How good?
"How good is Good Enough?"
Can a man or woman be "good enough" to enter heaven? This is a
legitimate question, is it not? Certainly someone who minds his
own business, does his own work, helps the seniors on his block,
gives to charity on a regular basis, works in his community
lodge, and attends church on Christmas and Easter is going to
get into heaven. Right? No, it's impossible to get into heaven
on good works alone. The problem is this. When does one know
that one has reached the acceptable "good works" standard for
heaven? And is it ever possible in this life to know what "good"
is? I don't think so. "Good works" are relative and not an
absolute assurance of entry into heaven. Listen to this.
Jesus had a conversation with a wealthy young man one-day who
wanted to know if he could get into heaven by keeping the 10
Commandments. It seemed that the young man was sincere. But
actually he was more interested in boasting his behavior, rather
then seeking heaven's entrance. The Bible story concludes by
saying that the young man left sorrowful and sad. Jesus
presented a penetrating question to the young man. The question
exposed the young man's heart. Jesus told him to give up his
wealth and give his money away to the poor. The man left sad
because he couldn't let go of his wealth. That's really the
essence of getting into heaven. It's not what we do to get into
heaven; it's what we refuse to give up that keeps us from
getting there. Jesus said that unless a man (or woman) denied
himself, he could not get into heaven. He could not receive
eternal life.
You see the Bible teaches that no person is "good." No one is
good enough to appease the demands of a Holy God and obtain His
salvation from eternal death (second death). That's why the
Bible says that God sent His only begotten Son, the God-man to
stand in place for sinful man. Jesus paid the penalty for man's
relative goodness, which falls short of God's glory. Jesus was
the perfect sacrifice for sin. Jesus appeased the demands of the
Father by His death. If one wants to enter heaven, one must come
to Jesus. Jesus is more that a historical figure. He's a living
person. If you call on him, he will make you right for
salvation. He will save your soul. He will get you into heaven.
I'm banking on this. How about you?
Keep the faith. Stay the course. Jesus is coming soon!
Pastor T.