Questions

What's so wrong with "just trying to be a good person"?
As Christians, we always slammed that idea down. If someone said, "well, I try to be a good person," we'd pontificate about how they're trying to live life without God, trying to be righteous in their own strength, that they're denying their need for Christ.
But really, if a person says that, and genuinely means it- what a beautiful statement it is. And there is such a greater ring of honesty to this than a Christian's brand of "goodness." With a Christian, when they do something good, it's more than likely not because they just want to; they're doing it because they're a Christian and that's what Christians do, or to gain status in their Christian culture.