If we choose to believe being a good person is enough to get us into heaven, we’re not alone. A variety of religions teach that people will be rewarded after death if they simply do more good deeds than bad ones. But this is not what the Bible teaches. Also, this kind of thinking often leaves us with more questions than answers. Some say that we simply need to do just enough good deeds to tip the scales. If all our good deeds make up at least 51% of what we do, then heaven should be our final destination. But how can we be sure that at least a little more than half of our life has been good? And don’t some good and bad deeds carry more weight than others?
The Bible, however, clearly teaches that even our best attempts at being good FALL SHORT of God’s high standard. “As it is written: “There is no one righteous, NOT EVEN ONE; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is NO ONE who does good, NOT EVEN ONE.” (Rom. 3:10-12)
We all have a sin problem AMANDA, “…ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Rom. 3:23) Unfortunately for us all, “…the wages of sin is DEATH…” (Rom. 6:23)
We may be thinking to ourself, “Wait a minute! That seems a little extreme. I’ve done so many good things and kept almost all of the commandments in the Bible! I’ve never hurt anyone. I’m not perfect but I’m certainly better than most people I know.” But James says, “For the person who keeps all of the laws EXCEPT ONE is as guilty as a person who has broken ALL of God’s laws.” (Jam. 2:10) So, how does God fee about us, “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners…GOD SHOWED HIS GREAT LOVE FOR US by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Rom. 5:6-8) That was a GREAT GIFT from God to us, “…the gift of God is ETERNAL LIFE in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23) When God revealed my sin to me I did not know what to say, I just know I felt such great sorrow so I said “I’M SORRY GOD!” and He saved me!!!
Your Personal Pastor -Dad…