"Sunday School Answer" is when God says to us after our death. "Why should I let you into my Heaven?" All cliches aside...it IS a really important question...and it's one to which we need to have a hard and fast answer....Not a mealy mouthed, "Well, I've tried to be a good person" Because, really???
- God hates lying tongues. The Bible says that very clearly. (Prov. 6:16,17) So, Ever told a lie?? ---Strike one.
- Jesus said anyone who angrily calls someone a "fool" is in danger of hell fire. Oops. I think I've called some people a lot worse than that even. (Mt 5:22) ---Strike two
- Jesus said that anyone who looks at a woman or man lustfully (ie: mentally undresses them) is guilty of adultery. In the Bible, Adulterers were punished by being stoned to death. --Strike three. (Mt. 5:28)
And if THAT wasn't bad enough news, it would only take ONE deviation from perfection to cancel our ticket into Heaven. Because God is perfect. He cannot tolerate the presence of sin in HIS presence. And as we've seen above, we are all, every one of us: flaming sinners.
So say, even after hearing all that, you were undeterred. Because you are convinced you are really pretty special stuff and God really should let you into Heaven because you are so special. So you approach the throne of God and present him with your "LIST"....the list of all the reasons why you are wonderful and have earned the right to enter heaven, converse with Angels, eat at the marriage feast of the Lamb, and be in God's ineffable presence forever and ever, never again to feel pain or sadness.
And say you take out your list and read it to God and you reach "Good Deed # 456,675,657,095 and God says to you, "Well, you know that is really impressive. You've obviously tried very hard. However, I'm going to have to deny your admission."
"WHY???" you cry in horror.
"Well, because to get into heaven you must have completed, 455,675,657,100 good deeds...you were shy by five."
The point is....What is good enough? Who defines good enough?? Who created Heaven and Earth? If you are claiming to be saved, then you know the answer to that question is "God"...And if God created the whole cosmos, then he also makes the rules ....He gets to do that by the fact of who He is and what he has done. We do not have a right to protest or to call for a recount or to plea bargain. It is what it is. And God has made it very clear that ONLY a sinless, perfect person may have fellowship with God.
This is very bad news.
For all of us.
But the GOOD news is that God really didn't want to dwell in heaven all by himself. He loves you , you see. He created you and knows every tiny detail about you. And he wanted to make a way for you to get to be with him and it had to be a way that still maintained the integrity of his Holiness and his Laws. And there was only one way to do that.
Your sins. They had to be covered, paid for, punished and dismissed. And there is only one person or Being who is able to do that for you. It couldn't be your mom....because she too was tainted by sin, as is every other person in the earth. No, the only way for man to be forgiven was for God himself to become a man, to live a perfect, sinless life and then to take the death and suffering that you and I deserve on himself personally. So Jesus came. suffered. died...a horrific and painful death...went to hell for you and there defeated the power of death. God the Father, raised him from the grave and guess what?..! Your sins no longer present the uncrossable chasm that they did before. That is: IF you will accept what Jesus did on your behalf. If you will admit that you are a sinner in the eyes of God and that you do not deserve a moment of Heaven. If you understand that everything that had to be done to get you to heaven was done by God himself, and not by you.. We cannot take credit for what God himself did on our behalf.
It is a gift.
So that not one of us has any room to boast. (Eph. 2:8,9)
When we present God with our list of accomplishments, we feel pretty good about ourselves don't we. If our arms were long enough, we'd give ourselves a nice pat on the back. And from that spot it's easy to compare ourselves to others....to our benefit and their shame. And God hates these attitudes...Because you see we are ALL poor, naked, wretched and blind (Rev, 3:17) and it is only by the admission of that; only by our confession that we are powerless to impress God in any way....that we can see the beauty of what it is he has done for us. That "while we were YET SINNERS, Christ died for us." The Pharisees in the Bible were the religious elite of the day.They were the most holy people around. They even tithed and gave God one tenth of their herb garden's produce. But Jesus had VERY harsh words for them. He called them snakes, and open graves. Because they were so impressed with their own efforts, their own "goodness"; they were blinded to their sin...the attitudes in their hearts which were so despicable in God's eyes.... They compared themselves to man instead of to God. WE are to be as holy as God...not merely better than the guy next to us. And this pride was a deadly flaw that blinded them to their need for God's grace.
So many of us do the same thing. We think we have it covered. We think that God should be glad to open heaven's gates to us and we fail to notice the horrible stench of pride and unacknowledged sin that wafts around us.
No. There is only one way to heaven. The way made by the blood of Jesus the Messiah. The free gift of God to us which eliminates boasting. The gift to the humble of heart who are cognizant of their sins and failings. It is to these people that the kingdom of heaven belongs.
So wait! Where do good works come in?
They are on the cart following the horse. They come out of a grateful heart full of love for the God who saved us and out of a desire to thank him for his wonderful unmerited favor. Yes, they are necessary --but only as evidence of our sincerity and love. NOT as payment for our ticket to heaven.
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