Can We Be Good Without God?

What did Luther mean when he argued that all our good deeds, done apart from God, are sins?

We all know the commandments: do not steal, do not murder, do not bear false witness, etc.  The majority of humans follow these commands—at least most of the time.  

Yet according to Luther, this is no moral good.  We must ask not only if people are following these commands, but why.  Why don’t people murder?  They don’t want to go to prison.  Why don’t people steal?  They don’t want to lose their job or be punished.  Why don’t people lie?  They want others to trust them.  

That is all fine and well for non-Christians, but what about Christians?  Why do Christians follow the commands?  If left to their own devices, their motivation can  be, at best, fear of hell.  

Whether or Christian or not our motivation to obey the commands is self-centered.  But so what? 

According to Christ, the first and greatest commandment is this: to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind.  When we obey His commands out of self-interest we disobey this great command.  In fact, we cannot obey this command apart from His aiding grace.  

So can we be good without God?  Yes and no.  We can obey God’s secondary commands apart from His grace, but in doing so we break the greatest of His commands.  It is in this way that every deed, done apart from God, is sin.