‘I’m Not Good Enough’

A man who had been receiving material from the Philadelphia Church of God for decades told one of our staff, “I’d like to attend church with you, but I’m probably not good enough.” In his mind, he had disqualified himself, convinced he wouldn’t measure up to the Church’s lofty expectations.

Some people hold the notion that the members of God’s Church are already perfect. Here is what Jesus Christ said about this: “… They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Mark 2:17).

That’s right: God’s Church is full of sinners. But we are sinners called to repentance—people actively working to overcome the sin in our lives. Sin is not the disqualifying factor; complacency with sin is.

There is irony in Christ’s statement. The truth is that all people are spiritually sick and need “the physician,” Jesus Christ. He “came not to call the righteous”—yet in reality, “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). Anyone who thinks himself “whole” fails to recognize “the plague of his own heart” (1 Kings 8:38). He is not righteous, but self-righteous. He is not only sick, but blind. This deception enshrouds the whole world (Revelation 12:9). Until someone sees his sickness, Christ cannot heal him.

But like many others (perhaps you), this man recognized his sin—at least a portion of it. But he felt inadequate to overcome it or powerless to attain God’s standards.

It is true that God has high standards. Jesus articulated the ultimate standard for all of us: “Be [become is a more accurate translation] ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). But we are hardly called in that state. Striving to build God’s perfect character is a process—an arduous, lifelong process.

Herbert W. Armstrong told a story in an October 1957 sermon about a man who lamented that he wasn’t strong enough to overcome, who felt like giving up. Mr. Armstrong responded: “Of course you can’t, but Christ in you can! … Why [not] go more to Him in prayer? Why don’t you cry out to Him and say, ‘Lord God, I’m weak; I can’t do it, but you can! You’re strong. … Lord God, give me the strength that I may overcome!’”

The Apostle Paul, one of the spiritual giants of all human history, held this perspective, saying “that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1:15). This mighty spiritual warrior considered himself chief among sinners. Having been a fanatical persecutor and murderer of saints, Paul had no misconceptions about his virtue apart from God. “However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life” (verse 16; New King James Version). If God can forgive me and use me, he was saying, he can use anyone.

If you feel inadequate to be in God’s Church, you are right. Not one of us is good enough! In fact, the biggest obstacle preventing most people from understanding God’s truth is their feelings of personal adequacy. Perhaps the singular quality that differentiates the members of God’s Church is the humility to recognize just how inadequate we are.

However, inadequacy should be a prod to action, not an excuse for inaction. Human nature is inventive, resourceful and resilient; it will devise a dozen rationales for why we are as we are, and a hundred excuses for not doing anything about it. God links inactivity—hearing but not doing—with self-deception (James 1:22).

“I’m not good enough” sounds humble—it is not. True humility drives a person toward God, not away from Him (e.g. Isaiah 57:15).

When it distances you from God, it is faithlessness masquerading as humility. It is sin. “[W]hatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). And if that is what holds you back from turning to God, it is a sin more destructive than whatever you feel makes you unworthy.

Don’t limit God’s power. No matter how grievous your sins, God can wash you of them. Read Isaiah 1:18. It evokes an image of fabric deeply stained from repeated dippings in scarlet dye—but which God cleanses and purifies so thoroughly that it is gleaming white. With Christ’s blood and God’s power, the blackest heart can be made bright—the grisliest scarring can be renewed and regenerated!

Seeing a sinner repent literally gives God and the angels a hundredfold more joy than a just person who needs no repentance (Luke 15:7). Don’t allow your insecurity or rationalization to deny God that joy.