“Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? “Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! (Matthew 7:09-11, NKJV).
It is impossible to read the Sermon on the Mount and get puffed up. The Lord accurately accuses us of worldliness, multiplied hypocrisy, faithlessness, and sin. And the pinnacle of His view is right here.
Even a vile sinner can love and be civil, and provide for those close to him or her. They do so for people within the family, or those who can offer something in return, or who can add to their own privilege, prestige or power. This is to say that almost none of us are as bad as we could be, and some of us may even be a little good on our own without God. Certainly both atheists and legalists believe that humans can attain a kind of natural goodness. But it is all rubbish in the piercing, holy gaze of the righteous Lord, who made us, and knows what is within us, and who judges us - who MUST judge us - by His own perfect standard, else He would not be God.
Our most vaunted goodness is evil in comparison, and that is Jesus' precise point with this verse. We tend to think we are something just because we do a kind of thin gruel-like version of what is right, and are often offended to the core at the implied or explicit criticism that we could somehow do better, or aren't doing enough. Our pitiful self-righteousness is pathetic and colored with all kinds of self-justification and moral fluff that vanishes in the winds of expediency or temptation. We are incapable of pure and simple good, even if our life depended on it.
And it does. Remember? Jesus said earlier in this discourse, "Therefore be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect." Here's an equation far more meaningful than anything science can offer: Imperfection equals death. Unless of course, you accept Jesus' perfection as a free gift on your behalf. Then, while He takes upon Himself your evil, He imputes to you His righteousness. That is the transaction of the gospel of God. That is the eternal benefit reaped by humble faith. That is the ultimate good thing that your Father who is in heaven [will] give…to those who ask Him.
But you need to ask, and to do that you need to relinquish any delusion of self-righteousness and any stubborn remnant of unbelief, and go to Him with a contrite spirit and a heart broken by your own sin. You need to put aside any illusion of worthiness on your part, and acknowledge His incomparable worth.
That is why He was born as a Man, so that He could die.
For you. For everyone who believes.