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How
can I be good enough?
Facing
a worry that many people have
A
Frequent Question
A
question that many people have, is "How can I be good enough to
be a Christian?".
The
question comes from a wrong perception of what being a Christian is
all about.
Such
a question assumes we have to be constantly struggling to achieve some
level of goodness before God will love us or accept us.
The
question implies that if I can achieve a certain level of "goodness",
I will become acceptable to God, but that is completely opposite to
the teaching of the Bible.
Let's
try and explain it by using a story that Jesus told. If you really want
answers, then please read this page right through slowly and carefully.
There's quite a lot, but it will be worth reading it all.
The
Story of the Landowner
If
you go to Matthew
20:1-16 in the New Testament of the Bible (just clicking on that
blue reference will take you there, and then use the "Return"
button to come back here), you'll find what is referred to as "The
Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard".
A
parable is simply a story with a point. This particular
parable might be better entitled, "The Parable of the Landowner"
because it is really more about him than about the workers.
The
gist of the story is as follows:
 1.
A landowner owned a vineyard.
2.
At the beginning of the day he went out and hired workers to work in
his vineyard, and agreed to pay them a certain amount for working the
day.
3.
Three hours later he went and hired some more, saying he would pay them
whatever was right.
4.
At three hourly intervals he went out hiring more in the same way.
5.
At the end of the day, when he came to pay each of the workers, he paid
them all exactly the same amount, that agreed for the first workers,
regardless of how long they had worked.
6.
Those hired first objected and said they ought to be paid more than
the rest.
7.
The owner, no doubt smiling, simply said he had given them exactly what
he had agreed with them at the start of the day, and asked if he didn't
have the right to be generous to the rest.
The
Background to the Story
The
content of the story would have been very familiar to the people of
Jesus' day because that was how it worked.
There
were many vineyards in that part of what we call the Middle East and
owners often just took on casual staff on a daily basis.
But
the context of the story in Matthew's Gospel is more important.
In
the previous chapter, a rich young ruler had come seeking spiritual
fulfilment and had been told by Jesus that his riches were a hindrance
to him. (Matthew
19:16-22)
Immediately
after that, Jesus told his closest followers that it was very hard for
a rich person to come into a relationship with God.
They
were completely surprised by this and asked who then can possibly come
into such a relationship? (Matthew
19:23-26)
Jesus
remarked that what is impossible with man is possible with God.
Peter,
one of Jesus' leading followers, burst out with an appeal to the fact
that they, his closest followers, had given up everything to follow
him, so what about them? (Matthew
19:27)
So
what is going on here?
 We
have Jesus saying it's hard for a rich person to come to God.
Why would that be? Because the Bible insists that we will only
come to God and take His leading if we see our need.
A
rich person often feels very self-sufficient. So this is the
first nail in the coffin of self sufficiency!
Next
Jesus says it's impossible for a person to save themselves, so we can
go on all the self-sufficiency and self-development courses that are
available, but still we can't put ourselves right with God. Second
nail in the coffin of self-sufficiency!
Now
if you looked up the verses where Jesus spoke about how difficult it
was for a rich man to come to God, he used the comparison of how difficult
it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle!
If
it is a literal camel and a literal needle that he is referring to,
then it is clearly impossible.
Some
scholars suggest that the "eye of a needle" was, in fact,
a very narrow door opening in the outer wall of the city.
A normally loaded camel could not get through. To get a camel
through such an opening meant that it had to have all its load taken
off and then get it to go through on its knees!
In
other words, if Jesus was referring to this outer doorway, he is saying,
to get right with God you must leave everything behind and come in on
your knees! Third nail in the coffin of self sufficiency!
It
Seems Hopeless!
The
message seems to be, that left to ourselves, there is no hope
of reaching God!
Then
comes Peter asking about his self sacrifice. It's as if he's saying,
"Well surely self-sacrifice must count for something! I mean, after
all, surely giving up everything for God must earn us some kudos in
His kingdom?"
Peter,
like us, misses the point and so the parable that follows, that Jesus
tells, is to counter this wrong thinking.
At
the end of the passage, and at the end of the parable, Jesus concludes
with a statement that many who are first will be last and many who
are last will be first.
So
what does that mean? It means that Jesus completely reverses the
order that we might expect.
"Nice"
or "good" people are likely to find it difficult in coming
to God, while others don't! Pardon????
Let's
summarise what we've said so far, because it's important not
to miss it!
1.
It's difficult for rich people to surrender to God.
2.
We can't "work" our way to God.
3.
To come to God means putting down all your self-sufficiency
and coming on your knees.
4.
Nothing we can do will "earn" God's approval, including
all our "good efforts"!
Back
to the Parable
So,
here we have an employer who takes on workers at an agreed sum. He
then takes on others throughout the day, and at the end of the day
pays them all the same amount, regardless of how long they
have worked!
In
other words, he doesn't take them on and pay them on the basis of
their merit.
The
workers taken on at the beginning of the day complain because they
believe they are worth more than the others. The employer
suggests otherwise!
So
what Jesus is saying in the story is that the employer is not 'obliged'
to take on anyone! No one can claim any right
to be taken on by the employer; it is entirely up to him who he
takes on.
No
one "deserves" to be taken on by God, however good they
are.
Are
you beginning to get it? Throughout the study the same
thing has been coming through: YOU CAN'T EVER BE GOOD ENOUGH
- because we always fall short of perfection.
The Christian faith is
NOT ABOUT HOW GOOD YOU ARE!
The
Christian faith is all about being accepted by God while we still
aren't good enough!
NOTHING
you do can impress God. He knows everything there is to
know about you - and still loves you!
He's
decreed that the possibility of you being on a right standing with
Him is purely a free gift on His behalf.
All
you can do is BELIEVE it.
A
Reverse Life
Do
you remember what Jesus said? "The first will be last and the
last will be first." A complete reversal.
You
"try" to be good and all you achieve is more self-centredness.
You
stop trying to impress God, and simply recognise your shortcomings
and your need, and suddenly His love and His way makes sense.
As
you surrender to His love, you suddenly find you ARE being transformed,
you ARE being good - and that without trying!
So
if you have been trying to win God's approval by trying harder and
harder to be good, stop it!
He
loves you already. Come to rest in that love and let it overwhelm
you.
Yes,
it's difficult to stop when you've been on a "good-enough treadwheel",
it's difficult to believe He can love you without you earning His
love, but this IS the truth!
Sit
still for a moment and say to yourself, "He does actually love
me - like I am - without me doing a single thing."
Let that sink it. Ask Him to help you see it,
and then watch out!
If
you want to ask anything further about these things, contact Tony Thomas:
tony.thomas@rochfordcc.co.uk
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