Hello ,

When sin entered the human story, the distance between God’s holiness and our condition became unbridgeable. That’s why Scripture reminds us, “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). We don’t simply lack righteousness — we’re incapable of producing it.

In the 1800s, Scottish pastor Robert Murray M’Cheyne wrestled deeply with this truth. He once wrote, “The seed of every sin is in my heart.” Despite his devotion, prayer, and preaching, he recognized his inability to stand before God without divine help. His life illustrates what Paul confessed: “For I know that in me… nothing good dwells” (Romans 7:18).

That realization didn’t crush him — it freed him. Because only empty hands can receive.

God’s answer is not self-improvement, but transformation. “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you”(Ezekiel 36:26). We’re not patched up; we’re remade.

Like a diseased tree cannot bear healthy fruit, we cannot produce righteousness without a new nature. Jesus said plainly, “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). But with Him? We bear fruit we could never manufacture.

Our hope is not in moral performance. It’s in a Savior who supplies what He commands.

Have a great day and God bless!

Pastor Mike / The Open Word