Many a man proclaims his loving devotion, but who can find a trustworthy man?
Proverbs 20:6
Ask anyone you meet on the street if they are a “good” person, and they will always say, “Yes.”
The dictionary’s primary definition of “good” is “moral virtue”. God’s definition of “good” is “moral perfection”.
There is very little hope for redemption if that soul doesn’t even know its own shortcomings. As long as the delusion of goodness keeps the mind drugged and unaware, evil can have its way and steal another soul for destruction.
Wouldn’t you like to know if you are being deceived about your own goodness?
Here are a series of test questions you should consider:
- Have you ever told a lie– avoided the truth to hide your guilt, embarrassment or shame or even to cause someone else trouble?
- Have you ever stolen something– no matter how small, that you took for yourself owned by someone else?
- Have you ever used a name of God as a cuss word– to express anger, disgust, frustration or pain?
- Have you ever looked at someone else’s body with a desire of lustful yearning for sexual satisfaction?
- Have you ever hated someone- imagined hurting them with your words or physically injuring them?
If we’re honest, the answer to all of these test questions are, “yes”. It might surprise you that all of these behaviors are in violation of God’s Law, the Ten Commandments. Face it, we’re all lying, thieving, blaspheming, adulterous murderers and we’ll have to face God on judgement day for our just punishment. People who fall short of this simple standard are not moral and certainly not good.
If a loud argument just began in your head, attempting to rationalize your behavior and excuse your guilt– this too is a sign that the good person that you think you are is really just another bad person being deceived. Satan wants you kept imprisoned in a delusion that blinds your mind to this truth. A soul locked into deep deception will never admit its own guilt.
The Bible warns us over and over again what the punishment is for living and behaving in violation of God’s character and His perfect law. Even if we just think this behavior in our hearts, that is still a violation of God’s Law, the reflection of His good character:
The soul who sins is the one who will die.
Ezekiel 18:20
But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.
Revelation 21:8
41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom every cause of sin and all who practice lawlessness. 42 And they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 13:41-42
Don’t be one of those silly sorts who thinks that continuing to live in lies and deception would be fair payment for an eternity of burning punishment. “Weeping and gnashing of teeth” is the expression of horrifying regret. “Rats! I wish I would have lived my life differently!” “Oh, how I much regret every bad decision I ever made!”
You have a chance today to make that change and avoid those regrets. Jesus Christ, God’s precious Son, was sent to this earth to give his perfect sinless life in our place. We deserve death. He didn’t. He wasn’t guilty of any violation of God’s Law, so He took our place, dying for us so that we could be forgiven and avoid the punishment. Why would God do something like this? Because He loves us. By the way, Jesus’ death wasn’t a walk in the park… Jesus suffered for hours, hanging, tortured by nails pounded through His hands and feet on a splintery cross, on display in front of a mocking crowd, bleeding and in unimaginable pain for you and me. And this same Jesus is now the judge we all will meet on judgment day and He’ll be the one to decide who goes to hell and who joins Him in heaven.
Hopefully, your next question is “what do I have to do to be saved from the eternal punishment I deserve?”
First, repent. Listen to Jesus’ first sermon as recorded for us from the book of Matthew:
From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
Matthew 4:17
Repentance is that complete change of direction where you tell Jesus, “I have been making decisions about the course of my life that are completely opposite to the way you want me to live– I’m sorry for every bad decision. Now I want to live my life in Your direction… Please teach me, lead me, guide me and I will follow.” Most people who have been forgiven and delivered from a soul bent on sin, really appreciate the One who set them free. Being willing to follow Jesus after your rescue is a natural willingness.
Next you must believe that Jesus is your only hope for salvation.
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
Imagine that chasing behind you is an angry, hungry lion, bent on killing you and eating you. You run for your life and find yourself trapped in a corner with a single narrow passage as your only avenue for escape. At this point you really have just two choices, wait for the lion to kill you, or get through that passage. Even as the lion claws at your body and roars, you press yourself through that tight passage and keep on pressing, focused on only one hope: life is through that passage.
To believe in Jesus is to make Jesus the only passage you follow that can lead you to eternal life. The life you hope for is possible only when you trust that following Jesus will get you there. Pressures to follow other alternatives may tempt you, but don’t be deceived.
Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
John 14:6a
Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
Acts 4:12
When you pray to ask God to save you from the eternal punishment you deserve, mention that you’ve made Jesus the anchor of your hopes (you believe in Jesus) and you commit to lock Jesus in your compass (you repent).
But it doesn’t end there. When you commit your life to walk in Jesus’ direction, trusting Jesus only to lead you to eternal life, there will be changes you never imagined were possible.
I remember when I came to Jesus and put my trust in Him, following His Word– it was literally as if a ton of bricks, a burden of guilt and shame, was lifted off my back. I came to Christ for this freedom and wasn’t disappointed. As I filled my mind with God’s truths from His Word, my thinking became clearer and the decisions I made were more often than not, decision for my good and the good of others. Regrets were still part of my learning process, but these were fewer and farther between as I grew. I can remember even thinking the grass was greener– as corny as that sounds. It wasn’t a cake walk though– there were choices I had to make that caused me personal sacrifice. Before Christ, I would have decided to treat myself with pleasures and comforts, but after Christ, I denied myself those pleasures. You’ll find out quickly that your own soul and the minds of friends who don’t know Jesus can’t comprehend this trade. But I promise you that all decisions made this way are of eternal benefit.
Of course there are still hardships and trials to endure in life with Christ, but walking through those storms with a living, loving Savior is bearable with the abundant joy that floods your soul with peace and love. I’m not perfect and certainly never will be, but the difference between what I experience today compared to what life was like before I met Jesus is so remarkable that I would never consider going back, never.
And a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, whom I have chosen. Listen to Him!”
Luke 9:35
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