God does not accept a person simply because they believe they have lived a good life.
Scripture says 'all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God' (Romans 3:23), so the moral, the religious, and the immoral all miss God's standard. Les Feldick teaches that joining a church, doing good works, or cleaning up your own act cannot deal with the real source of sin—old Adam. Only by being justified freely by God's grace through faith can a person enter God's heaven.
Romans 3:23 — This is the key verse Les returns to: every person, including those who try to be good, has sinned and cannot reach God's glory.
Romans 3:20 — It explicitly says no flesh will be justified by deeds of the law, so attempts to be good do not provide standing before God.
Scripture is clear that no human effort makes a person righteous before God. Romans 3:10-12 says, 'As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.' Verse 19 adds that the law stops every mouth and makes the whole world guilty before God, and verse 20 concludes, 'Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.' The same chapter then gives the summary in verse 23: 'For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.' God's alternative to human goodness is His own covering. Romans 4:5 says, 'But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.' And Isaiah 61:10 pictures the believer clothed with the garments of salvation and covered with the robe of righteousness. Good works are not the grounds for standing before God; faith in the one who justifies the ungodly is.
Les Feldick says that when God looks at our attempts to be good, He does not grade them as acceptable. The main problem is old Adam—the Adamic nature that lives in the invisible, spiritual realm. No amount of church attendance, clean living, good citizenship, or charity can deal with that source of sin. As Les puts it, trying to fix ourselves up is like veneering over an open sepulcher; the problem is still there underneath. God's view is seen in Romans 3: Les quotes 'There is none righteous, no, not one' and then 'all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.' Every category of humanity—immoral, moral, and religious—fails. Les says people often object, 'I do a lot of good,' but that is not what God is looking at. He also warns against the common hope that 'if I could just clean up my act, then I'd get saved'—that puts the cart before the horse. The first step is to believe what God says about us: we are sinners. Then we are justified freely by His grace, not by anything we do.
No. Les Feldick shows that the moral and religious are in the same category as the immoral before God. Quoting Romans 3:23, he says all have come short and cannot meet God's criteria. They in no way can claim to be good enough to enter God's heaven. Romans 3:10 also says 'There is none righteous, no, not one,' so human goodness is not the standard God uses.
Les teaches that the real problem is old Adam, the sin nature that lives in the invisible, spiritual realm. You cannot lay old Adam on a table or examine him; therefore no human effort can reach him. He compares this to a man who tries to join a church or be a good citizen—those things do not deal with old Adam. In the same way, hoping to clean up your act before getting saved puts the cart before the horse; you can't clean up your own act, God has to do it, and then we respond.
Les says when we try to veneer ourselves—fix ourselves up with good behavior—all God sees is an open sepulcher. But when we let Him cover us with the righteousness of God, we appear as a bride adorned with her jewels; that is how a believer looks in God's sight. God's cover comes through His grace, not through our efforts.
Paul's words in Romans 4:5 say that righteousness is counted 'to him that worketh not, but believeth on him who justifieth the ungodly.' Les says the first step of faith is believing what God says about you—that you are a sinner—and then resting on what God has done. God's declaration of justification is 'freely' and has no strings attached.
Dealing with Old Adam
Les uses a trained horse that finally explodes to show that old Adam cannot be managed by good behavior; joining the church or other outward efforts do not get a person right with God, because old Adam is in the invisible, spiritual realm.
All Fall Short
Les stresses that Romans 3:23 is the capstone: everyone—immoral, moral, and religious—has sinned and come short of God's glory, so our attempts at being good are not the standard.
Good Enough for Heaven?
Les says people cannot meet God's criteria and in no way can claim to be good enough to enter God's heaven; Romans 3:23 is the starting place for understanding salvation.
The Objection of Good Works
Les points out that people object to 'none that doeth good' by saying they are good citizens and give to charity, but that is not what God is looking at.
Worketh Not, But Believeth
Les explains that trying to clean up your act before getting saved is the cart before the horse; Romans 4:5 says righteousness comes to the one who does not work but believes.
Nothing We Do Gets Us to Heaven
Les teaches that nothing can be done to get us into heaven; we must rest on the fact that we are sinners, believe what God says about us, and be justified freely.
Separated From God's Standard
Les says every human being in his natural state is separated from God because he has come short of God's standard, but the situation is not hopeless because of God's grace.
Veneer vs. God's Covering
Les says when we try to fix ourselves up, God sees an open sepulcher; only when we let Him cover us with His robe of righteousness do we look right in His sight.
Romans 3:10-12: As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
This is the starting point for why human goodness cannot make a person righteous before God.
Romans 3:19: Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
The law silences human claims of goodness and makes the whole world guilty.
Romans 3:20: Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Paul's conclusion that deeds of the law cannot justify anyone.
Romans 3:23: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
The one-verse summary that all have sinned, which is the direct answer to the question.
Romans 3:24: Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
The solution is a free justification by God's grace, not by human effort.
Romans 4:5: But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Abraham's example shows that righteousness is counted to the one who works not but believes.
Isaiah 61:10: I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
The picture of God's covering of righteousness rather than our self-effort.
No. Romans 4:5 says righteousness is counted not to the one who works, but to the one who believes on God who justifies the ungodly. Les Feldick says people often try to clean up their act before coming to God, but that puts the cart before the horse.
Les Feldick says that is not what God is looking at. Romans 3:10-12 says there is none righteous and none that doeth good. Good deeds cannot deal with old Adam, the real source of the problem, so God sees a need for His covering rather than self-improvement.
By believing what God says about you—that you are a sinner—and trusting what Christ has done. Romans 3:23-24 says all have sinned, but are justified freely by His grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus. God covers the believer with His robe of righteousness.
Watch the Teaching: Why the Law Can't Save You — Romans 3:19-20 Explained