We All Fall Short of God’s Standards
When God says, “There is none who does good, no, not one” (Romans 3:12), He is not saying that there is no good in humans in general. We all know some people—even nonbelievers—who have done some commendable things. God is saying that there is no good in us that can satisfy God. When the Bible says, “There is none righteous” (verse 10), it is not speaking so much of behavior, but of inner character.
God’s standards are high, to say the least: you must be absolutely perfect. Jesus said, “Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). In other words, a person who is not as good as God is not acceptable to God. Man is not basically good; he is basically sinful.
We do not seek after God.
If that bothers you, look at Romans 3:11: “There is none who seeks after God.” You would think that with all of the religious belief systems in this world, this simply could not be. Yet, God plainly declares in His Word, “You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).
Paul is not saying that human beings are not religious, because we are. But religion is man’s search for God, while Christianity is God’s search for man.
God was never lost. We are. He is seeking to save that which was lost.
The bottom line for why many people have not come to Jesus Christ is that they bristle at the thought that they are hopelessly sinful. They are unwilling to accept God’s assessment as to the sinful nature of their being. The very fact that men react against this teaching is one more proof of it.
In one sense, this all sounds pretty hopeless. We have all sinned, and we cannot help ourselves. But here’s some good news: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
We have the hope of forgiveness.
You might be trapped in some kind of sin right now. Your situation might look hopeless, and you might feel helpless. While we have all been born into sin, we do not have to stay under its control or face its ultimate penalty. Scripture promises, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). There is hope; we can escape from our nightmare of sin.
Do you want to do that? You can turn to God, confess your sins, and accept His forgiveness as you accept His Son as your Savior.
