Good men will be unsaved

 

1)      One of my favorite parts of the Sunday paper is the comic section.

2)      There are lots of comics, but I only read about 4 of them.

3)      For as long as I can remember Beetle Bailey has been a favorite.

4)      Another one is Charlie Brown.

5)      Writers always seem to come up with fresh material, but there are some things we remember.

6)      Most will recall the line, “You’re a good man Charlie Brown.”

7)      That expression is more than 20 years old.

8)      It has been a musical comedy, and the words introduce tonight’s lesson.

9)      What is a good man?  Who is a good man?  What does God think of “good men”?

10)  I thought about the qualities for a good man.

11)  How would I define a good man from our standpoint?

12)  What kind of list would we compile together to say “this is a good man”?

13)  In the end I think the Boy Scouts have a pretty good description.

14)  The Boy Scout law has twelve points.

15)   A scout promises to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful,

16)  Thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.

17)  Imagine a boy (or a man) who tries to observe all these points.

18)  If a man sought to do all these things, most would say he is a “good man.”

19)  Our world sets up its own definitions for good men and women.

20)  What we conclude is often not what God would conclude or say.

21)  Tonight we want to look at three men who the world would have said were “good men.”

22)  Then we want to look at some information about God’s view of a good man.

23)  The first fellow we examine is Corneilus, Acts 10.

24)  Corneilus was a “devout” man (verse 2).

25)  He was pious, religious, committed, a worshipper.

26)  His faith is further described as “one that feared God.”

27)  Then in 2b we find he “prayed to God always.”

28)  He also “gave much alms to the people.”

29)  Some people are very religious but they are hypocrites—their religion is pretend.

30)  Such was not the case with this man.

31)  Verse 4 is the passage we want to read – READ

32)  Corneilus was a good man.

33)  God saw that he had so many good qualities.

34)  Here was a man with a good heart and in many ways he was living as a Christian would live.

35)  Goodness as we have described it is not enough before a holy God.

36)  An angel told him he needed to “fetch” Peter (verse 5).

37)  If being a good man is enough, why call a preacher?

38)  The Bible tells us.  Let’s skip down to verse 22 – READ

39)  By the standard of men, Cornielus was “righteous.”

40)  What “words” did Corneilus need to hear?

41)  If we only had Acts 10, we might have to do some deductive reasoning.

42)  The Bible gives us the full picture in the next chapter – Acts 11:14 – READ

 

43)  Here was a good man, but he was not a saved man.

44)  He need to hear (and obey) the words from God.

45)  Today this is still true.  We can have people are “good men” (and women).

46)  These individuals might be religious.  They may attend services.

47)  They may pray and give.  They may study the Bible.

48)  All these things will not save.

49)  Someone might say Corneilus was a Gentile and was therefore in a different category.

50)  He certainly was a Gentile; let’s see if a Jew was treated differently.

51)  Mark says (10:17) that Jesus was met by a man who “ran” to Him.

52)  When someone runs up to us, there is usually a reason for it.

53)  A person may want to warn us, hurt us, or ask us an important question.

54)  This man had a question, and it was an important question.

55)  He not only ran to Jesus, he kneeled.

56)  One almost gets the sense that this man was pleading

57)  He referred to Jesus as “good teacher” (ASV) or “Master” (KJV).

58)  He said to the Lord, “What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”

59)  Jesus said this man already knew the answer to his question.

60)  Keep the commandments – verse 19 –READ 

61)  We can be thankful that the man’s response is recorded – verse 20 – READ

62)  Was this man a good man?

63)  By our standards he was.

64)  He was not a criminal.  He claimed he had lived a good life.

65)  Not only had he lived in the right way, he had done so “from his youth.”

66)  A man such as this might qualify for some type of award.

67)  He could be awarded “citizen of the year” or something similar.

68)  Jesus looked at this man and “loved him” (verse 21).

69)  These words tell me this man was a good man from our perspective.

70)  He was probably a great neighbor and a wonderful friend.

71)  Jesus said there was something he lacked.

72)  He was in love with his money and what he possessed was holding him back.

73)  Verses 21-22 – READ

74)   When we evaluate “good men” we generally do not take into account how they view wealth.

75)  We look at other things.  Is the man kind?  Does he do seem to be generally decent?

76)  God’s view of man is different; He sees the whole person.

77)  God has His own view of who is good and who is not.

78)  In this particular case, this man had a very serious character problem.

79)  It was serious enough that if he did not correct it, he would not be unsaved.

80)  Here is a second man who by our standards was a very fine man.

81)  Like Corneilus, his goodness was not enough.

 

82)  A third man who might be called a “good man” is found in Lk. 18:9-14.

83)  A Pharisee went to the temple to pray.

84)  He was a “church going” man.

85)  We know what this church goer said to God.

86)  He told God he was “not as the rest of men.”

87)  This fellow had a pretty low impression of most other people.

88)  He looked at others and saw “extortioners.”

89)  He saw others as being “unjust” and guilty of sexual sin.

90)  By using the word “adultery” he meant married people unfaithful to their spouses.

91)  This man claimed he did not commit these types of sins.

92)  Rather than committing these sins, he did what was good.

93)   He “fasted twice each week” and “tithed” under the Old Testament system (verse 12).

94)  Today a lot of people reason just like this man did.

95)  They look at their lives negatively.

96)  They have a sort of list and they can say to anyone:
  “I do not drink, smoke, curse, use bad language, or commit fornication.”

97)  “I do not mistreat my spouse, cheat people, or break the law.”

98)  Item after item can be given about what they do not do.

99)  For many of these people, they are telling the truth.

100) Our world gives them a nod of approval – “this is a good man.”

101) Jesus said the man we might be tempted to call good was not saved.

102) In Lk. 18:14 he said the man I described was “not justified.”

103) Being good according human standards has no bearing on the divine standard.

104) Goodness is not based on our actions.

105) Goodness is based on God.

106) We cannot be truly good without God.

107) A good man in the eyes of God is one who is a Christian who is faithful.

108) Such is also the right description for a “good woman.”

109) Tonight are we a good man?  Are we a good woman?

110) Hopefully the world knows that we are.

111) What about the most important judge—God?

112) Would he call us good because we are one of His people?

113) Mt. 13 presents a parable involving some netted fish.

114) Some are “good” and therefore kept; others are “bad” and rejected.

115) What kind of fish are we in the eyes of God?

116) If we would be classed with the bad, is it not time to make things right with God?