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Friends, I want to share some findings from a study done in 2015 by the Barna Research Group. Take a look at this particular part of the study I want to tie into my post today…
People Are Conflicted between “Jesus” and “Good Deeds” as the Way to Heaven
Among adults who have made a personal commitment to Jesus, most also believe that Jesus is the way to heaven. When given several beliefs about the afterlife to choose from, nearly two-thirds of those who have made a personal commitment to Jesus say they believe that after they die they will go to heaven because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior (63%). Only 2 percent of adults who report a personal commitment to Jesus say they will not go to heaven. About one in seven admit they don’t know what will happen after they die (15%).
Overall, roughly two out of five Americans have confessed their sinfulness and professed faith in Christ (a group Barna classifies as “born again Christians”).
Millennials are less likely to believe that Jesus is the path to Heaven than are other generations. Among Millennials who have made a personal commitment to Jesus, only 56 percent say they believe they will go to heaven because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. This percentage climbs to two-thirds of Gen-Xers (64%), six in 10 Boomers (62%) and nearly seven in 10 among Elders (68%).
Many adults believe, however, that they will go to heaven as a result of their good works. Broadly speaking, this is the most common perception among Americans who have never made a commitment to Jesus—and it is also quite common among self-identified Christians. In this category, people believe they will go to heaven because they have tried to obey the Ten Commandments (5%), as a result of being basically a good person (8%), or on the grounds that God loves all people and will not let them perish (7%). (emphasis mine) READ THE FULL POLL RESULTS HERE
Look at the numbers. Look at the varied perspectives. There are a lot of opinions in this poll but only one truth.
I share this with you because early this morning before the sun rose I was reading in Matthew 5. Matthew 5:13-16 talks about being the salt and the light of the world. This is good encouragement to us.
13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
I was thinking to myself all the ways these illustrations apply to my heart and life and what adjustments I need to make since I am salt and I am light in this world. I really do want others to see my good works and give glory to God.
But there are those words…”good works”.
I continued reading. The next few verses can be difficult to understand if you do not have a background in Jewish customs and laws. You can learn a lot about all of this in the Old Testament. The passage read:
17 “Do not think that I (Christ) have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
I stopped for a minute and thought, wow, seems like Matthew is changing subjects here a little. He just told us to let our good works show that we are of the Father. Now he’s focusing on the Law of the Prophets and in essence is saying, “Don’t expect your good works to save you!”
Maybe you’re asking, “What is the Law of the Prophets”? Simply put, God desires to have fellowship with mankind, but our sin prevented that. He gave the Law to set a standard of holiness. He wanted us to know…in order to have fellowship with a holy God, you must be holy and this law shows you what it looks like.
Here’s the problem. No man or woman can fully keep the Law. It is in essence the Law of Righteousness or “right living” but the Bible says, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) We can’t continually keep the Law of God’s righteousness. Why would God give us a law knowing we couldn’t keep it. That it was impossible.
The fact that the law seemed unatainable didn’t stop the Sadducees and the Pharisees of the New Testament from doing everything in their power to live out the law – to emulate “righteous behavior and righteous living”. They were mainly focused on the outward expression of keeping it. So to the average person, these guys were the professional “good guys”. They seemed super holy and righteous. In fact, our lifestyles today, in general, would pale in comparison to the righteousness they always displayed.
Certainly Jesus must have been impressed at the fact that they kept MOST all of the law MOST all of the time.
But that’s now how Jesus felt. In Matthew 23 Jesus gives seven woes to those Pharisees. These are some strong words and there is no question on how He feels. Take a minute and read it for yourself.
But, for now, let’s go back to the passage I read this morning.
Matthew 5:20 says 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
In other words, Jesus is saying, “Unless you do better than these profession “do-good-ers” you’re in trouble.”
Do you believe you can get to heaven by good works? Friend, I’m sorry, you can’t do enough good works to meet God’s law of righteousness.
We could never meet that standard on our own. God knew this. He knew what He hoped for us, how He longed for us to live. And He knew how our sin kept us from this Law of Righteousness. This law wasn’t meant to bring death. It was meant to bring abundant life. But sin brings the death and with that the weight of the law. We can’t do it.
God wasn’t okay to just leave things there. He made a way to fulfill the law. He put in place a plan of redemption for us. He sent Christ – His perfect Son!
That’s where this whole story about Christ brings us joy. HE DID WHAT WE COULD NOT. He FULFILLED the Law of Righteousness on our behalf.
That’s why Jesus Christ had to come—to fulfill all the righteous requirements of the Law on our behalf, and then to take the punishment of violating that Law, also on our behalf. Paul wrote in Galatians 2:16 that we are not justified “by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.” When we receive God’s forgiveness through our confession of faith in Jesus’ sacrificial death, the Law is fulfilled for us, and “there is no longer any sacrifice for sin” (Hebrews 10:18). The Law’s condemnation does not fall on us, because “the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). gotquestions.org
I’ve heard a lot of people talking about how they are going to do better in 2018…how they are going to “be better Christians”. Friends, don’t buy into the idea that “good works” saves you or make you right before a holy God. If that were the case, why would Christ have to die? When we bank on our good works, in essence we are saying, “Christ’s death was not necessary.”
When we bank on our good works to please God, in essence we are saying, “Christ’s death was not necessary.”
I went back to the first passage I read this morning about the salt and light. I noticed that it said, You ARE the salt of the earth. You ARE the light of the world. I am the salt and the light because Christ lives in me. I have received the benefit of knowing and following Him by acknowledging I cannot save myself. He paid my sin debt that held me in contempt of the law of God’s righteousness. I cannot be good enough to fulfill God’s law of “right living”. But Jesus did that for me at salvation and now He does that “right living” through me ever day as I turn to Him for help by His power and grace.
I don’t know who needs these words today…
But God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16.
Don’t be “better” in 2018. Be changed. Ask Jesus to save you from the condemnation of the law because of your sin and cause you to live in the complete work He did for you on the Cross. He fulfilled the law of right living and can now live through you!
He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God. Romans 4:25
But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. Isaiah 53:5
God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21
