Proverbs 12:2 A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.

 

Proverbs 13:21 Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed.

 

(That's why so many think they will be repaid for good works, by being let into heaven.)

 

Matthew 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

 

(Do we think Jesus will say, "You're so good, come right on in"?)

 

Esther 6:6c Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honour more than to myself?

 

(The temptation is to think that we have to do good things to get eternal life:)

 

Matthew 19:16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

  17a And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God:

 

Isaiah 10:13a For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom;

 

(Yet, Jesus said:)

 

Luke 5:32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

 

(aye, there's the rub!

The Saviour, who only does good, doesn't call the "good enough" ones, but rather calls the sinners to repent.)

 

Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

 

(So, when the Pharisees, who saw themselves as righteous, met Jesus, who clearly is righteous, they hated him.

Because he didn't fit in their world view, since they were used to viewing others as more sinful, and thus unrighteous:)

 

Luke 18:9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

  10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

  11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

 

(When we're like the Pharisees, do we also consider it, "unfair", that after we did good, that when others, who appear more sinful, are received and blessed by the LORD?)

 

Luke 15:2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.

 

Luke 7:39 Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.

 

(Do we also consider it "unfair" when we see others apparently more sinful than us, being treated equally as brethren?)

 

Matthew 20:1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.

  2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

  6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?

  7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.

  8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.

  9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.

  10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.

  11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,

  12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.

 

(They showed their heart, when they said, "equal to us".

The term, "just", is based on what's right, whereas the term, "fair", is used to describe how things relate to us.

They didn't consider it "fair" that the others received what they got, forgetting that they agreed to their wages.

And that the others were simply blessed out of the goodness of the householder.)

 

Luke 15:11 And he said, A certain man had two sons:

  13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.

  18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,

  19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

  20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

  22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:

  27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.

  28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.

  29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:

  30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.

 

Isaiah 65:5a Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou.

 

(That's why so many believe that if they're good enough they'll go to heaven, that good people go there, and bad people go to hell.

We may have thought that at times, like at a funeral, thinking that the departed must be in heaven because they were a good person.)

 

Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

  12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

 

Ecclesiastes 7:20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

 

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

 

(But that's how we found out that we needed to be saved:)

 

Galatians 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

 

Romans 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

 

II Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

 

Titus 3:5a Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us,

 

(Then we asked Jesus to save us, began reading the Bible, and realized that absolutely no one is good enough to go to heaven.

But we just couldn't give up on counting on our own righteousness for something, that's why so many consider one of these 3:

1: Some think that after we're saved we have to remain good enough to stay saved

2: Some think that we have to be good enough to go in the blessed hope / rapture

3: Some think that we have to be good enough to partake of the Lord's supper, communion)

 

Galatians 3:2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

  3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

 

Isaiah 64:6b  and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;

 

Romans 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

 

Matthew 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

 

(Yet, Jesus plans for us to do good works:)

 

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

 

II Timothy 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

 

(So, how can we then, actually do that?)

 

Romans 6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

  16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

  19b  for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.

 

(We must yield to the Holy Ghost. We submit ourselves to him, yielding our will to his.)

 

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

  4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

  5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

  13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

 

(The Holy Ghost will only do what is right & good, and if we submit our lives & bodies to him, he will live that good through us.)

 

Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

  17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

  18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

 

(We can walk in the Spirit, yielding to his will, deciding to follow his leading, where good fruit is produced in our lives.

Or we can walk in our flesh, to be in charge of our own lives and decisions, but we will be carnal and completely fruitless:)

 

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

 

Ephesians 5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)

 

(By submitting and yielding to the Holy Ghost, things will joyfully go for us, the good way that he has desired all along.)

 

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will 

perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

 

Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

 

(The LORD is the one who is good, and wants to do good through us, for his good pleasure.)

 

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