When Good Becomes the Danger

This week’s message explores one of the most unsettling truths in Scripture, and it is also one of the most counterintuitive. It doesn't confront your worst sin. It defies your deepest confidence. It challenges our preconceived ideas about what it means to be "good."

What???

What if the biggest threat to your soul isn’t what you’re doing wrong, but what you think you’re doing right?

It's a danger Jesus often warned about. It wasn’t always the outward rebels He confronted. Often, Jesus challenged the spiritual insiders, the moral achievers, and those who were convinced they had their act together. He challenged spiritual self-assurance.

The Contrast

Simon was a Pharisee. He checked every spiritual box, quoted Bible verses, kept the Law, associated with the right people, and guarded his image with precision. But when a broken woman walked into his house and wept at Jesus’ feet, Simon didn’t recognize what was unfolding. He saw shame, not repentance. He saw a problem, not a person. He was offended and shocked that Jesus would allow her to touch Him. Simon thought, If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner. (Lk 7:39)

Jesus saw something entirely different: faith.

The woman had lived a sinful life. She didn't bring a resume. Her reputation preceded her. She made no defense. She came with tears, worship, and a gift. Her actions were not a plea for attention. They were the response of a heart that knew it had no hope without mercy.

Simon thought he was fine. The woman knew she wasn't. And that is what made the difference.

The woman went away forgiven. Simon remained condemned.

A Lesson in Forgiveness

The sinful woman realized something that Simon's heart was hardened against. She needed Jesus. Jesus' lesson to Simon through the Parable of the Moneylender left no doubt of application. 

Two people owed money to a lender. One owed much. The other owed little. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. (Luke 7:42–43)

Jesus revealed something Simon could not see. 

Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” (Lk 7:47)

The one who knows the depth of their need is the one most ready to receive grace.

People Who Believe in Jesus . . .

The story isn't about who sinned more. It is about who trusted more. Simon left unchanged, still convinced he was right. The woman left forgiven, because she knew she wasn't. That's what made the difference.

The truth is jarring:

Good people don’t go to heaven.
People who believe in Jesus do.

Heaven will not be filled with the well-behaved. It will be filled with the forgiven. The streets of heaven won’t be filled with those who trusted their record, but with those who surrendered their failures to Christ.

Simon tried to earn God’s approval. The woman believed that mercy was standing in front of her, and she received it.

Your goodness will never be enough. It was never meant to be.
Only Jesus saves.
Only Jesus heals.
Only Jesus can make you whole.

That truth should have unsettled Simon, and that truth still confronts us today. The greatest threat to your soul may not be what you're doing wrong. It may be what you have been trusting as right.

Are you a Simon or a sinful woman? Are you depending on your effort or resting in Jesus' sacrifice? 

The Road Ahead

Reflect on  What You're Trusting

Ask the Spirit to reveal areas where you have begun to rely on your goodness, discipline, or spiritual reputation instead of Jesus. Are there places where you feel confident before God because of your record rather than His mercy?

Pray Psalm 139:23–24:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart… See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Bring one hidden area into the light.

Choose one place in your life where you’ve been managing sin quietly or hiding behind spiritual effort. Confess it honestly to God—and if needed, to a trusted believer. Grace cannot transform what we still try to conceal.

“If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)

Worship Jesus for who He is—not what you’ve done.

Set aside time this week to thank Jesus—not for helping you become better, but for being your righteousness. Like the woman in Luke 7, worship Him not to earn anything, but because you’ve received everything.

“He who has been forgiven much loves much.” (Luke 7:47)

Here are 3 powerful verses to reflect on this week:

1. John 8:24 – “Unless you believe that I Am, you will die in your sins.”

2. Romans 8:1 – “Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit set me free from the law of sin and death."

3. 2 Corinthians 5:21 – “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

May this truth shape your walk with Christ
Greg