I am a Good Person
"I'm basically a good person. Why do I need the God of the Bible, or religion?"
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We all tend to think we are basically good people. After all, we've probably never killed anyone, we're faithful to our spouses, give money to the poor, and even volunteer our time to help a good cause. By society's standard, we're pretty nice people.
But God measures us against His standards, not our own, and He judges the heart. Jesus said, "Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." With regard to murder He says, "Whoever is angry with his brother without a cause is in danger of the judgment." God's standard of goodness far exceeds human standards.
The Bible says the soul that sins must die. The truth is none of us measure up to God's standard. His law is perfect. Only Jesus Christ was able to keep the law to the letter. Jesus fulfilled the law, took our punishment upon Himself, and through Him alone, we can receive eternal life. No amount of human goodness will get us into heaven.
To listen to one of my messages about the righteousness God requires, click on the play button below.
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"I'm not perfect, but the scales are in my favor. I do more good than bad, so God will let me into heaven."
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Jesus died to pay the penalty for all of sins, so we never need to succumb to this "scales" mentality. Thank God for that! God is a holy and righteous Judge, and our salvation is secure in Jesus Christ. There's no guessing as to whether the scales are tipped in my favor any given day. There's no need for bargaining with God to pay off a wrong done. Jesus paid it all, once and for all. Salvation is available to all who receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior, unconditionally and regardless of future sins we commit once we are saved. As Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."
To learn more about this important passage, click on the play button below.
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"It doesn't matter what I believe as long as I am sincere."
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How well does that claim work in everyday life? Say for instance, I want to go skydiving. As we prepare for the jump, the instructor hands me a state-of-the-art parachute and I hand it back to him saying, "I'm just going to use my backpack. It fits better and I believe it will do the same job." I can be as sincere as I want that my backpack will save me from the fall, but as the ground rushes up to meet me, I will find that I am sincerely and fatally wrong.
Likewise, I can sincerely believe that I will go to heaven, but when I stand before God to be judged on my own merit, without Jesus, I will find that I am sincerely and fatally wrong. God gave us His word so that we would know how to live, what is expected of us, what to believe. We cannot claim ignorance on judgment day. Without Jesus as our Savior, we will be found in sin and condemned to suffer God's wrath in hell.
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