Below the Line: Why You’re Not Good and Why That’s the Best News Ever.

A message to Believers…

Most Christians don’t realize it, but one of the greatest deceptions after salvation is the urge to “start being good.” It sounds noble. It sounds holy. But beneath that surface lies a dangerous lie: that we can impress God by performing righteousness. That we can clean ourselves up by sheer effort. That the same hands that once reached out for mercy are now fit to construct holiness.

This deep dive exists to break that lie.

You’ll discover that your problem is not just your behavior—it’s your condition. That sin is not just what you do—it’s what you are. And that the goal of salvation was never to make you better—it was to make you new.

We’re going to expose the myth of self-righteousness, magnify the finished performance of Christ, and remind every believer of the liberating truth:

You’re not good—and that’s exactly why Jesus is.

Now exhale.

Step off the stage.

And let the real performance begin.

1. The Fallacy of Being “Good” After Coming to Christ

One of the first missteps many new believers take—and unfortunately many old ones too—is assuming that following Christ means “acting good.” They associate faith with performance, behavioral control, and external compliance.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth: man is not good.

Not by effort. Not by intention. Not by performance.

Because man isn’t just a “person who sometimes sins.” Man is in sin—by nature, by state of being, by condition inherited from Adam. (Romans 5:12)

This is why Paul says in Romans 7:18 (NASB),

“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh…”

He’s not talking about actions. He’s talking about ontology—our very being.

You don’t sin and become a sinner. You sin because you are a sinner.

2. Sin Is a State, Not Just an Action

Let’s visualize this:

Imagine a horizontal line—let’s call it the Glory Line.

Everything above that line is the state Adam and Eve were in pre-Fall—pure, sinless, radiant, walking in unbroken communion with God.

Anything below that line, even by a micron, is not glory. It is not perfection. It is not holiness. It is not God’s standard.

Therefore, it is sin.

So sin isn’t just doing wrong—it’s not being right.

It’s being in a condition that is separated from the original glory.

Romans 3:23 says it plainly:

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Not “all have made mistakes.”

Not “all have done bad things.”

All have fallen short of glory. That’s the definition of sin: being below the line.

3. The Dangerous Shift to Self-Performance

Now here’s where the danger comes in:

When someone gets saved and their first instinct is, “I need to be good,” what they’re really doing is subconsciously trying to earn or maintain their position by works.

They believe the blood of Christ saved them—but now their behavior must sustain them.

This is subtle spiritual slavery in a tuxedo. A performance-based relationship with a God who already finished the work.

Isaiah 64:6 says:

“All our righteous deeds are like filthy garments…”

If even our best is still below the line, how dare we present our behavior as merit?

That’s not faith. That’s moral theater.

4. The Good News: Christ Is the Performance

Here’s the twist most don’t realize:

The Gospel isn’t about your performance—it’s about Christ’s.

You can’t act your way above the line.

But Christ fulfilled the law, walked in glory, and stayed above the line the entire time—and then He put your name on His resume.

Romans 8:3-4 (NASB) says:

“For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son… so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us…”

In us? How?

Because the Father sees His Son when He looks at us.

Christ pleased the Father in your place.

Christ performed the righteousness you couldn’t.

Christ fulfilled the standard you were born beneath.

And when you believe in Him—God credits His performance to your account.

5. Let the Holy Spirit Do the Acting

This is where the indwelling Spirit comes in.

When you accept Christ, you are sealed with the Holy Spirit. You become one of the “little anointed ones”—a Christian in the truest sense.

The behavior that follows is not your effort.

It’s the Spirit transforming you from within.

Philippians 2:13 says:

“It is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

It’s not about “try harder.”

It’s “surrender deeper.”

The Spirit does the performing in you.

You are the vessel. He is the actor.

You are the stage. He is the play.

6. Come As You Are—Because You Can’t Come As You’re Not

The beauty of grace is this:

God didn’t ask you to climb the line. He sent Christ to bring you above it.

Your sin-nature—your “meat sack of sin”—is still there.

Your flesh is still corrupt.

But your spirit is redeemed, seated with Christ, clothed in righteousness, and being daily transformed.

So stop pretending. Stop performing.

Come as you are. Be who you are.

And let the Holy Spirit reshape who you become.

Conclusion: You Are Not Good—But That’s What Makes God’s Grace So Great

You aren’t good.

And that’s exactly why the Gospel is good news.

Because Jesus is good.

Because the Spirit in you does good.

And because the Father has already seen the final performance—and called it finished.

Your job isn’t to perform.

Your job is to surrender—to let the Author of Life write your story and let the Spirit perform it on your behalf.

The curtain has already risen.

Christ is center stage.

Let Him act through you.

Let Him raise you above the line.