For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Tonight, I need to rip the bandage off and tell you a truth our culture hates:
We live in a world addicted to the lie of self-esteem. We’re told every day:
“You’re perfect just the way you are.”
“Trust your heart.”
“Follow your truth.”
Even in the Church, we’ve swallowed the poison of,
“I’m basically a good person.”
We measure our spirituality by:
The thunder of Scripture cuts through the noise:
“For I KNOW that in me dwelleth NO good thing!”
This isn’t just Paul being dramatic. This is God’s universal diagnosis for every human being. There’s nothing good in you. Not a hidden spark of virtue. Not a secret well of goodness. NOTHING GOOD.
Until you face that, you’ll never see the need for radical grace.
Jeremiah 17:9
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
Culture says, “Follow your heart.” The Bible says, “Your heart is a liar.”
Revival doesn’t start with shouting or singing. Revival begins when you stop pointing at your neighbor and look in the mirror.
David didn’t say, “I gradually became sinful.” He said:
“Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Ps. 51:5)
From the very moment you were born, you were bent toward sin. You don’t have to teach a toddler to lie or throw a tantrum—it comes naturally. Obedience must be taught. Rebellion is instinctive.
Isaiah 64:6 — “All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.”
On your very best day, with your most selfless act:
It still smells like death to a holy God. Your “goodness” can’t fix your depravity.
Romans 7:19 — “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.”
You know the cycle:
You don’t just do bad things. You are bent toward bad things by nature. You need more than forgiveness for what you’ve done. You need transformation of who you are.
Picture a man drowning in quicksand. He fights harder, but the harder he fights, the deeper he sinks. Friends throw him:
None of it works. Why? Because the problem isn’t effort—it’s condition.
Romans 7:21 — “When I would do good, evil is present with me.”
Falling is our default setting. Until there’s a transfer of righteousness, you will always:
If I left you here, this would just be a hopeless lecture. But Romans 6:23 shouts hope:
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Grace isn’t a paycheck you worked for. It’s not a loan you slowly pay back. Grace is a gift.
Ephesians 2:8–9
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Salvation isn’t achieved—it’s received.
The cross wasn’t a self-help seminar. It was a nature exchange.
Romans 8:11
“But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”
Acts 2:38 lays out the rescue plan:
You can’t fix yourself. You can’t keep flirting with the world and expect heaven’s reward. You can’t be half in, half out, hoping things will “get better.”
It’s time to drop the depravity:
If Old Testament believers could trust God without this gift, how much more secure should you be, now that you can have the very Spirit of Jesus living inside you?
“He saved a wretch like me.”
Me — nothing good. Jesus — all grace.
Tonight, you don’t need to wait for “someday.” The Holy Ghost is ready NOW.
“There was NOTHING GOOD in me… But grace filled me, changed me, and made me new!”