One of the problems in our world is that people tend to think that they will get into heaven simply because they do what they believe is good…especially with the idea that doing more good than bad is enough. There is a flawed logic to this kind of thinking: What standard do we use to define good? Or more accurately, what is the standard of being "good enough" to get into heaven?
Defining good is not as easy as it sounds. Everyone has their own opinion on the topic. The following things might all be considered good:
Giving to charity.
Opening doors for those in need.
Giving gifts.
Raising a family.
Donating blood.
Feeding the hungry.
Those are all great things to be sure, but are they good enough to get you into heaven? Let’s take a look at God’s standard. (The 10 Commandments can be found in Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21).
Have you ever told a lie? Even a little one?
Have you ever stolen something? Even a small item of little to no value?
Have you ever taken the Lord's name in vain?
Have you ever committed adultery? (lusting after someone counts as adultery- Matthew 5:28)
Have you ever longed for something that belongs to a friend or neighbor?
That’s just five of the “Big 10.” How did you fare? Are you “good enough” to get into heaven?
Luke 18:18-19 - And a ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone."
If you have to be good to get into heaven and no one is good except for God, then the gates of heaven have just been slammed shut on us! So what does it mean to be good? Let’s take a look at the Greek from the original manuscript
Good = agathos (Strong's G18) which is the root of agathopoios (Strong's G17) which means well-doer/virtuous.
If we define good as being virtuous, then we at least have a starting point. Are you virtuous 100% of the time? No? Then are you good enough for heaven? Or are you guilty of violating God’s commands?
Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 6:23a - For the wages of sin is death.
These two verses from Paul are very important for all of us to understand. For one, he tells us that each and every one of us is guilty of sin. None of us is walking around living perfectly righteous lives without any mistakes (Romans 3:10 - As it is written: None is righteous, no, not one). More importantly, he reminds us of the punishment for sin:
DEATH
A sobering thought indeed, but one which should make us ponder the next question: If we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and the result of that is death (Hell - see Revelation 21:8), then what can we do to avoid it?
John 14:6 - Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Jesus is the key that unlocks the gates of heaven for us. In order to get there, we have to seek Him, repent of our sin, and place our trust in Him. He is the only way to heaven. We do not get there by doing good works, being kind people or even praying to any of the infinite number of false idols that people have created.
Acts 4:12 - And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
Thank you, Lord Jesus for giving us the free gift of salvation. Thank you for loving us and forgiving us for our sins and reconciling us to the Father!
No comments:
Post a Comment