Adrian

The Worst Form of Badness

October 9, 2009

I want you to tell you something big, plain and straight. Salvation is not a reward for the righteous. It is a gift for the guilty.

Many come to church and perhaps say, “You know, I need to change my way of living. I am going to change my lifestyle. I want to be right with God.” And so they begin to reform themselves.

I‘ve often wondered what a church full of Pharisees would be like. Number One, they would be the most faithful attendees. Number Two, all of them would tithe. Number Three, they would live outwardly clean, pure, moral lives. Number Four, they would be very busy doing church work. Sounds like a good church, doesn’t it?

Oh, did I forget to mention Number Five? They would all be going to hell. Why? Because they are ignorant of God’s righteous. They attempt to establish their own righteousness and have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

The worst form of badness is human goodness when human goodness becomes a substitute for the new birth.

Adrian Rogers