Episode #25 - I'm Not A Good Person...Neither Are You

I was at my barbers when he swept the floor and asked how it looked. I told him it looked good, that was until he swept it again with a special broom meant for hair. All kinds of stuff came up off the floor I couldn't see at the surface level. I guess it wasn't so good after all. Well...neither are we. On the surface we might feel like we are a good person, but that's the entire point of the gospel: we are not. We desperately need to be made righteous by the only one who was good - our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. 

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Transcript

Welcome to the Set Your Mind Above podcast, where every day, ordinary events teach us extraordinary eternal truths! I am your host BJ Sipe, and I’m so glad you’ve tuned in today! I am excited to share my life & my faith with you, and I sure hope you’ll do the same with me along the way.

I have to start out this podcast with an apology to those of you who were looking for a video this past Saturday on the Facebook page. I had spent part of the morning filming and getting everything ready to edit & upload to the Facebook page, but when I opened the file there was no audio. Something went wrong during the recording process, and by that time it was too late to record again. So, I will be sharing with you today what I had hoped to share on the video podcast. Before filming, I had run over to my barber shop “Still Cuttin’ Up” to get my hair cut. If you live in the Danville area, I highly recommend you go & see Jerry Farmer & Levi Morin for your next haircut. Going there is an experience, not just a trim. We all hang out and talk religion, sports, politics, our families, and just really enjoy our time together. They do an excellent job for an incredible price, you could not go wrong – so call and make an appointment today! Well this time as I was sitting and waiting to get my haircut, Jerry had swept the floor but then grabbed a different broom I had not seen before. It had short rubber bristles, and he showed it off to us before pointing to the floor and asking, “How does it look?” “Well, it looks good & clean” I replied, I mean he had just swept a moment ago. He shook his head no and said, “You’d think so,” but then he pushed that short-bristled broom across the floor where he had just swept with he normal broom. I couldn’t believe my eyes – all kinds of dirt and hair were coming up! Just looking at the surface it looked good, but with this special broom upon deeper inspection it was far from clean. I immediately jumped online to find out where I could get this kind of broom, imagining in my mind the horror of what my dinning room might be hiding as a result of our two children. I actually ended up ordering one more for Jerry because he loved this broom so much he wanted one for his home, and I’ll be taking it to him as soon as I finish up this podcast today. It just goes to show you that things are not always what they appear to be on the surface level. Things might seem good initially, but upon closer inspection there are all kinds of problems that come to light. The floor is just one example, it could be a car, a house, a job opportunity, your skin, just about anything. The old expression might be able to apply here, “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” 

How many times have you thought to yourself, “I’m a good person?” We use that expression a lot, don’t we? Not just of ourselves, but we’ll use it of other people that we love & respect as well. It might be a teacher, a neighbor, or even a co-worker that comes up in conversation, and we say, “Oh, they are just such a good person.” Well, I want to say something a little bold & radical in today’s podcast – no one is in actuality a good person. Now before you get your feathers all ruffled up, I want you to hear me out, because I am not just talking about others – I am talking about myself as well. I am not a good person, and neither are you. I believe we say this because on the surface level things appear to be “good”. Afterall, I don’t steal, I’m not a murderer, I’ve never cheated on my spouse, etc. I’m not a deadbeat dad or a loser like some of these other people you see on the news, of course I’m a good person. We might think that, but upon deeper inspection all of us will realize that is not true. Paul reminds us from the Psalms of this truth, “As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:10-12) On the surface level, we might think of ourselves as good people, but that simply is not true. For us to truly be good, we would have to be completely devoid of what is evil. And yet, as Paul would continue on to say, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. If we were honest with ourselves, every single one of us know that upon deeper inspection we would find things that are not good. All have us have things that we have done that have been contrary to God’s character & hurt others in our lives. We have lied, cheated, lusted, acted out in anger, manipulated, said foul things, the list goes on and on. The deeper you dig, the more it piles up into irrefutable evidence against the claim that we are good. That is the entire point of the gospel – we are not good. Nothing we can do can make us righteous or good, which is why we so desperately need someone who can. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” There is only one who was good, and his name was Jesus Christ. He is the spotless lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world. He is righteous, and while we could never be truly righteous or good by our own efforts, he can clothe us with his own righteousness if we make him our Lord. This message of salvation from our sins is called the gospel, which means the “good news!” It is good news because we who are not good can be made right by the resurrecting power of God! We who were once in darkness can be made to walk in his marvelous light! I may not be a good person, but I have hope & peace because I serve a good God who has saved me from myself! That same God can save you too – so what are you waiting for? Turn away from your sin, and give your life over to Jesus Christ the righteous. Respond to the gospel with faith, be buried in the waters of baptism, and let your soul be brought to life through the renewal of the Holy Spirit. Don’t delay any longer, the good news can be yours today. 
 
 Thank you so much for listening to today’s episode. Tune in, Tuesday-Friday’s, as a new podcast episode will be uploaded each day. Also, be sure to follow the Facebook page for the Set Your Mind Above podcast for future announcements and weekly video sessions that are uploaded on Saturdays. As you have the opportunity, share these thoughts with your friends and family, and share with me what important lessons you are learning from every day, ordinary events. Until next time know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each and every day set our minds above!