Do you consider yourself a good person? It is an important thought that we all should test. Let us examine this idea of being a good person.
Do you consider yourself a good person? It is an important thought that we all should test. Let us examine this idea of being a good person.
We first need to establish a standard for objectively seeing what a good person looks like. The ultimate standard is God's law, the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20).
1. You shall have no other gods before me. (Idolatry)
2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them. (Idolatry)
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. (Blasphemy)
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. (Day of Rest and worship of God)
5. Honour your father and your mother (Obedience)
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour. (Lying)
10. You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbour’s.
Do you believe you have kept these commandments? Do you believe yourself to be a good person? Let’s test whether you are a good person and kept the Ten Commandments.
1. Have you ever told a lie? Be honest!
What would you be called for telling a lie?... A Liar.
2. Have you ever stolen something? Be honest and remember, you just admitted to being a liar.
What would you be called for stealing?... A Thief.
3. Jesus says: “everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matt 5:28, English Standard Version) Have you ever looked at another person with lust?
4. Have you ever liked something someone owned and wanted it?
5. Have you ever used the Lord’s name in vain?
When you do this you are using God’s name to express disgust. You have blasphemed the God who created you.
6. The scriptures say: “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him (1 John 3:15, ESV).” Have you ever hated another person?
7. Have you ever disobeyed your parents?
Your answer for most, it not all, was most likely a yes. Here is the thing, the scriptures say, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it (James 2:10).” If you are guilty of breaking one law, just one law, it is as if you broke all of the law. On judgement day you will have to face God.
Will you be guilty or innocent of breaking God’s law? God is a just God and justice will be done. The scriptures say, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23, ESV).” Not some of sinned, ALL have sinned. As your conscience bears witness, you are guilty of breaking God's law.
Where would you go: Heaven or hell? Jesus said: “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mt 13:41-42, ESV).” Let's use civil law as an example here. A man is found guilty of murdering another man. For justice to take place the Judge must declare the murderer as guilty. Then the Judge would have to give the murderer the sentencing. The murderer could say, "Well, I'm not as bad as the next guy in line who did a far greater crime than mine." He could even say, "Well, I'm really sorry and I'll never do it again." The Judge still cannot let him off the hook. The just Judge has to stick to the sentencing because the law must be satisfied. We see from the verse about that the guilty will go to hell.
Does this concern you?
It should!
Yet there is good news. Here is where God’s love and grace comes into play. Rom 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 6:23, ESV).” There is a gift that Jesus offers freely; the gift of salvation. All you need to do is accept this gift. What is this gift of salvation. Let us go back to our court room scene. Now suppose a man comes into the court room and says “I will take this criminal’s place in jail.” The criminal is set free because the law is satisfied. The man has paid the criminals fine and is set free. This is what Jesus did by dying on the cross for our sins. You see, we deserve death for our sins, but Jesus died for our sins, in our place. He paid our fine.
What must we do to accept this free gift? The scriptures say: “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved (Rom 10:9-10, ESV).” First, we must confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. Secondly you must confess your sins to God. The scriptures say: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9, ESV).” Thirdly, confess that Jesus is Lord of your life as Romans 10:9-10 points out.
Here is a sample prayer you may pray (Remember to mean this from your heart): “Lord Jesus, I believe that you are Lord and I believe in my heart that God the Father raised You from the dead so that my sins may be cleansed. I confess that I am a sinner and am in need of your grace to save me. Please forgive me my sins and take control of my life. Amen!
That’s it, welcome to the family of God. There are a few very important things you must to do grow in Christian maturity.
1. Sin no more. You are free from sin and so you need no longer sin.
2. Go and get baptized. Baptism is our first act of obedience to God and shows that we are submitting ourselves to His Lordship.
3. Find a church that preaches the Bible. Not one that talks about the Bible, but actually preaches from the Bible and explains what it means.
4. Find another Christian who is mature in their faith and can disciple (mentor and teach) you in your new found faith.
5. Tell people who are not Christians what Jesus has done for you. You may even want to use this blog post as an example for how to share the gospel.
If you have made a decision to accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour you are encouraged to go to our contact page and let us know. We would love to talk to you more about your decision to have Jesus save you and make Him Lord of your life.
The preceeding message comes from the Salvation Call blog, a blog committed to proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ.
