Can You Be Good Without God?

Series: Making Sense of Christianity

Part 4: Morality

Can we be good without God? In a culture overflowing with moral passion—fighting for justice, equality, and human rights—it seems obvious that the answer is yes. But beneath the surface lies a deeper question: where did this moral instinct come from, and what sustains it? This sermon explores why secular ethics still echo Christian foundations, why moral obligation requires more than feeling, and how Romans 2 reveals a law written on our hearts by a Lawgiver we cannot escape. Ultimately, we’ll see that Christianity not only explains our moral hunger—it satisfies it with grace.

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Going Deeper: To My Fellow Christians -

We live in a time when people care deeply about justice, human rights, and the dignity of every person—but fewer and fewer can explain why those things matter. This sermon equips Christians to recognize that moral passion in our culture not as a threat, but as an entry point for the gospel. Romans 2 reminds us that everyone has the law written on their hearts—meaning the moral instincts we see around us are not random; they are echoes of God’s voice. But without a Lawgiver, moral obligation loses its grounding, and secular frameworks often collapse into contradiction. This message helps believers lovingly surface that tension, not to shame or silence, but to gently ask: “Where does your deep sense of justice come from?” When we show how Christianity offers both a foundation for morality and the grace to fulfill it, we open a door for our neighbors to meet the One their conscience has been whispering about all along.

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Scripture: Romans 2.6-16

(Additional Reading: Micah 6.8; Psalm 19.7-9; Matthew 22.36-40; Ephesians 2.10)

Warm-Up:

If most people agree on the basics of right and wrong, do we still need God to be moral? Why or why not?

“Without God…everything is permitted.”

-Fyodor Dostoevsky