One of the most subtle yet dangerous ideas that circulates among Christians is that which says, “I can be good all by myself.”

I have heard people declare, “Jesus said that if you keep the two greatest commands, you will fulfill the whole law.” What they are referring to is where Jesus said,

Matthew 22:37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

All the rest of what is in the law and spoken by the prophets is attached to these two great commandments. But let’s just take the statement I gave earlier into consideration for a moment—the idea of fulfilling all the laws by loving God and loving your neighbor.

Is there anyone who can truly testify that they have loved God with all their heart, soul, and mind and loved their neighbor as themself? I mean, 24/7, 365 days a year, without missing a beat, they have complied with these two great commandments, both in thought and practice.

You see, someone making such a statement does so in ignorance from a vantage point of thinking they can do good all by themselves. They imagine Jesus came to make it possible for them to be perfect in their flesh now. They imagine that they can now keep the law perfectly in their flesh.

Remember how Eve stood at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and fell prey to the deceptive lie of the serpent? The temptation had to do with the idea that “I can be good all by myself.” That is what the temptation was that she could be good like God all by herself. It was the idea that if she, too, knew the difference between good and evil, she could always, with perfection, choose to be and to do good. This subtle temptation is what brought the fall of all mankind into play once Adam willfully ate the fruit.

When they ate, they saw themselves. Introspection came into play, and condemnation found a home. Their newfound awareness of themselves made them ashamed and self-aware in a very unhealthy way. Paul’s words to the Galatians ring so powerfully true.

Galatians 3:3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?

That is essentially what happened in the garden: “I can be good all by myself.” In other words, in my flesh, I can be and do good on par with God’s goodness. That is the subtle deception that sin uses regarding the law. It seeks to make someone think they might attain righteousness through the law, and nothing could be further from the truth. Today, people are still being fooled by this subtle deception that started in the garden. This mixture of thinking is still very prevalent in churches today. Only a true New Covenant Gospel can instruct someone in such a way that they can avoid being fooled by this age-old position. It is why we need to hear the truth of the gospel all the time so we can stand on the truth concerning Christ Jesus, get our eyes off ourselves, and be freed from being fooled into thinking we are the captains of our salvation as opposed to Jesus. I encourage you today; “don’t be fooled.”