October 11th 2015
Have You Done Enough Good Deeds To Earn Your Salvation?
Romans 3:22-24 (NIV)
This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Are you working on earning your salvation by being generally a good person, and by doing good deeds? If you answered yes, “then please quit wasting your time!” If you are a modern day Pharisee, then Jesus will not have good sounding comments for your time wasting attempts at being a good person! Do good people go to heaven? The answer is NO! The only way to attain righteousness is to have faith in what Jesus Christ did for you, so you will go to heaven, if your faith is placed only in Jesus Christ. As the selected verses state, “righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ!”
So then, who does go to heaven, you may be wondering? It is only those who believe that they are sinners, and that, their only hope of going to heaven is based on a true faith that Jesus Christ died for your sins. No one reading this commentary today has ever seen Jesus Christ, and has sat with Him as He taught His disciples this great truth. Peter wrote some words of assurance for us. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:8-9) As Peter wrote about us having a strong faith in what Jesus did for us, “for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
The writer of the book of Acts gives us the answer to this huge question; when he wrote that there is only one means by which you can be saved from your sinful nature. Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) Jesus also affirmed this fact, when He told Thomas how he, or any of us, can know the way to heaven. Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6) When Jesus was teaching His disciples about loving everyone, even those who are your enemies and are persecuting you, Jesus said, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48) It is my opinion here that Jesus was telling His disciples that their good deeds no matter how good could not make them appear to God our Father as being perfect, which is what is required for entrance into heaven He said to them, and us, “Just be perfect!” Jesus was the only sinless man to ever live and die on this cursed earth!
Do you love the things of this earth too much to really value Jesus love for you above all of your possessions? Jesus’ brother James wrote about how we must choose between worldly stuff and being in service to Jesus. You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred towards God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. (James 4:4) Do you love the world or God? You must choose! God created mankind so they could live on this earth and work, and give all of the glory to God. What master are you serving, God or Money? No-one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. (Matthew 6:24)
We all have responsibilities as we live our lives in this cursed world, especially if we have earthly families who in some ways depend on us. Jesus tried to sum up this separation of responsibility between amassing earthly stuff, and/or working for future rewards from God for treasure we are creating by doing good deeds, and offering them to God for His glory. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21) Where is your treasure being stored?
Jesus is teaching His disciples to love everyone even our enemies in the following verses. Is He referring to people who are not His disciples as ‘sinners?’ Who is Jesus referring to as “sinners” here? Are they the people who have not yet accepted Jesus as their Messiah? "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners’, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (Luke 6:32-36)
All of mankind must accept that we are sinners, as we are born into this cursed world with a sinful nature we inherited from the sin of Adam. Therefore, we must believe that even those of us who have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and therefore, our immortal soul will go to heaven when we die, we are still sinners! While we are working out our salvation, by trying to become more Christ-like, we are still sinners. Remember, Jesus died for us while we were still sinners! Jesus ends this statement with the phrase, Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Remember, without a merciful God, all of mankind is doomed to going to hell, because we are all sinners!
A just God sent His Son into this world to be the complete and perfect sacrifice to atone for all of our (your) sins, so that a just God, would become a merciful God, who would see you (us) as He sees His Son. To God we have become the perfect son or daughter that He loves and accepts into the sinless confines of heaven! When Jesus walked this earth He gave us a glimpse of this merciful attitude. Jesus was sitting with His disciples and, Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers!” (Mark 3:34) Jesus looks at you as His brother or sister, if you have accepted His offer of salvation! Now that is Good News!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
Romans 3:22-24 (NIV)
This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Are you working on earning your salvation by being generally a good person, and by doing good deeds? If you answered yes, “then please quit wasting your time!” If you are a modern day Pharisee, then Jesus will not have good sounding comments for your time wasting attempts at being a good person! Do good people go to heaven? The answer is NO! The only way to attain righteousness is to have faith in what Jesus Christ did for you, so you will go to heaven, if your faith is placed only in Jesus Christ. As the selected verses state, “righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ!”
So then, who does go to heaven, you may be wondering? It is only those who believe that they are sinners, and that, their only hope of going to heaven is based on a true faith that Jesus Christ died for your sins. No one reading this commentary today has ever seen Jesus Christ, and has sat with Him as He taught His disciples this great truth. Peter wrote some words of assurance for us. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:8-9) As Peter wrote about us having a strong faith in what Jesus did for us, “for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
The writer of the book of Acts gives us the answer to this huge question; when he wrote that there is only one means by which you can be saved from your sinful nature. Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) Jesus also affirmed this fact, when He told Thomas how he, or any of us, can know the way to heaven. Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6) When Jesus was teaching His disciples about loving everyone, even those who are your enemies and are persecuting you, Jesus said, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48) It is my opinion here that Jesus was telling His disciples that their good deeds no matter how good could not make them appear to God our Father as being perfect, which is what is required for entrance into heaven He said to them, and us, “Just be perfect!” Jesus was the only sinless man to ever live and die on this cursed earth!
Do you love the things of this earth too much to really value Jesus love for you above all of your possessions? Jesus’ brother James wrote about how we must choose between worldly stuff and being in service to Jesus. You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred towards God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. (James 4:4) Do you love the world or God? You must choose! God created mankind so they could live on this earth and work, and give all of the glory to God. What master are you serving, God or Money? No-one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. (Matthew 6:24)
We all have responsibilities as we live our lives in this cursed world, especially if we have earthly families who in some ways depend on us. Jesus tried to sum up this separation of responsibility between amassing earthly stuff, and/or working for future rewards from God for treasure we are creating by doing good deeds, and offering them to God for His glory. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21) Where is your treasure being stored?
Jesus is teaching His disciples to love everyone even our enemies in the following verses. Is He referring to people who are not His disciples as ‘sinners?’ Who is Jesus referring to as “sinners” here? Are they the people who have not yet accepted Jesus as their Messiah? "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners’, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (Luke 6:32-36)
All of mankind must accept that we are sinners, as we are born into this cursed world with a sinful nature we inherited from the sin of Adam. Therefore, we must believe that even those of us who have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and therefore, our immortal soul will go to heaven when we die, we are still sinners! While we are working out our salvation, by trying to become more Christ-like, we are still sinners. Remember, Jesus died for us while we were still sinners! Jesus ends this statement with the phrase, Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Remember, without a merciful God, all of mankind is doomed to going to hell, because we are all sinners!
A just God sent His Son into this world to be the complete and perfect sacrifice to atone for all of our (your) sins, so that a just God, would become a merciful God, who would see you (us) as He sees His Son. To God we have become the perfect son or daughter that He loves and accepts into the sinless confines of heaven! When Jesus walked this earth He gave us a glimpse of this merciful attitude. Jesus was sitting with His disciples and, Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers!” (Mark 3:34) Jesus looks at you as His brother or sister, if you have accepted His offer of salvation! Now that is Good News!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
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