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CURRENT RADIO SERIES Invisible   CURRENT TV SERIES All Things New Part 2

“… no one does good, not even one.” -- Romans 3:12 As humans, we have a built-in desire to disobey God. You and I got it from our parents and they got it from their parents, and we all inherited this desire from Adam. This is why sins don't make us sinners. We sin because we are sinners! Now, you might say, “Are you sure about that, pastor? I know good people.” Yes, I do, too. Some aren’t even believers. In fact, some unbelievers act better than some who claim to believe! But today’s verse isn’t talking about human goodness. The standard for goodness is not a human standard. It’s the righteousness of God. That’s what Romans 3:10 says, “None is righteous, no, not one...." Jesus said only one is good and that is God. He is clear on this, "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). Are you trusting in your own goodness? If you are, then you are doomed to fail. Human goodness cannot meet the standards of a holy God. Oswald Chambers, the great devotional writer, said, “Sin is not weakness, it is red-handed rebellion against God.” So, if you doubt the exceeding wickedness of your sin, look at Jesus bleeding and dying on the cross. Only at Calvary can you grasp the true consequences of your sinful nature.   HUMAN GOODNESS CANNOT MEET THE STANDARDS OF A HOLY GOD.

Don’t Look Back

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 3:12–14

Author and motivational speaker Erick Reahm recounted a story from his days as a student at West Point. During the summer between his junior and senior years, he was stationed at Ft. Hood in Texas. He was asked to represent his company in a 10k race. About 200 runners, both soldiers and civilians entered. As the race went on and the field thinned out, Reahm saw there was only one runner ahead of him.
He wrote, “With little over a mile to go, I noticed that he started to look back to see where I was. I observed that his form was deteriorating, and I knew I had a chance to beat him. The more he looked back, the more confident I became. As I closed the gap on him, I would wave at him and smile every time he looked back at me. By the time I passed him, he was demoralized and could not match my surge. I won the race easily and solidified a lesson I learned early in my running career—NEVER LOOK BACK!”
All of us have things in the past that we would like to change, but that is impossible. We can do our best to make up for things left undone and make right things that were done, but we cannot change the past. It is a grave error to spend your life looking over your shoulder. The sins and failures we have confessed and forsaken are covered with the blood of Jesus Christ.
 

Today’s Growth Principle: 

A life spent looking backward will make little forward progress toward what matters most.