They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
The verse portrays the present condition of both the world and the church, that all have left the right way and together have become worthless, with no one doing good. This portrayal of universal unrighteousness comes from God, who sees things as they presently are. This terrible universal condition has been brought about by making void the law of God.
The verse shows universal guilt and moral failure, that all have gone astray and none is guiltless and none does good, with cherished evils and sins and refusal to heed warning revealing corrupt ways in practice. Going astray means forsaking God as the source of life, and its fruit is envy, hatred, jealousy, suspicion, rivalry, strife, and bitterness. It means no one does good by God's standard, for all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. The natural heart is deceitful and wicked and people cannot meet God's requirements by their own efforts, so judging by one's own standards or comparing with others or relying on one's own righteousness does not satisfy the divine standard, whose true test is whether the heart meets God's standard and is in harmony with Him.
Humanity cannot claim goodness or earn God's favor by seeking Him, since no one seeks God first; salvation begins with God seeking sinners, and His love leads them to repentance. For students at Avondale, freed by God giving His own life to purchase their freedom from slavery to sin, to go out of the way and become unprofitable and do no good means to dishonor God by words through indulging in cheap common talk and riotous actions that give the Lord no pleasure and give no real satisfaction. That record is carried to heaven as proof that there is no fear of God before their eyes.
Since all have gone out of the way in that all have made mistakes and all have had times of trouble, blindness, and affliction, no one should shun a brother who has done wrong and leave him alone where the enemy can work on his mind and conscience. Instead there should be earnest desire to save those ready to perish, coming as close to him as possible and letting him see the love revealed in the life of Christ. With God-given soul-winning power he is to be drawn to Christ, trusting the power in the truth and in the love of God to press back clouds of darkness and let the sunlight of God's presence into the erring heart. The verse means there is no one good and no one is as good as he ought to be, so no person deserves praise for goodness, and the right response is to refuse praise and humbly confess personal shortcoming.
The verse portrays the present condition of both the world and the church, that all have left the right way and together have become worthless, with no one doing good. This portrayal of universal unrighteousness comes from God, who sees things as they presently are. This terrible universal condition has been brought about by making void the law of God.
The verse shows universal guilt and moral failure, that all have gone astray and none is guiltless and none does good, with cherished evils and sins and refusal to heed warning revealing corrupt ways in practice. Going astray means forsaking God as the source of life, and its fruit is envy, hatred, jealousy, suspicion, rivalry, strife, and bitterness. It means no one does good by God's standard, for all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. The natural heart is deceitful and wicked and people cannot meet God's requirements by their own efforts, so judging by one's own standards or comparing with others or relying on one's own righteousness does not satisfy the divine standard, whose true test is whether the heart meets God's standard and is in harmony with Him.
Humanity cannot claim goodness or earn God's favor by seeking Him, since no one seeks God first; salvation begins with God seeking sinners, and His love leads them to repentance. For students at Avondale, freed by God giving His own life to purchase their freedom from slavery to sin, to go out of the way and become unprofitable and do no good means to dishonor God by words through indulging in cheap common talk and riotous actions that give the Lord no pleasure and give no real satisfaction. That record is carried to heaven as proof that there is no fear of God before their eyes.
Since all have gone out of the way in that all have made mistakes and all have had times of trouble, blindness, and affliction, no one should shun a brother who has done wrong and leave him alone where the enemy can work on his mind and conscience. Instead there should be earnest desire to save those ready to perish, coming as close to him as possible and letting him see the love revealed in the life of Christ. With God-given soul-winning power he is to be drawn to Christ, trusting the power in the truth and in the love of God to press back clouds of darkness and let the sunlight of God's presence into the erring heart. The verse means there is no one good and no one is as good as he ought to be, so no person deserves praise for goodness, and the right response is to refuse praise and humbly confess personal shortcoming.