If you are not doing anything wrong, it does not mean that you are good. Doing the right thing by not doing a bad thing is not necessarily being good.

I am not arguing that if you’re doing wrong, you’re doing right, or that it’s all right to do wrong. Many act right on the outside, yet live life terribly on the inside. You can only do right if you lovingly respond to Christ’s love for you – living right depends on expressing gratitude genuinely on the inside, expressed joyfully on the outside confirmed by the Holy Spirit’s witness.

Think of the Pharisees, looking the prudent part of the good guys’ club. Jesus spoke some firm words to the Pharisees in Matthew 23:27, 28: “Listen, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites? You are like painted tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, yet are full of dead men’s bones. You think you’ve got it made by appearing righteous to men, but within you are lifeless – full of hypocrisy and corruption.”

Most agree that the goal for the Christian is to be good both on the inside and on the outside. If you’re not good on the inside, aren’t you better off at least being socially acceptable on the outside?

Jesus said that the religion of the Pharisee never measured up to truly loving God and our fellow man sufficient for eternal life. “Except your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:20. If you think external goodness is recognisably real, it’s no good for the divine inspection.

We may presume to serve God while relying upon our efforts to obey His law, to form a right character, and secure salvation. However, cold and hardened hearts are not moved by any deep sense of the love of Christ. They seek only to perform the duties of the Christian life on the outside to get on the inside with God.

In Revelation 3 is a metaphoric message to the church for the time just before Jesus comes again. “I know your works. They’re lukewarm! – Not hot or cold – so I will vomit you out of my mouth!” (Verses 15, 16). External goodness is a bad tradeoff – a fake mask – it’s worse in God’s estimation than no goodness at all! He prefers cold hearts to show-and-tell righteousness, to a dog and pony Christianity – it’s as sickening as slaking an unrefrigerated Fresca after a day hiking in the sun.

External appearance alone is repulsive to God. Prodigals have a better chance of realising their need as sinners and repenting – are more easily reached with the mercy of the Gospel than the one who feels no need.

Must Christ fill the church with prestigious people who are classy enough to display required pretentious behaviour? Or politically or theologically correct sufficient to keep a church worker’s priestly pension safe. Pride is a barrier limiting any personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We can’t guarantee righteousness by checking off public achievements to gain God’s high five.

Let’s stop trying to do what is right, by setting time aside for devotion and contemplating Christ’s love-based Principles as we allow Him to out-express His life in us via the Holy Spirit.

Instead, we can swap out the fake; put in time and energy and effort toward seeking Him. He will then come and live His life in us. Only Christ’s right doing through you will make you good – and the bonus, you’ll be right with God.