Do
we really have to be in a relationship with Christ to be good? I struggle with
that question, because we often distill the Christian life down to being good. If
that is all that it means to be a Christian, then do we really need Christ?
After all, there are thousands of very good, moral people in our world who have
nothing to do with Jesus. So, do we really need Christ to be good?
The
place we need to start is to ask, what does it mean to be good? The most common
answer would be to do what is right. This might be further explained as
treating others with kindness and respect. Obviously it involves obeying the
laws of the land, as well as adhering to the standards of the community in
which a person lives. On the surface, it looks like we can be good all on our
own.
But
there is a fundamental problem. Not everyone’s idea of what is right is the
same. One person may feel it is right to disobey a particular law, because they
feel it is unjust. While another person would feel obligated to uphold that
law, because it is the law. There is another problem with making doing the
right thing as our standard. It is primarily an outward, superficial act, that
does not address what is going on inside of us. For example, I may outwardly
treat people with courtesy and respect, yet inwardly loathe them. I would look
good on the outside, but not be good on the inside.
Another
way to look at what it means to be good is to see it in terms of conforming to
the reason for which something exists. For example, a hammer is good when it is
used to drive nails, but not so good if it is used in place of a screwdriver.
This gets at the heart of what it means for human beings to be good. Being good
is not so much a function of our outward actions, but of our fulfilling our
purpose in life.
From
a purely pragmatic point of view, the purpose of human beings is to perpetuate
the species. If that is our main purpose in life, then we should all be having
sex as often as possible, with as many partners as possible. That is what the
animal kingdom does. We know in our hearts that that is not right. Some people
argue that, because we are just the product of the evolutionary process, our
lives have no true meaning or higher purpose. If that is true, then there
really is no good or bad, just survival. But, if we really do have a higher
purpose than just existing, being good is defined by that purpose.
The
Bible tells us that we were created to live in relationship with God, the one who
created us. Because we were created in the image of God, good is defined as
reflecting that image in how we live our lives. When Jesus was asked to define
the purpose of humanity he summarized it as two, interwoven mandates.
One
of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus
had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments,
which is the most important?" "The most important one," answered
Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as
yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." Mark
12:28-31
Jesus
made it clear that we cannot do the one without the other. Our love for others
springs out of our love for God. If we are not in a right relationship with
God, then all of our efforts to be good fall short of the mark. Isaiah puts a
pretty ugly spin on this idea in Isaiah 64:6. All of us have become like one
who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel
up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. His point is
that, if we live in open or even subtle rebellion against God, then even our
best efforts at being good are worthless. Why? Because we, by being good, are
trying to take the place of God. We make ourselves the center of the universe.
We elevate ourselves, the created beings, above God, the Creator.
Paul
reinforces the idea that we can only truly be good when we are in relationship
with Christ. He shines a more positive light on the subject in his letter to
the Philippians.
If
anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more:
circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of
Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal,
persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.
But
whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is
more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of
knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider
them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a
righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through
faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want
to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing
in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain
to the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:4b-11
It
is very possible for people to do much good, yet not truly be good. Unless we
are in a relationship with God through Christ, all of our goodness is just
self-promotion. All of our best efforts fall short of the purpose for which we
were created. Paul summarizes this for us in Romans 3.
But
now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the
Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith
in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans 3:21-24
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