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Click on the funny face and then read the following.
Are you a good person?
Most people would automatically and emphatically answer, “YES!” to this question.
I wonder what answer you gave in your mind when you first saw this question posed on this website.
Did you immediately respond with a, “YES!” or did it take you a few moments to double-check your life?
Perhaps, knowing that you could not fool your conscience, you answered, “Some of the time.”
I cannot see into your minds and hearts, but the chances are that some of you who have visited this site and have read the question “Are you a good person?” have answered, “No.”
We have all taken tests at school and we know how they work. The teacher teaches on a subject and then gives us a test to “test” if we have learned what was taught. When that dreaded day arrived we would sit down with our number 2 pencils and begin filling out the test. Our success rested on many things, studying, proper rest, paying attention and so forth.
Those things as important as they were could not help us unless we understood what the teacher was looking for in our answers. In other words, we needed to use his definitions in order to accurately answer the questions.
Once we knew his definition of things we could fill out the test in confidence.
It is of the utmost importance that you realize the author of the question; “Are you a good person?” is none other than God.
If society were the author of the question, or if you yourself were the author of the question, we would all be free to answer according to the definition of good as defined by society or ourselves.
Most people, when they are faced with the question, “Are you a good person” will answer using society’s definition of good or their own definition of good.
Society defines good and bad using a scale. If your good acts outweigh your bad acts than you are good.
Most people use the same method in their defining.
They will look at their life and place all the times they gave to the poor, and volunteered at the shelter, and were a friend to a hurting co-worker, and donated to cancer research…
They will take all of those good things, (these things are good to do) and they will use them as counter weights against the times they lied, stole, stabbed some one in the back on their way up the ladder, cheated, and refused to donate to the needy.
Once all of these actions are divided up most people are satisfied that they have done more “good” than “bad” and therefore answer honestly, “Yes! I am a good person.”
If we were using this definition of good I would agree with you 100%. Most people are helpful, and kind, and giving. Most people will look for ways to help their fellow man. Most people are “good” by this definition of good.
But we must not forget who asked the question. God has asked the question and therefore we have to answer according to His definition of the term.
God, in the Bible, equates our righteousness (good things) as filthy rags.1
The reason He does so is because His definition of good is exponentially greater that ours.
Listen to what God said in the Bible through the mouth of Paul, a very devout Jewish man, when the question of pedigree was posed.
“What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” 2
God has clearly declared that all of humanity, regardless of background, nationality, or creed is not good according to His definition. Yes, people are capable of doing good things, but these good things do not make them good or righteous in the sight of God.
Listen again to what God said through the mouth of Paul.
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” 3
Perhaps you think that sin is an abstract term. It is not.
Sin is a term used in archery to calculate the distance between the shot and the bull’s-eye. Sin literally means to “miss the mark.”
If the target is God’s glory, what does that mean? (The definition of glory literally means “honor, worship, praise.”)
Humanity has fallen short of God’s mark by failing to give the Creator the honor, worship, and praise due Him. We have failed to love God with all our heart, mind, and soul, and strength, which is the essence of the Law. 4
In fact, the statement that “all have sinned” come in the context of God saying, through the mouth of Paul, that His Law has left the whole world guilty. 5
In other words, the Law is the target, the standard by which our “best shots” will be measured.
We can take as many shots as we like but they will all fall short of God’s mark.
God is holy; He is perfect. God cannot tolerate sin in His presence.
His Law (The Ten commandments) shows us how far from hitting the target our shots are. We can shoot and shoot and shoot our “good deeds” but we will still miss God’s mark. We will still fall short.
This is a sobering fact.
If in God’s eyes we are not good and we have no way of becoming good, by doing good things, we are in serious trouble. God will judge us for our sin and His judgment is Hell.
It is because of the reality of our imperfection that we have presented you with God’s question, “Are you a good person?”
Our earnest and utmost desire is that you understand the truths presented to you so that you can fully learn of your condition and of God’s way of redemption. We sincerely want you to take time to look at the “Are you a good person” section of our website so that you can see in greater detail your current state and learn what God has done to rescue you from it.
I’m fully aware that being presented with the news that you are not good according to God’s standards and that His judgment is Hell is not a popular thing to do.
Some may see it as hateful and mean-spirited.
I assure you that we do not hate anyone. God has commanded that we love everyone. 6
Unfortunately, there are some people who go about telling people of their sin problem driven by hate. If you have encountered these people I’m sincerely sorry. But I beg you to forget those encounters and focus on the truths being presented to you today.
Allow me to use an example to help you understand where I am coming from.
We do not like the thought of being sick, but we know that the possibility of being sick in and of itself is cause enough to visit the doctor. When we arrive at our appointment we expect our doctors to thoroughly examine us and make every effort to uncover all disease that may be in our body and we expect them to tell us what they have discovered.
If we receive a bad report we are devastated, afraid, and angry.
But are we angry with the doctor? No, because we know that the doctor did not cause us to become sick. In fact the doctor cares for our well-being and is committed to helping us fight to regain our health.
In one sense the “Are you a good person” section of this site and myself are acting as spiritual doctors. We have studied the textbook on the problem of sin (The Bible) and know the severity of it. In our studies we have also learned of the cure. It is with this knowledge of both the problem and the cure that we are coming to you today.
I may never have the chance to talk to you in person, although I would like that chance, but I am very concerned for you. The Bible clearly states that the wages of our sin is death… but the gift of God is eternal life through His Son, Jesus. 7
My desire is that you will understand what God has said in the Bible and you will accept His prescriptive cure.
If after reading this and looking at the “Are you a good person” section of this site you still have questions, please do not hesitate to contact either myself or my wife Paula. You can reach us at (860) 367-4517. We would gladly meet with you and further explain what has been presented here.
Sincerely,
Jason Terrian
Pastor, Rose City Baptist Church
1 Isaiah 64:6 2 Romans 3:9-12 3 Romans 3:23 4 Mark 12:30-31
5 Romans 3:19 6 Matthew 5:43-44 7 Romans 6:23
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