MORALITY ALONE CANNOT AND WILL NOT SAVE!
There is the tendency among many people to equate morality with being a Christian. While it is true that every devout Christian is a good moral person, it does not follow that every good moral person is a Christian. The moralist, separate and apart from Christ, is a sinner. The apostle Paul, quoting an Old Testament passage stated, that “There is none righteous, no not one.” He further declared, “for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:10, 23). It isn’t that a man is born a sinner; he simply becomes one through violating the commands of God (I John 3:4).
The moralist may be known for his good disposition, his kind words, his charitable deeds, his good citizenship, and his participation in community affairs; but, if he has never obeyed the gospel of Christ, he is in a lost condition. When a person as previously described passes from this life, his peers are apt to say, “Well, he was not a member of any church but he certainly was a good man, worthy of salvation.”
The basic difference between a moralist who is not a Christian and a Christian who is morally clean is found in their relationship with God. The moralist exclaims that he deserves to be saved upon his own meritorious goodness. This attitude was found in the Pharisees “who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others”; and, is found in the words of a self righteous individual as recorded in Luke 18:9 – 12, “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. ‘I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess’. The Christian admits his inability to save himself and submits to the will of God. He cries out, “God, be thou merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13). If one moralist can be saved without the blood of Christ, then it must be concluded that all moralists can be saved. If this is true, Christ died in vain. There was no need for his crucifixion on Calvary.