So you think you are good enough? You don’t need Jesus. No, don’t need Him at all! You live your life thinking you are good enough for heaven without Christ in your life.
You my friend are ghastly wrong.
Sure, you say you live a good life. I have a friend who tells me this. He is a great guy but his theology is all messed up. He tells me he leads a good life, helps people, doesn’t break the law, etc. Then when I mention salvation to him, he says he and God have a special arrangement with his life.
I feel for him because he is so wrong, doomed to hell. I’ve planted a seed but other than being a good example to him and sharing my faith openly, I’ve done what I can and the rest is up to God.
I know a lot of people who believe in God, but it ends at that. Why? Why do people say they believe in God but won’t accept Christ? This puzzles me and angsts me a lot. To me it is simple, but to them it is simpler to believe in God and end it right there.
They don’t give salvation another thought. They think that because they lead good lives, they will still go to heaven. That the good they have done or are doing will outweigh the bad they have done. When it is all balanced out in judgment, God will weigh the good and bad and will let them into heaven. Wrong.
They seem to always compare themselves to others who aren’t as good as they are by saying things like: They are not criminals, murderers, or child molesters, and so they are good enough for heaven. This is backward and flawed thinking.
It may just be me, but I think people are afraid of Jesus. I think they fear that their lives will become boring and too routine with Christ. They are scared of the skeletons in their closet, and would rather risk hiding them than getting forgiveness for them. Each of us has had skeletons in our closets and we were set free from the burden of those things when we accepted Christ.
Yet many unsaved don’t think that way. They think the things they have done are not forgivable, and so they try to live their lives doing dead works with hopes of attaining salvation through the world, not Christ. This is a lie.
Christ will not turn anyone away who seeks Him as Lord and Savior. Satan wants people to think they are not good enough for heaven. He wants them to think that there are other ways to heaven other than through the blood of Jesus. He is a trickster and is very good at his deception. His works are not all blatant evil acts. They are through little lies put into people’s hearts and minds that make them think they are not good enough or that there are other means to get into heaven — such as doing good. When one accepts these lies, Satan has won (temporarily).
I’m not saying unsaved people don’t do good things, but without Christ in their lives, they are doomed to eternity in the lake of fire. I believe the motives of people who are trying to do good are honorable, but they do it for themselves, society, and yet, not for Christ.
They leave Christ out of the formula. They smile and say, “See what I’ve done,” and look for accolades from others for their goodness, all the while thinking these works will give them a check mark on their name in a book in heaven.
What they don’t realize is that regardless of what they do, though it may benefit many, it does nothing for their salvation.
These people forget one simple principle, that (John 3:16): “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
A lot of people don’t know this, but a lot of people know this — but ignore it.
People are not saved who do “good” works with hopes of salvation; they are mislead by Satan. Satan would have everyone believe that if they do good in life, they will go to heaven. He has them brainwashed that they don’t need the blood of Christ to wash them clean. (That if they lead a good enough life, then God will accept them.)
This is false.
It is our job to relay this message to those unsaved that believe this lie Satan has blasted to the world. Ephesians 2: 8-9 says:
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
There it is. If anyone you know thinks that works or being good enough will get them to heaven, Ephesians says it is by grace, not of works. All the work you may be doing to get into heaven is hopeless because it is grace that gets you into heaven through Christ Jesus.
People think good works will open the door to heaven for them but they are deathly wrong. Dead works is just that — dead. It is not of God the Father. It is human action trying its best to attain grace through works. Poor mislead people; we must do our best to change this thinking.
Saved people are drawn and inspired by Christ to do works for Him, not to affect their standing in salvation, but to further the kingdom of God through the works He wants us to do. If you are doing works that are not God breathed to you, then you should stop and seek His guidance.
There is hope for those who think being good or doing good works will get them to heaven. Their hearts are in the right place but their heart is lacking Christ. Christ is the calling for all to salvation.
Are you good enough to get to heaven through works alone? NO. Are you good enough to get to heaven through Christ? YES. Heaven’s gate is open to all those who accept Christ as their Lord and Savior.
The lie Satan puts out to vulnerable people is that they cannot be Christians unless they are and have been good. He puts into people’s mind that if they have done anything wrong in life, from the smallest thing to the biggest thing, that they will not be accepted by Christ.
Because of this many people won’t even pick up the Bible they have in their closet for fear that no matter what—God will not accept them. This is wrong and needs to be spread to the population that God is love and He wants our hearts, regardless of what we have done.
When we saved folks do something wrong, we get convicted of it through the Holy Spirit, repent, and continue on knowing that even though we messed up, Christ will not turn His back on us.
Those who are not saved, when they do something wrong, they feel guilty and move further from Christ thinking that they truly are not worthy of being good enough. They try to make up for their wrong by doing better and doing things they think will earn them forgiveness. Satan is good at doing this. Forgiveness is not earned but it is freely given by Christ if you accept Him as your Lord and Savior.
Those who think they are not good enough for salvation forget that we haveall sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). They think those saved lead or have led a perfect life but that’s not true. They fall into the trap of thinking just what Satan wants them to think: That they are notgood enough. Satan of course is wrong, for we are all underserving of grace, but it is freely given to us by Christ for salvation.
Romans 10:10 says: “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Satan doesn’t want people to know this. He wants them to think that they are not good enough but are lousy people who are not worthy of Christ.
Romans 10:9 it says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
This is the truth that Satan doesn’t want people to realize. He wants people to think otherwise, the opposite, that by just being a good person doing good things will get us into heaven. It is a lie he successfully pushes onto society, and those who are weak in heart. He wants people to think they have to earn salvation — when in fact all one has to do is confess, believe, repent and accept Christ. It’s that simple.
People, hear me out: You are eligible for the love of Christ. You cannot get to heaven through works or by living a just and good life. You simply need Jesus. Jesus is standing with open arms to all who want Him the eternal life He offers.
Satan has people thinking that being a Christian is boring and not fun. He is lying to you. Christ is love. Having Christ in your life and in your heart is a joy that you will not ever want to lose. His love is so endearing that He feels like that parent or relative that gave you the attention and love you needed. But He is so much more than that. He wants your heart and when He has your heart, you will want Him, more and more of Him.
Don’t let Satan deceive you, anymore. Take that step of faith and trust that when you jump, Jesus will be there to catch you and lift you to salvation. He is the love you have never felt, the love that is endearing and never ending. Even when you do mess up and slide off the path of righteousness, He will still be there for you, offering his loving hand to you to help you keep going towards the end, which is heaven.
Life with Christ is not a race. It is a marathon. When you race, you tire quickly, but when you run a marathon, you train, practice and then run at a steady pace to the finish line. That is what life is like with Christ. You can’t race your relationship, but you must run the marathon. The run is long but the reward is great.
You are good enough, regardless of your past; to be loved and accepted by Christ. I urge you to reevaluate your standing with yourself. If you think you are not good enough for Christ, to forgive you, you are wrong. If you think you can work your way to heaven by doing good works, you are wrong. All you have to do is ask, believe, repent and accept Christ as your Lord and Savior.
But don’t stop there! Learn and read all you can about Christ. The best book to learn about Christ is the Bible, and the best place to learn about Christ is a Bible teaching church, not a feel good church, but a church that teaches strait from the Bible. And be sure to pray daily.
I pray that those that don’t know Jesus Christ and are reading this that your hearts will be opened to Christ’s love, that you accept the journey to salvation and run that marathon race to the end.