street who you know will notice and be impressed— then your good work arises from a selfish heart and selfish motives. But a good deed in God’s sight
is one done for his glory, not our own (1 Corinthians 10: 31).
The nineteenth-century preacher C.H. Spurgeon reputedly often told a story which gets to the heart of this:
Once in a kingdom long ago, a gardener grew a huge carrot. He decided to give it to his prince because he loved his sovereign. When he gave it, the prince discerned his love and devotion, and the fact that he expected nothing in return. So as the gardener turned to leave, he said: “Here, my son, I want to give you some of my land so that you can produce an even greater crop. It is yours.” The gardener went home rejoicing. A nobleman heard of this incident and thought: “If that is what the prince gives in response to the gift of a carrot, what would he give me if I gave him a fine horse?” So the nobleman came and presented the prince with a fine steed as a gift. But the prince discerned his heart and said: “You expect me to give to you as I did to the gardener. I will not. You are very different. The gardener gave me the carrot. But you were giving yourself the horse.”
If you know God loves you in Christ, and that there is nothing you can do or need to do but accept his perfect righteousness, then you can feed the hungry, visit the sick, and clothe the naked, and all of it will be done as a gift to God. But if you think you are going to get or keep your salvation by doing these good deeds, it is really yourself you are feeding, yourself you are clothing, yourself you are visiting. It is who we are serving in our hearts that matters, not how we are serving with our hands. Without faith in Christ, good deeds are not truly done for God, but for ourselves—and thus are not truly good.
This is why any goodness we have becomes sour. If we do good to gain God’s favor, blessing and salvation, and do well, we will be smug, superior, and complacent; if we do badly, we will be anxious, self-pitying, and angry. The “good deeds” done outside trusting the gospel will make a soul go sour.
All of us have to understand this to be saved Christians, rather than unsaved-but-religious people. The main difference between a Christian and a religious person is not so much their attitudes to their sins, but toward their “good deeds.” Both will repent of their sins; but only the Christian will repent of wrongly-motivated good works, while the religious person will rely on them. The eighteenth-century preacher George Whitefield said:
“Our best duties are as so many splendid sins … you must not only be made sick of your … sin, but you must be sick of your righteousness, of all your duties and performances. There must be a deep conviction before you can be brought out of your self-righteousness; it is the last idol taken out of your heart.
(Sermon 58, from J.C. Ryle, The Select Sermons of George Whitefield)
Excerpt from Romans 1-7 for You, by Timothy Keller
Song List for Sunday
- “This is Amazing Grace,” by Phil Wickham
- “At the Cross,” by Daniel Renstrom
- “Forever Reign,” by Hillsong Live
- “Behold Our God,” by Sovereign Grace Music
- “Mercy,” by Matt Redman