If you died tomorrow, brothers and sisters, would YOU be going to Heaven?
Now I know I don't normally drop a bomb like that first thing in a blog post. Usually I have a cute story, an interesting quote, or some connecting point to ease you into the topic. But today's topic isn't one you can ease into. It's neither warm nor fuzzy, and I want to warn you right now: this will be an intense lesson today.
But sometimes, having the bejeebies scared out of you is the best way to understand something. And, brothers and sisters, this is something you need to understand. Even if you don't understand anything else I've ever taught you, you need to understand this.
There are two basic theories on how to get to Heaven:
There's salvation by grace and salvation by works.
One of them is only road that will ever lead to Heaven. The other could lead you straight to Hell.
But before I get up on my bright yellow soapbox and tell you which is which, I want to explain what exactly is meant by the terms grace and works.
WORKS: Works are what you do on this earth. Works can be good or bad. They can be selfish or unselfish, Christlike or sinful, kind or unkind, lazy or productive... but basically, works are anything humans are capable of doing by themselves. Fairly self-explanatory, right?
GRACE: Have you ever heard someone say that love makes people do crazy things? Well, possibly the craziest, most outrageous, most amazing thing ever done for love was Christ's atonement for us. Think about it: we don't deserve to be saved. We don't deserve anything but damnation for our sins (Romans 6:23). (For another good post about sin, salvation, and Christ's atonement, try this.) But instead, He died a horrible, painful, awful death just so that we would someday be able to live with Him in Heaven instead of burning in Hell. Grace is knowing Christ paid the price for your sins.
You can't pay that price. Believe me, God doesn't care how much money you have, because there is no amount that can redeem a human soul. And it's not about what you do either. It's not about whether you're a good person or a bad person or somewhere in between by earthly standards. Because guess what? By God's standards, we're ALL bad people!
That's why relying on works to save you is a direct highway to Hell. When it comes to salvation, God doesn't care if you're a "good person". You can be a good parent, a good spouse, a good son or daughter, and a good citizen. You can go on every mission trip and donate to every humanitarian aid organization on this earth. You can follow every piece of advice this blog has ever given you about how to live your life. I don't care if you've never even had a freakin' parking ticket. You are a sinner! Just like me, just like your pastor, just like the Queen of England, just like Adolf Hitler, just like Mother Teresa.
We're all sinners. (Romans 3:23) Good people, bad people, regular people...no exceptions, no excuses. And if you're arrogant enough to believe that you- a wretched sinner by nature and by choice- can somehow make yourself acceptable to a holy, almighty God...well then, it's high time you took a good look in the mirror, and in the Scriptures.
Jesus told His disciples how to get to Heaven. He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me." Notice how He didn't end that with "unless they come to church", or "unless they give money to charity" or "unless they're good people". He said that nobody is going to Heaven except through Him. No act of kindness, heroism, charity, or effort can redeem us except His blood.
Because here's the thing: You can be a "good person" all day long, and it's not going to do you one bit of good as far as your salvation is concerned. There are plenty of "good people" on this earth who don't know their Lord and Savior from Adam's cat! And guess what, brothers and sisters? If those "good people" died tomorrow, they would go straight to Hell!
And you can be a "bad person" by earthly standards. You could be a muderer on death row. But if you invite the Lord into your life, and He changes your heart, then guess what? When they stick that needle in your arm and you die, the millisecond your spirit leaves your body, it's going straight to Heaven to be with Jesus forever. And when you tell Him on judgement day that you were a murderer, He will turn to you and say "Not Guilty"- no matter what you did or didn't do on earth- because His grace covers all your sins!
Now, that's an extreme example. But it's true! Salvation has nothing to do with what you've done on earth. It has absolutely nothing to do with works. Being the best person on earth isn't enough to earn you a spot in Heaven. And being the worst person on earth doesn't necessarily mean you'll go to Hell, either. It's not about good or bad.
It's not about what you do; it's about Who you know.
Do you know Him?
~BYR
