Does your religion work?
Most of us are content to leave God alone, if he leaves us alone. It would be a fine arrangement—if it worked. So, when people think about whether they are on the right side of
God, usually they think of a set of scales. In one side are their good deeds.
In the other, their bad deeds. It would be a fine arrangement—if it worked. When I was a child my father sometimes punished me despite the
fact I had done some good things in the day. The problem was, I only started
doing them once I realised I was in trouble. When I pleaded that I had done
so many good things, he said, “You should have been like that all the time!” The Bible says that God requires what is past. The remedy for our sin against God’s Law is not our own effort
and goodness. The problem with our own goodness is that it is worse than
useless. All our righteousness is like
soiled and worn out clothing says the Word of God. Friend and foe, God and man, agreed that Jesus Christ, never
sinned. From the moment sin entered the world God promised a Saviour. The
Bible promised he would come, live and die as a substitute and sacrifice for
others. He lived as we should have lived and died under the wrath of God. The good news for us is that there is forgiveness for sins, but
only through Jesus Christ. As we turn from sin and receive Christ as Saviour,
God declares us to be right with Him. We need to stop trying and start trusting. It’s a fine arrangement—and it works. |
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Bad deeds offset by good deeds is not how God works it.
We can’t get to heaven by climbing up what we think we’ve
done right.
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