Not on our own anyway.
We are never going to be good enough.
Anyone who acts like they are is lying, deluded, or both.
The Bible does not flatter us.
In the book of Numbers, it talks about unintentional sin and the sacrifices required to atone for it. That alone should tell you something. We are so bent that we sin without even realizing it, and even those sins carried weight.
You can see it in other people easily.
You rarely see it in yourself.
Jesus raised the standard even higher.
He said if you look at a woman with lust, you have already committed adultery in your heart.
If you are angry with someone, you are in danger of judgment as if you had committed murder.
That eliminates most of us pretty quick.
Paul writes in Romans that there is none righteous, not even one.
Not one.
Jesus told the rich young ruler, “No one is good except God alone.”
There is no honest way to read that and conclude that we can fix ourselves.
Left to ourselves, we have no hope.
But that is not where the story ends.
In Revelation, Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”
He says, “Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”
He does not say, “Clean yourself up and then come.”
He does not say, “I’ll give you one more chance. Don’t mess it up.”
If that were the deal, we would fail again before we ever finished trying.
Fortunately for us, the work was already done.
Once for all.
So come.
P.S. If you’d like to read through the Bible with us this year, you can join at His Word Together.
Nothing fancy. Just steady time in the Word.
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