This is probably the most believed thing for most Americans today. The belief that 1. our trip to Heaven is earned by good behavior and 2. we are good and deserve to go. Both statements are false. I can say that with no hesitation because the Bible say it.
No one is good. Don't believe me?
“None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.” Romans 3:10-12 (ESV).
Jesus said the same thing. He said no one is good but God. You are not a good person, nor am I. Sure, I do good things, but on my own, they are for me. I do good because I feel obligated, because it helps me feel good, because I get clout, to impress someone. We are all selfish, as deep as it goes. If we are not good, then what about Heaven? Can I be good enough to go to Heaven?
Here is the fact. Jesus came, Emmanuel, God with us, the Divine Incarnation. God became a man, came to Earth, lived for 33 years, and then died a horrible, agonizing death to pay the penalty for sin. Know why He did that? It was to pay the debt that you owe because of the things you have done in violation of God's laws. He didn't do it just in case you aren't good enough on your own. He did it because you aren't. You can't earn Heaven.
Your sin is too great, and you have nothing of value. You can't make it to Heaven by your behavior. You need Jesus to get you to Heaven. Here is how it works. The Holy Spirit is going to show you (the Biblical word is convict) of your sins. Once that happens, you will understand what I am saying. You will see how holy God is and how far off you are. If that hasn't happened, I will pray that it does for you, and I recommend you pray and ask God to show you. To send the Holy Spirit to show you and convict you. Once that happens, once you see yourself for who you are because of the work of the Holy Spirit, you will cry out to God for forgiveness, and he will forgive you because of what Jesus did.
There are some Biblical things that go with this, like Romans 10:9, if you confess that Jesus is your Lord and savior and believe that He died and rose from the dead, you are saved (Dan paraphrase). This happens when you are convicted by the Holy Spirit.
He is the truth, and it is hard for lots of us. Many of us have been lied to, saying you can just choose Jesus. Well, you can't. We have been lied to that if we are good people, keep the commandments, go to church, pray, do all the things, we will go to Heaven. Well, you won't. This is the fact, and Jesus said it. Unless you repent, you will perish. Luke 13. You must repent, and good people don't need to repent, but you are not a good person. You are either a sinner or a sinner saved by grace.
The last bit of bad news, that after reading this, you still think you have been good enough to go to Heaven, your final destination is not Heaven. Church can't get you there, doing all the things won't get you there. Pray and ask God to show you that you are a sinner in need of forgiveness, and when you are confronted with the holiness of God and you cry out for grace and forgiveness, then you can trust you are on your way to Heaven.
Let me know if I can pray with you.
No comments:
Post a Comment