Thinking You’re A Good Person Can Lead You To Hell…
I was having a conversation with a man recently who told me that he doesn’t believe in any religion, he just believes in being a good person. He said he believes that as long as he lives his life being a good person he will go to heaven when he dies. He said every religion believes they are right and says the other religions are wrong and he doesn’t want to choose and so he keeps away from religion.
I also find it interesting when people say this because what they don’t realize they are saying is they want to be the GOD of themselves. They want to be their own judge and they want to be the one to determine where they will spend eternity. They don’t realize that entry into the gates of Heaven isn’t contingent on their own standards of good and bad, but rather on the standard of GOD.
So I asked this man “Who’s standard of good and bad are you basing are you using to measure whether or not you should go to Heaven? Are you using God’s standards or have you invented your own standard and decided that GOD let you into heaven based on the standard that you created in your mind?
He responded by saying he believes everyone has the same moral standards: “Don’t murder, don’t steal, be kind, etc.”
However, the standard of GOD is much higher than the standards of this world. The Bible says anyone who hates their brother or sister in their heart is already a murderer in the eyes of GOD.
1 John 3:15
“Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”
Therefore the standard of this man was that as long as he didn’t physically kill someone he wasn’t a murderer, but that’s man’s standard, and not God’s standard. According to GOD’s standard, if this man held a grudge against his brother in his heart, he would be standing on trial for murder before the judgment seat of GOD. According to this man as long as he didn’t physically steal from another person he wouldn’t be considered a thief, but in the eyes of GOD if you have ever coveted something that belonged to someone else or if you were ever jealous of what someone else had you would be considered a thief in the eyes of God. According to man’s standards as long as you don’t sleep with another man’s wife you are not an adulterer, However according to the standard of GOD if you look lustfully at the photos of the wife of another man— even on Facebook you are already guilty of adultery in your heart by the standard of GOD.
Matthew 5:28 “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
(By the way, women who post provocative photos will also be held accountable, but let’s continue…)
The Bible says GOD looks at our hearts, so if you’ve done a thing within your heart, you’re already guilty of that thing according to God’s standards(1 Samuel 16:7). The Bible actually says in Romans 3:10-12 that none of us have lived up to the standard of GOD and therefore none of us on our own are qualified to enter the Kingdom of GOD.
Romans 3:10-12 “As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”
So when you evaluate yourself and judge your own goodness whose standard are you using to judge yourself? Your own standard or the standard of GOD?
The Bible says in Proverbs 16:2 “All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the spirits.”
Every person outside of Christ thinks they’re a good person because they create their own standards and judge themselves based on their own rules. I’ve never met a person that said “I am just a bad person, I am no good, I am a thief, murderer, and I’m just terrible”. In fact, any person who says those things about themselves are a lot closer to receiving salvation than a man who thinks he’s a good person because the man who can see his own faults realizes that he needs a savior. He realizes that he needs Jesus to save him from his wicked ways.
However, if you ask the majority of people they will tell you that they think they are a good person. And this is why a man can’t be his own judge. Unless you build your own heaven you don’t get to determine how you enter inside a kingdom that you did not build. You must submit yourself to the King of that kingdom so you can enter the King’s Kingdom. Just as anyone who comes into your house on earth must respect your house rules or they must leave your home.
In Closing:
The Bible says that the wages of sin is death and that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of GOD(Romans 3:23). Therefore GOD sent his Son into the earth to become a man and suffer death for ALL man so that man would not have to suffer death for own his sins. So that all who put their faith in Jesus would not perish as they rightfully deserve, but rather they would receive eternal life.
We don’t enter Heaven by meeting our own criteria, we enter into the Kingdom of Heaven through faith in GOD’s promise. Because of our past sins, all of us are already disqualified if entry into Heaven was determined by our own efforts. We must put our faith in Jesus and receive the righteousness of Jesus so that we can be pure before GOD. Upon receiving this righteousness we must walk in Holiness and be blameless, however prior to receiving the righteousness of Jesus by putting our faith in him none of our good deeds will erase our past of sin that still must be judged on the day of Judgement. But when we put our faith in Jesus our past slate is cleansed, GOD says he will not remember our sins anymore, and we can now start anew and walk in Holiness.
However, those who reject Jesus must stand trial before the throne of GOD on the judgment and answer for everything they have ever done in their life. The Bible says even every idle word that we speak will be judged on that day(Matthew 12:36).
So what are you going to do? Will stand trial before GOD and have your life measured by God’s standards or will you put your faith in Jesus and meet God’s standards by receiving the Holiness of Jesus? The Holiness of the Jesus who met the standard of GOD. When you put your faith in Jesus you receive HIS holiness and you’re turned from a sinner into a saint, and thus you meet the standard of GOD. Now you only must continue to walk in holiness, following the ways and teachings of Jesus, and endure until the end and you will be saved. Which will you choose?
GOD bless you all who are in Christ Jesus.
Eddie Fews