Are You Good Enough?
Follows the message Living Hope: Hope in Christ from the Living Hope series
Are you good enough for God? No. Nobody is, and that is exactly where the good news starts. Scripture says that without Christ you are spiritually dead, and that in Christ you are made fully alive, forgiven, and His child. You need both halves of that truth to live with real hope.
Key takeaways
- No one is good enough for God on their own, and Ephesians 2 says that without Christ we are spiritually dead.
- In Christ you are made fully alive, forgiven of all your sins, and adopted as God's child (Colossians 2:13).
- Cleaning up your behavior is not enough, because it cannot close the distance between you and God.
- Repentance means turning toward God, and a changed life follows from the new life He gives.
What does "Christ in you, the hope of glory" mean?
It means your hope rests on Christ Himself living in you, not on how well you perform. Paul calls this a mystery that God has now made known, and he says it is for everyone, Jews and Gentiles alike.
To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Colossians 1:27
The word Paul uses carries the idea of something hidden that is now revealed. God shows Himself in Christ. And once you find Christ, you start to see how much you were missing without Him. On Beyond Sunday, Pastor Sean Sloan and guest Kirk Matthews put it simply. The deeper you walk with Christ, the more of your weight you lean on Him.
Why is it so hard to admit you need a savior?
It is hard because our culture would rather not talk about sin at all. We explain our behavior with psychology, or we tell ourselves we aren't so bad compared to other people. We think naturally instead of supernaturally.
Scripture tends to hold two truths in tension, and we tend to pick one side. Some people never face how lost they are without Christ. Others face it, then stay stuck there and forget how free they are now. Both mistakes rob you of hope.
What does it mean to be "dead in sin"?
It means that without Christ you have no connection to the life of God, no matter how normal your life looks from the outside.
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world.
Ephesians 2:1 to 2
Sin is both a condition and an action. It is the state of being separated from God, and it is anything that causes that separation. Most of us only think about the second part, the list of wrong things we do.
Think about what a dead person can see, hear, or feel. Nothing. When God breathed into Adam, he became a living being. Salvation works the same way: the Spirit of God breathes new life into you. Until that happens, Pastor Sean asked, half joking, are we zombies? You can do everything other humans do and still be spiritually lifeless. You can't be half saved or mostly lost. You are either dead or alive.
Isn't everyone a child of God?
Every person is made in God's image, but Scripture says you become God's child by receiving Jesus. The common phrase "we're all children of God" usually means well, but it isn't accurate.
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
John 1:12
This matters because it changes how you see yourself and the people around you. If everyone is already fine with God, nobody needs a savior. If the gap is real, then what Jesus did is the best news you will ever hear.
Why isn't cleaning up your behavior enough?
Cleaning up your behavior is not enough because it doesn't close the distance between you and God. If sin is only a list of bad habits, you start ranking sins and decide you aren't that bad. Then you conclude you need a therapist or better self-help tools, not a savior.
Kirk used a simple example. Say lying is your struggle. You could stop lying tomorrow and still be no closer to Jesus. Behavior change matters, but it can't make a dead person alive.
Repentance is turning toward God. It is not only backing away from sin. When you focus on God and walk toward Him, you will still stumble, but you get up and keep walking. Sanctification is the lifelong process of growing to be like Christ.
Notice the order. You don't clean yourself up to get God. You come to God, and He washes your sin away completely. A changed life follows from a new life, not the other way around. That does not mean you can live however you want and say you love Jesus. If you have been made new, you will live differently.
If Christ is in you, are you fully alive?
Yes. If you were dead and Christ made you alive, you can't still be part dead. You are not halfway accepted. You are His child.
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins.
Colossians 2:13
You will still fail. Scripture says a righteous person falls and gets back up. The difference is that a new power is at work inside you. The same Spirit who showed you that you need Jesus is the Spirit who helps you live for Him. If you belong to Christ, you already have what you need to live this life fully alive.
Pastor Sean said it well: on your worst day, after your biggest failure, Christ is still in you. It is no longer your life. It is Christ living in you. That is the hope of glory.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
2 Corinthians 5:17
What if you believe in Jesus but don't feel hope?
Pray about it honestly, and read Romans 5 slowly. That was Kirk's closing encouragement for anyone who believes but feels hopeless. Paul shows how hope grows, step by step, even through hard seasons.
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Romans 5:3 to 5
Try this week
- Read Colossians 2:9 to 15 and underline everything God has already done for you in Christ.
- Name one area where you have been trying to fix yourself. Turn toward God in prayer about it instead of only backing away from it.
- When you fail this week, say out loud: "Christ is still in me." Then get up and keep walking.
- If hope feels thin, read Romans 5 one paragraph a day and pray through it.
Pray
Jesus, I can't make myself good enough, and I'm done trying. Thank You for making me alive when I was dead and for forgiving all my sins. On my worst day, remind me that You are still in me. Fill me with Your Spirit and help me walk toward You. Amen.
Common questions
Does God accept me if I'm not good enough?
Nobody is good enough on their own. Ephesians 2 says we were dead in our sins. God's acceptance comes through Jesus, not your performance, and when you put your faith in Him, He makes you alive and forgives all your sins.
What does "Christ in you, the hope of glory" mean?
In Colossians 1:27, Paul says the mystery God has revealed is that Christ Himself lives in His people. Your hope rests on His life in you, not on how well you perform.
Are all people children of God?
Every person is made in God's image, but John 1:12 says God gives the right to become His children to those who receive Jesus and believe in His name. Being God's child comes through faith in Christ.
If I'm saved, why do I still struggle with sin?
Salvation doesn't make anyone perfect in this life. A righteous person still falls and gets back up. The difference is that the Holy Spirit now lives in you and gives you the power to turn back to God and keep walking.
Your next step
Read the companion post on the weekend message, Christ in You, the Hope of Glory. If you are ready to take a step of faith, start with our next steps.