What does the Bible say about good people that don’t go to church, read, or follow the Word or the Gospel?
I used to give out a gospel tract entitled, “Good news for BAD people and bad news for GOOD people.” The “bad news for good people” is…THERE ARE NO GOOD PEOPLE! This is spelled out loud and clear in Romans 3:10-12, “There is NONE RIGHTEOUS, no, NOT ONE; There is NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS; There is NONE WHO SEEKS AFTER GOD. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is NONE WHO DOES GOOD, no, NOT ONE” (NKJV). This is quite the indictment of the human race but as I’ve always said, “God tells it like it is.” These verses teach us that before one comes to Jesus Christ and receives the salvation He offers them, they are GUILTY (instead of righteous before God), IGNORANT (instead of knowing and understanding God), SELF-SEEKING (instead of seeking God), UNPROFITABLE (instead of useful to God), WAYWARD (instead of following God), and EVIL-DOERS (instead of doing good for God).
So, “what is the good news for bad people” you ask? I am happy to inform you that “Christ Jesus came into the world to SAVE SINNERS” (1st Timothy 1:15). He knew that ALL MEN WERE GUILTY SINNERS who were incapable of doing anything good for God, so in love for mankind He came, as sent from the Father, to pay the penalty of their sins so they could be forgiven and given the gift of eternal life. John 3:16-17 declare, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” Let’s also read 1st John 4:9-10, “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, NOT THAT WE LOVED GOD, but that HE LOVED US and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” We see here that salvation is ALL OF GOD. In love for us He planned it; He carried it out; and now He offers it to all who will feel their need of a Savior and who will then “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 16:31).
So, in closing, the Bible clearly reveals that there are NO GOOD PEOPLE until they are saved. There aren’t any good people who don’t go to church, nor are there good people who go to church. Yet once a person sees they are a lost, guilty sinner they receive the free gift of salvation that was bought and paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ as He hung on Calvary’s cross and bore the judgment due to the sinner. Once they do receive Jesus Christ and His salvation by faith, they will BE ABLE TO DO GOOD. Ephesians 2:8-10 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS FOR GOOD WORKS, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” The believer in Christ will indeed DO GOOD WORKS, as the “fruit of salvation.” I will add that he/she will also “read and follow God’s Word,” for God give them the desire to do so and the power as well. “For it is God which worketh you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13…KJV). (336.5) (DO)