Psalm
14:1-3 "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. (2) The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of
men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
(3) They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy:
there is none that doeth good, no, not one."
We know there are those who openly declare their disbelief concerning God. We
know there are many who proudly (and I use that word in context of them) say
"there is no God." Quite honestly, I've always wondered why
those people are consumed with a need to argue the subject. I do not believe
Peter Pan ever existed, but I'm not going to waste any time arguing with
someone who would declare he does exist. If I did not believe in God, it would
be a non-issue with me. So, I'm wondering if there are really any true
atheists, or is it as the Lord God Almighty declared in His word: "The
fool hath said in his heart, There is no God."
But my thoughts this morning turn toward our actions. God's Word went on to
say, "The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if
there were any that did understand, and seek God." What was His
answer? "They are all gone aside, they are altogether filthy: there is
NONE that doeth good, no, not one." When the Apostle Paul referred
to this passage, he brought in the subject of the law that was given to
Moses. Does the action of trying to keep the law declare us to be
"good people"? Remember Paul was second only to the wise man,
Gamaliel, as far as understanding and teaching the law. Let's see what
his response was to that question. "Now we know that what things soever
the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be
stopped, and ALL THE WORLD may become GUILTY BEFORE GOD." (Romans 3:19)
What did Jesus say concerning this subject of being good? When the
rich young ruler came to Jesus and called Him, "Good Master,"
"And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but
one, that is, God." (Mark 10:18)
If there are none that do good, and if there are none who seek after God, and
if there are none who understands the grand truth of God's Word, then what must
happen in order for you and I to be able to do those things? What happens
to enable us to do good works, which God ordained His people to walk in them?
What must happen in order for us to know and understand that we need God in our
lives? Is it a decision that an incapable carnal mind is able to make?
The answer must be no, we are not capable of seeking after God on our
own. One more passage from the Apostle Paul nails that truth to the cross
of Jesus. "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the
Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14) To the
natural man, things of God are foolishness. So how could anyone in that natural
state of being dead in trespasses and sins possibly make a decision to seek
after that which is foolishness? If we could make ourselves good, then Jesus
would not have had to die on the cross.
The answer is quite simple and yet so many of God's people overlook this grand
truth. "But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the
Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. (11) For
what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?
even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
(12) Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the
spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to
us of God." (1 Corinthians 2:10-12) The only way - let me repeat -
the only way anyone can see, seek, strive to understand, and try to do good in
life is for the Lord to FIRST give His Holy Spirit. If we cannot seek Him
(and we can't), then for us to be one of His, He must first come to us and give
Spiritual life to us.
We must come to the same conclusion where Jonah arrived when he was in the belly of the whale at the bottom of the sea. He could not escape that condition on his own. "Salvation is of the Lord."