As the Scriptures say, "No one is good— not even one. 11 No one has real understanding; no one is seeking God. 12 All have turned away from God; all have gone wrong. No one does good, not even one." Romans 3:10-12 (NLT)

The first thing we need to know is that human beings are in desperate need of a Savior. We are not just a little off track: we are totally lost. If we think we have a pretty good idea of how bad we are (without Christ), we have not yet seen ourselves as God sees us. We are rotten to the core and so skewed by sin so that we cannot save ourselves. Knowing this up front makes it easier later to appreciate God’s grace and to avoid the pitfalls of legalism. If you find this assessment of our condition offensive, you do not yet understand the nature of sin.

Sin is the attempt to live independently from God.

It started in the Garden of Eden, and today it takes many forms, from defiant atheism to moral attempts to live a “godly” or religious life without surrendering everything to God first. Murderers and self-righteous hypocrites all share the same basic problem – a determination to live without a humble reliance upon God. In fact, the most religious people in Israel, the Sanhedrin, Pharisees, priests, lawyers, and scribes, banded together to murder the Messiah. It was not the “criminal element” that put the Lord of Life to death.

Sometimes those of us who have been brought up from childhood in the church don’t know our own sinfulness as well as those of us who had a B.C. (before Christ) existence.

A danger for any long time Christian is losing touch with our need for mercy and grace.

We sometimes imagine that we are “beyond” all that because the Lord has helped us overcome some sins that formerly defeated us. There is nothing worse than a self-righteous Christian who looks down on others who are struggling with sin. Jesus had little tolerance for those with such an attitude.

When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” 13  Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” Matthew 9:12-13 (NLT)

The good news is that God understands our hopeless condition and sent His Son to die for our sins. In addition, He sent His Holy Spirit to live a new kind of life through us.

One of the biggest secrets of the New Covenant is that God never expected us to live in a way that brings God glory all by ourselves. He sent his Spirit to live through us.

The gospel confirms our need for salvation, forgiveness and reconciliation to God accompanied by a complete overhaul from the inside out. It comes through repentance and faith in Christ. When we come to realize how much we need a Savior and the Holy Spirit’s help, we learn to be humble, which is a mark of a true disciple, as is a love and an appreciation for mercy.

How about us? Have we yet come to terms with our own sinfulness? Are we disillusioned with ourselves when we fail once again, imagining we are better than that? Are we prone to judge others whom we see as inferior to us, or do we extend to them the same mercy God has shown to us? Real Christians are not perfect, just forgiven.

Questions for Further Study and Discussion

• Did you have a B.C. stage of your life in which you were very much aware of your own sinfulness?
• Did you come to Christ to be forgiven or for some other reason?
• When did you first begin to realize that you are not a “good person”?
• Do you still get discouraged when you see another example of your sinfulness? What does that say about you?