Hidden Truth

Psalm 16:2 (KJV) [O my soul], thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;

Psalm 16:2 (NASB95) I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have no good besides You.”

(Proverbs 19 also read)

If you just read this in the King James, you would find it a bit confusing.  It gives you some idea that all the goodness you’ve been building up is given to God and that He’s supposed to treasure it.  He doesn’t.  That is basically true, but it misses the point.

The point is a basic doctrine of Christianity.  If you are Calvinist, you would find it in the concept of total depravity.  For the rest of us were content with such phrases as original sin.  The general idea, though is that we are incapable of reaching righteousness through our own efforts.  Yes, we can rescue kittens from trees.  We can help the old ladies across the street.  We can be honest in our income tax.  All of that is nice but not enough to get us into heaven.  It’s not enough to make it possible for us to stand before the judgment seat of God and expect to be not guilty.

So?  The great truths of Christianity are rooted in the Bible, in the Old Testament.  They’re not new ideas.  We may not understand them because the words of some of our translations are confusing, but they’re still there.