Do you consider yourself to be a good person? Most people do. However, most of us differ as to the definition of "good." The Bible says that God is good, and the Ten Commandments are His standard of goodness. So, we will look at God's Law . . . With a tender conscience,
ask yourself if you
have obeyed the following:
1. You shall have no
other gods before Me.
(Have you always loved
God above all else?)
2. You shall not make
yourself an idol. (Have
you made a god in your
mind that you're more comfortable with, a god to
suit yourself?)
3. You shall not take
God's name in vain. (Have
you ever used God's holy
Name as a cuss word?)
4. Remember the
Sabbath Day, to keep it
holy.
5. Honor your father
and mother.
6. You shall not murder.
(God considers
hatred to be as murder).
7. You shall not commit
adultery. ("Whoever looks
upon a woman to lust
after her has committed
adultery with her already
in his heart" — Matthew 5:27-28; this also includes
sex before marriage).
8. You shall not steal.
(Have you ever stolen anything?
— the value of the
item is irrelevant).
9. You shall not lie.
(Have you lied even once?
Including answering these
questions).
10. You shall not covet. (Have you ever jealously
desired what belongs to
others?)
The Bible says that God
will punish all murderers,
rapists, thieves, liars, adulterers,
etc. He will even judge
our words and thoughts.
On Judgment Day, will
you be found to be guilty
or innocent of breaking His
commandments?
Perhaps you think that
God is good, and will
therefore overlook your
sins. But it is His goodness
that will make sure that
murderers, rapists, thieves,
liars, etc. receive justice.
He would be a corrupt
Judge if He turned a blind
eye to injustice. Have you
kept the Commandments?
The Bible says that the
Law is perfect. It commands
you to be perfect
(Matthew 5:48). Are you
perfect (in thought, word,
and deed)?
Will you make it to
Heaven? You may say that you are
still good, but God says
you're not (see Psalm 14:2-3).
So one of you is lying,
and the Scriptures tell us
that it is impossible for
God to lie.
Remember that all liars
will be cast into the Lake
of Fire (Revelation 21:8).
God's Law demands justice,
and the penalty for sinning
against Him is death and Hell.
Listen carefully if you want to live.
God Himself made a way
where His justice and His
goodness could meet.
We broke the Law, but
He became a man to pay
the fine.
Jesus suffered and died
on the cross to satisfy the
Law. God can forgive us
and grant us the gift of
everlasting life! But you may still think
that you can (from now
on) keep the Ten
Commandments. But isn't
it true that the best of us have lied, stolen, lusted,
hated, failed to love God
above all else, and failed
to love our neighbor as
ourselves?
How can we then, live a
"good" life if we have
already sinned against
God? At best we are
reformed liars and thieves
. . . but still Lawbreakers. Think of it this way -
would you sell one of your
eyes for a million dollars?
Would you sell both for
$50 million? I'm sure you
wouldn't. Your eyes are
priceless, yet they are
merely the windows of your
soul. What then must your life (soul) be worth?
With these thoughts in
mind, what would be a
fair price to pay for everlasting
life? It is utterly
without price.
Yet, if we trust in our
own goodness to enter
Heaven, we are saying to
God, "I should enter
Heaven because I have
done good - I have earned
my way in."
Imagine if you wanted to
give me a brand new (very
expensive) car, but I said,
"I can't take it! I feel embarrassed
receiving such a
gift . . . here's 10 cents for it."
I'm sure you would be
very insulted by such a
pathetic offer of payment. Besides, if I pay for it, it is
no longer a gift, it's a purchase . . .
it's mine by right.
When we talk of entering
Heaven by being
good, by trying to keep
the Ten Commandments
etc., we are tossing God
10 cents of "self-righteousness,"
which is a terrible
insult to Him, in the light
of His sacrifice. The only thing we can do
is humble ourselves, repent
of our sins, and receive the
gift by trusting Jesus Christ
alone.
Almighty God demonstrated
how much He loves you when Jesus suffered for
you on the cross. If you
want to trust in your own goodness, then you are
saying His agonizing death
on the cross was in vain.
The Bible says, "For by
grace are you saved
through faith, and that
not of yourselves, it is the
gift of God." You cannot
earn a gift.
When Jesus said to
"believe" on Him, He was
saying we should have
faith in Him, in the same way you would trust a parachute
to save you when
you jump from a plane. You
don't merely believe in the
parachute - you put it on.
Please don't "jump" without
Jesus.
If you die in your sins there
is no second chance.
God will give you justice,
and you will end up in Hell forever.
Any troubles you have
at present are dwarfed by
the trouble you are in
with your Creator. His
wrath abides upon you
(John 3:36).
God doesn't want you to
go to Hell. Neither do you
want to go there, so confess
your sins to God right
now, put your trust in
Jesus to save you, and you will pass from death to life.
Then read the Bible daily
and obey what you read.
(See John 14:21). Your
obedience to God is the
proof of your love. Have
faith in God, He will never
fail you.
Pray something like this:
"Dear God, today I turn
away from all of my sins (name them). This day I
put my trust in Jesus Christ
as my Lord and Savior. He
is the only way for me to be
saved. He is 'The way, the
truth, and the life.'" Please
forgive me, change my
heart, and grant me Your
gift of everlasting life.
In Jesus' name I pray.
Amen."