Do you consider yourself a good person?
Most everyone believes they’re a good person. Even if they’ve done things wrong, they put those things, and the accountability for those things, behind them.
We often compare ourselves to others. We feel that if we haven’t killed anyone then we are, relatively speaking, a good person. If we do the same things that others in our society do, then we also feel that we are living up to the standard that our culture has set.
The problem, of course, is that society’s standard is not God’s standard.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:48:
Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
It is God’s standard, not society’s standard, by which we will be judged when we die.
Surely, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah felt they behaved no worse than anyone else in their society. This, however, did not spare them from God’s wrath. They were destroyed because their sinfulness was so horrible in God’s eyes.
Our self-righteousness keeps us from God’s grace and mercy. It is precisely because we feel that we are good people, that we do not see the need for God’s salvation. It is because we feel we deserve to go to Heaven that we refuse to accept the gift that Jesus provided for us. This is why The Bible says that God hates the proud; partly because our pride keeps us from understanding that we desperately need his grace.
Are We Really Good?
We must first understand that we are criminals in God’s eyes. We have broken his Law over and over again throughout our lives.
Have you ever told a lie? If so, then you are a liar.
Have you ever stolen anything, even if it’s small? If so, then you are a thief.
Jesus said if we look with lust at another person then we have committed adultery in our hearts. If we have done this then we are adulterers.
We are responsible for our thoughts as well as our actions.
Jesus also said that if we have ever hated anyone then we have committed murder in our hearts. If we have called anyone a fool then we are in danger of judgement. If we have done this then we are murderers in God’s eyes.
Have you ever used God’s name carelessly (Oh my G**!) or as a curse word (G** D*** It!)? They you have committed blasphemy. God says he will punish all who blaspheme his name.
This is only half of The Ten Commandments, the standard by which God tells us we must live.
If you have committed these sins then you are a lying, thieving, adulterous, blasphemous, murderer and must stand before a righteous and just God when you die.
Will you be innocent or guilty if God judges you by his Law? Will you go to Heaven or Hell?
God is a just judge. You cannot bribe him by insisting that he shouldn’t send you to Hell because he’s good. If he is good, then he will punish wrong-doing. We cannot bribe him by saying that we have done good works to make up for our sins.
In our earthly legal system, if a man is convicted of murdering 10 people, he can’t say to the judge, ‘Judge, I believe you are a good person and will not lock me in a prison for the rest of my life. I also have done many good things since committing those murders. I have given to the poor, I have been kind and helpful to many people. In light of this, you should set me free.’
This scenario is ludicrous to us. If a judge set someone free for these reasons, we would assume the judge is either corrupt or incompetent.
God is neither corrupt nor incompetent. He will punish sin precisely because he is good. Justice must be served.
Luckily for us, Jesus paid the price for our crimes. He burst into the court room and told the judge that he will serve our sentence for us. Only Jesus could do this because he lived a sinless life and is the Son of God.
This is why we must turn away from our sins (repent) not just say we’re sorry. God will help us to turn away from these sins if we sincerely ask him to; if we love God more than we love our sins.
If we say we believe in Jesus but still hold onto the sins and tempatinos of this world, we are putting our faith at risk. If we still love our sins more than we love God, we must soberly examine our faith.
The Bible says in 1 John 2:3-6:
This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commandments. One who says, “I know him”, and doesn’t keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth isn’t in him. But whoever keeps his word, God’s love has most certainly been perfected in him. This is how we know that we are in him: he who says he remains in him ought himself also to walk just like he walked.
We must then believe that Jesus did pay the price for our sins, and because of him, we can escape the sentence of an eternity in Hell, even though that’s what our crimes deserve.
If we set our pride aside, surrender our lives to Jesus by living the way he wants us to; then his perfect life and his goodness will cover our crimes and make us pure before God on Judgement Day.
