I once contacted a pastor in a moment of sheer panic.

I was a new Christian back then and concerned with the soul of someone I loved.

“Well, does he think he’s a good person?” The pastor asked sternly.

“I mean…”

He didn’t wait for me to finish.

“Because anyone who thinks they’re a good person won’t care to know Jesus.”

Ouch. I was floored. And a little in denial. I didn’t want this to be true. After all, how many people out there consider themselves a good person?

I had to implore further.

God, is this is really true? And can this apply to those who call themselves Christian, too?

As per usual, Scripture has answers.

The Pharisee Mindset

Jesus says He did not call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (Luke 5:32)

Jesus was speaking straight to the Pharisees, the religious people of His time.

In that moment, Jesus and His disciples were dining with tax collectors, some of the most reputed sinners of the entire village.

The Pharisees were complaining about Jesus associating with the biblical IRS. And at first, you can’t blame them.

But Jesus clapped back.

“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:10–13

God does not call those who think they are already in righteous standing because of their own works and conduct.

And that’s what the Pharisees were. They thought they were justified by appearing outwardly good. By following rules and deflecting all ethical heat off them and pointing it elsewhere.

Jesus calls the Pharisees whitewashed tombs (Matthew 23:27).

Did you catch that? Beautifully painted on the outside but containing dead bones and impurities on the inside.

The outwardly religious people in Jesus’ day were spiritually dead, and so are the modern-day counterparts.

The Pharisee mindset will have you thinking you’re a prison convict who can just get out on good behavior.

Not so fast.

An outward demonstration does not lead to an inner transformation.

Many are called, but few are chosen. (Matthew 22:14)

If we think we are a good person in our own right, we won’t accept the call.

And if we don’t answer Jesus when He calls, He certainly can’t choose us!

“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:5)

Sadly, this doesn’t just limit non-believers uninterested in having a relationship with Jesus.

Many believers, myself included, can become haughty and fluffed up from our own works and pride. When this happens, it becomes easy to omit Jesus from the picture altogether.

Being proud for partaking in manmade rituals and religious traditions and itching to always be right in theological debates amplify this.

Churchianity

It’s easy to identify solely in our affiliated denomination or religious sect.

And just as much to to harp on our own religious works or Bible knowledge.

But this is dangerous territory to operate in.

This is exactly how the Pharisees got down. They were proud of their own rules and works and social standing and loved to point fingers at everybody else.

This is works-based salvation, and it is not of God.

In fact, our works are filthy rags to God! (Isaiah 64:6)

Which is, of course, part of the good news. We cannot measure up to immaculate perfection in our fallen human state.

But God!

God overtook our mess. Covering us through the blood of the Lamb. Covering us through our savior Jesus Christ. All our sin and shortcomings are fully atoned by the sacrificial healer.

Phew!

Can you imagine if we had to clean up this filthy mess of sin all on our own?

Which is a big part of the whole coming to Jesus thing. If we don’t recognize the mess of sin we’re waist deep in, we won’t acknowledge how badly we need a savior.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

When we humbly come before God in need of a savior, He graciously covers us with His love and salvation through Jesus Christ.

Let’s dig further…

No One Is Good

Scripture tells us no one is good (Mark 10:18). In fact, this repeats throughout the Bible (Luke 18:19, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Psalm 14:3, Romans 3:23).

No one has ever walked this earth and lived an entirely sinless life. We all fall short of the glory of God.

That is, until our man Jesus enters the scene.

If anything proves that God is God, and a holy one at that, it is the life and time of Jesus. He is God incarnate.

Not once did Jesus exalt Himself over anyone, not even God.

Every time a Pharisee or follower or a curious onlooker showed Jesus any amount of attention or praise or worship, He pointed them straight to the Father in heaven, the One who sent Him!

Jesus makes it clear He does His Father’s will and not His own; He comes to serve, not to be served (Matthew 28:20).

I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. (John 14:31). 

Jesus lived sinlessly for 33 years on earth.

During that time, He faced seemingly impossible temptation, ruthless interrogation, and attacks at all angles.

Because of Jesus’ purity, His physical and spiritual state became no match for the world of darkness.

This is reassuring on many levels: Jesus not only saved us from the darkness, but experienced firsthand what it’s like to walk this earth. 

He experienced the bottom-most pits of human despair and anguish. 

So, Jesus knows how we feel navigating this fallen terrain.

And He feels for each of us, collectively and individually. 

Since the Beginning

Genesis 6:6 says God grieves over creating humans because of how detrimental we made the world become for ourselves. 

God never sleeps and has us in mind all the time. So much so that when the earth became spiritually polluted, He felt awful for what we now have to endure. 

God experienced in human form what it’s like to be used and mishandled by the very people who say they loved Him. And severely abused by those who hated Him.

Jesus was betrayed, mocked, violated, tortured, bruised, stabbed, scoffed, repeatedly downplayed, accused of being demonic, beaten, slandered, humiliated. And of course, publicly executed.

And yet, there’s insane beauty in this ugly act carried out by humankind: Jesus did it all for us.

He paid it all for us.

God sees how badly the earth is being destroyed by sin and darkness.

He sees the human race digging their own grave.

He sees our misery and sorrow and lowliness.

So He made a way. He became the way. 

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me. (John 14:6)

So, do those who think they’re a good person still need Jesus?

If you know you’re sick because of obvious symptoms, you go to the doctor.

But if you don’t know you’re sick because you can’t see the symptoms, are you going to go to the doctor?

There are so many out there who don’t realize how sick the human heart really is.

And many people do see it, but it’s usually someone else’s heart they recognize the sin of, not their own.

Which means some (or many) people don’t see the need for a savior. A savior who sprinted to the finish line of death and became sin (though He knew no sin) to atone for our filthy mess.

But the good news is, when we come to God knowing we need Him, He takes us in His arms and holds us real close.

Some may want to run on their own, but Jesus said we don’t have to labor hard.

Instead, we can walk on water with Him!

That, my friends, is true love.