Charity does not oblige us to think any man good, because Christ says, “there is none good.” (Thomas Adam, Private Thoughts on Religion)
“The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).
Very few believe that no on is good, but none believe it about themselves much at all. We must believe it as a theological fact, but accepting that truth as true about ourselves is more than our pride and self-love can bear. We don’t have to think of anyone as good and we must not think of others as good if we want to be biblical. While many speak of people as being “a good man” or something of that order, at best it is not theologically accurate and at worst it build up the self-righteousness of others. We may think we have to believe that others are good in order to make it though the day or walk down the street feeling safe, but that shows how little we rest in the sovereignty of God. We would rather believe in what is not biblical (that man is basically good) than believe in the sovereignty of God in whom all that man does is under His perfect control.
Romans 3:12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”
Titus 3:3 For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.
Luke 18:19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.
The three texts of Scripture above do not equivocate and do not beat around the bush. No one does good as an unbeliever and in fact spends his or her life as slaves of lusts and pleasures while spending his or her “life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.” Jesus specifically said that no one was good except for God alone. Perhaps He was meaning something different than Romans 3:12, as there is a distinction between doing good and being good, but the point should be driven home. No one is good but God. No unbeliever is good and no unbeliever can do good, but instead spends his or her life in slavery and hating others.
But speaking of believers, not one believer is good, but a believer can do good because He who is good can work that good in and through him or her. This should drive the believer to a deeper and deeper humility as he sees himself as he is which is not good, but also utterly unable to do one good thing from self and by self. The truth drives us to see ourselves as the Bible sets it out, but also to see others in that light. It is only when we see ourselves as having no good in us but needing to have each bit of good given to us that we begin to see our utter dependence on Christ each moment.
Charity or love not only has not demand on us to think of others as good, but the truth of love demands that we not think of others as good so that we may see the glory of the goodness of God as He works good in His people. The love for God and His glory should drive us to see that we have no goodness that can come from ourselves other than what we receive by grace from Him. Oh the horror of our deceptive hearts which deceive us about true goodness which is to deceive us about the true God. The world is based on building the esteem of ourselves and others based on the good they and we do in most cases, but in doing so it is a deceptive system that comes from the deceiver himself. God is infinitely glorious in His goodness and man has none of himself but what comes from God and that is to the glory of His name.
God Loves... Himself 
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