There is none that doeth good…no, not one

This is a phrase taken from Psalms 14:1-3 (and repeated in Ps. 53:1-3), which reads, in the whole:

The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.

They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

In his letter to the Romans (Rom 3:10-12), the Apostle Paul quotes this passage in slightly different wording:

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.

I am a Biblical literalist. That is, I believe the Bible says what it means, and means what it says. But I am also a believer in the principle of “right division”, established by the Apostle in his second letter to Timothy (2 Tim. 2:15). Within this principle no passage of Scripture is ever open to a “private interpretation,”¹ that is to say, it must always be considered within the context wherein it is found, and must have support from similar passages found elsewhere in Scripture. In other words, Scripture interprets Scripture.² Having said this, let’s proceed with seeking out the application and meaning of these passages.

Most folks in the world, when they read these passages (or hear them preached in a sermon) reject them out of hand. Few people, outside of Hell’s Angels type characters, are willing to accept the idea that they are no good, and have never done anything good or profitable. Even if one does not think he has done much good, it is certainly undeniable that there are folks in the world who have.

But those who believe like this have missed the point. The context of these passages has nothing to do with outward human behavior, but rather of man’s basic human nature. Human beings are certainly capable of learning to do good and profitable things. But this in no way makes them “good” by their nature. If man was intrinsically good, as modern humanist theorists claim, he wouldn’t have to be taught to be good, and do good, would he? Of course not. He would just know to do the right thing, and do it.

“Well, You Know, I Always Try To Do My Best In Everything I Do.”

Even where man does his “best“, Scripture says this won’t suffice, because:

…..verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Ps 39:5

When man is doing his very best, he is completely worthless–that is, to God, and for God‘s purposes. In Romans 5:12, Paul states:

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (Rom 5:12)

This is the doctrine of “original sin,” which says that because of the original man’s sin, a “sin nature” has since been passed on to every man (and woman).

What is the Remedy for this condition?

The humanist remedy for this malady is to simply deny it. I call this the “I’m Okay, You’re Okay” doctrine of human behavior, which says that if we will just all come to realize that we are okay, then we can stop all bad behavior and live in harmony.

The traditional Christian remedy is to confess your sins, repent of them, get them forgiven, and join the “church” through the rituals of water baptism and communion. The Scriptural basis of this remedy are passages such as Matthew 3:2,5; Mark 1: 4,5; Acts 2:38; 1 John 1:9, et. al. Some theologies teach that sins must continually be confessed and absolved (Catholic) to stay in fellowship with God and the church. “Pentecostal” theology teaches that “a second work of grace”³ enables the believer to enter into an “anointed” state of sinless living, which is evidenced by a life of prosperity and good health.⁴

Scripture, rightly divided, teaches none of these remedies. Scripture teaches that the remedy for man’s inherent sinful condition, as described in Romans 3: 10-12, is grace. The “grace” message, briefly comprehended, says that:

…….God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 2 Cor 5:19-21

Where was Christ made to be sin for us? On the Cross. He took upon himself the sins of the world,⁵ and paid the penalty or wages (death⁶) demanded in Romans 6:14⁷. Therefore, this has enabled God to henceforth offer salvation (from the penalty of our sinful condition) to everyone as a free gift.

But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. Romans 5:15 (KJV)

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. Eph 2:8 (KJV)

And you know what? This is a one time proposition. That is, once you have received this gift from God, you can’t lose it, because it doesn’t have anything to do with what you do or don‘t do. To attempt to include a change of behavior, or some religious “work of righteousness”⁸ (like getting baptized or taking communion) in the equation, would be to claim that what Christ did on our behalf at Calvary wasn’t sufficient, which, while it may agree with a lot of traditional church teaching, clearly militates against Scripture, rightly divided.

The “no good” human condition that we find ourselves in cannot be remedied by attempting to cover it with good deeds. We may fool our fellow humans, but God isn’t fooled, because, as God, he sees beneath the façade. Does this mean we should eschew good behavior, and live any old way we please? Of course not. What it means is that good behavior (which certainly includes religious works) will never be good enough to please God. The good news (gospel) is: What Christ did for us at Calvary (he died for our sins⁹) was pleasing to God, and now all we have to do is believe this, and receive the gift of salvation, freely offered.¹⁰　

Mike Schroeder is Pastor of Amazing Grace Bible Study Fellowship in Corpus Christi, Texas. Feel free to re-print/publish this article. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from the King James Bible.

Post Script

Are you saved? Jesus Christ—“who knew no sin”—and his sacrificial death on the Cross, has made the way for “everyone that believeth…to be reconciled to God. History has shown that whatever peace man has achieved in the world can only be temporary. The Bible says that individual men and women can know, beyond a doubt, that they are saved and bound for heaven, and therefore have absolute and permanent peace, regardless of what is going on in the world, by trusting Jesus Christ and his death on the cross for their eternal salvation. “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”¹¹ Have you done this? If not, why not now?

Notes