Good men will be unsaved
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?
1)
If we
would be classed with the bad, is it not time to make things right with
God?
a. Without faith we cannot please God (Heb. 11:6).
b. We cannot be a child of God without repentance (Lk. 13:3).
c. We must confess that Jesus is the Son of God (1 Tim. 6:12; Acts
8:36-38).
d. Finally we must be baptized into Christ (Gal. 3:27) for the
forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16).
e. Have we done these things and are we living a faithful Christian
life?