I was praying about something to write about this morning and this subject came to mind so here it goes. This lesson would be for the ones who think they are good people and right with God because of what they do. Righteousness is basically saying our rightness.
I was talking to a guy last night that was telling me about how much faith he had and the things he did and didn’t do and why he thought he would go to Heaven because of how good he was. I tried to tell him that is not the way we are put right with God. But it seemed he was having a hard time listening. He smelled like he had been drinking but he was very respectful. As he was leaving and I was walking back to my porch I said something like this to myself, “Lord why don’t they just listen” because I have been witnessing to a few people lately. I prayed for him this morning and Lord willing I will get to talk to him again.
His problem seems to be a universal problem. There are many people that believe they will go to Heaven because they feel they are generally pretty good people. This is not just a worldly problem, but it is also a problem in the church. Many people think they can work their way to heaven.
Question: if you think you can do enough good works to get to heaven, how will you ever know when you’ve done enough good works? Think about this, it is a natural thing for many people to think this, knowing that they don’t usually receive anything for nothing. So because of that it comes natural for many people to think they need to do something to gain something else.
If you are a Christian you can still fall into this way of thinking when doubts come flooding into your mind about your salvation. Or maybe I am the only one that has fell into this trap, saying that I will go to heaven because of all the ministries I have done and how faithful I have been for the most part in my walk with the Lord. I have had to repent knowing better than to ever think this way. I don’t believe that I am the only Christian that has ever thought this or felt this way even when they knew it was not true.
There are people all around the world that are in churches that think if they do good things and good works then God will be pleased with them and they will be in heaven someday. Nothing is farther from the truth, it is a lie from the pit of Hell, so if you have bought into this lie I am going to help you see why this is not true by using the Word of God!
This is from the NIV Bible in Romans chapter 3:9–12 The Apostle Paul speaking.
“What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
This was our human condition at birth because the Bible says, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:5) The Word also says, “All have sinned and fell short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) “Our righteousness is as filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64:6) “There is none righteous no not on.” (Romans 3:10)
If this doesn’t convince you maybe this will, it says in Ephesians 2:8–9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” If we are saved by works it would be by our own doing and we could boast and brag but where would the Lord get the glory?
Being born-again so that you are right with God takes a miracle and only God can perform a miracle. The only thing we bring to the process is repentance and confession of our sins and turning away from them and receiving this free gift of God’s grace, and we cannot even do these things without God’s help. Try to remember this, if we never sinned we still could never be right with God. The reason being is that we were all born with a sin nature and that sin separates us from God.
So no matter how many good works we perform we are still separated from God. But praise be to God that is not the end of the story. God loves mankind so much He sent His only begotten Son into the world to redeem mankind to Him. Jesus loved mankind enough to shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sins, praise you Jesus, so that we could become the children of God. I know that I can’t convince you but the One I serve, the One who saved me, can. Seek Him in prayer He always listens to the repentant heartfelt prayer. And don’t forget to thank and praise Him, God bless and have a great day.
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