I’ve got a statement that may shock you: There will be no good people in Heaven! What is good? You could probably talk to 100 different people and you would probably get 100 differing ideas of what good is. You can ask almost anyone (are you a good person?) and the answer will almost always be yes. A lot of people call the Bible the good book and think if the live by what the Bible tells them they can go to heaven but if that is the standard you’re going by you’ve got a real problem. Psalm 53:3 says: “No one does good, not a single one!” Romans 3:23 says: “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” You might say “I fallow the ten commandments” or I follow the golden rule “I do to others as I would have them do to me”. The law of God wasn’t given so that we could earn our way to heaven it was given to shut us up. Romans 3:19-20 says: Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.”
So what is good? Like I said earlier you could ask 100 different people and get 100 different answers. Do you know that you and I can sin and not even know it? We can do things we think are right and they actually be wrong. Did you hear about the pastor in Florida (Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center) that wanted to burn several Qurans on September 11th? I think this man really thought that this was the right thing to do and really thought that God would want him to do it. I personally don’t think he is right because I feel that doing something like burning the Quran puts up a barrier and would keep a Muslim man or women from hearing that there is salvation in Christ. So is he right or wrong? There are many that would argue either way but the point is we really just don’t know, wars have been fought over this kind of thing and both sides think what they are doing is right and God is on their side. So if both think they are right who is right? And there are many things like this: the Baptist for years thought it was sinful to dance and the Pentecostal’s dance to praise God. Both will quote scripture to backup their beliefs. So who is right?
The point is, we are all just muttering along on this backwards confusing world with mixed signals differing cultures and differing belief systems everybody thinks there way is right. Jesus came into this world with a completely different message he told the Pharisees that tried as hard as they could to follow the law of God and thought they were good that they couldn’t go to heaven and He told prostitutes, thieves, and tax collectors your forgiven and can enter Heaven. While on the cross in Luke 23:42-43 one of the criminals being crucified along with Jesus believed in Him and said: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom. And Jesus replied, ‘I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise’.” Jesus claimed to be “The Son of God” “The lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world”. In the three gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke Jesus said: “I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners”. It’s not about who is right or who is wrong and there is nothing you can do to earn your way into heaven we are made right because Jesus is right, we are made right because He took our place on the cross and there is nothing we can do to effect that. “God saved you by grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it” ~Ephesians 2:8-9. So what must I do to be saved? Believe in Jesus Christ and you will be saved, Trust in His goodness to save you on the Day of Judgment and not your own. You will never be the same God will change you He will give you a new heart with new desires and He will give you His Holy Spirit as a deposit for your salvation. Read His words and Believe! Jesus has the same message for all who believe as he did for the Criminal on the cross, “I assure you, you will be with me in paradise”.
"For God loved the world so much that he gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life" ~John 3:16.
