But I am a Good Person, Right?

But I am a Good Person, Right?

by David Brenneman 

‭"Two things I asked of You, Do not refuse me before I die: Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,  That I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or that I not be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God." Proverbs 30:7-9

"I'm a good person! God wouldn't send me to Hell!" 

"I'm a nice person! I don't think that I deserve to go to Hell!"

"I think the good things of my life will outweigh the bad.  God will see that and let me into Heaven."

All the above statements are going to land you in Hell when you die.

There's only one way to Heaven and it's only through faith and trust in what Christ Jesus alone did on the cross. That He alone lived a sinless life. Was cruelly beaten and crucified.  Taking our place with regards to the penalty for our sins. 

Rising again 3 days later as both Christ and King, saying "It is finished!"

You, my Dear Reader, delude yourself if you believe that there's any amount of good a person could do to inherit eternal life in Heaven with Jesus. 

Read what it says in the book of Revelation. "‭But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8.

"Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:11-15.

Did you catch that last sentence?

The only way, the only time, in your life, that your name could ever, would ever, be written in the Lamb's book of Life is when you come to Christ for salvation in YOUR life. 

Nobody can pray you into Heaven from Hell.  Nobody else ever fulfilled the requirements of being the perfect sin sacrifice but Jesus. 

When someone comes to Christ for salvation, a couple things happen. 

You are made new in Christ.  All sins are washed away.  He casts your sins as far away as the east is from the west. Remembering them no more. Psalms 103:12.

You are not saved on your merits. You are saved on the merits of the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ your Savior and Lord. 

Your name is now written down in that very specific, very special Book of Life.  Nobody can erase a name written there because those names are written in the blood of Christ. 

You receive a seal on your person that tells all the demons of this world to whom you belong and that signifies that you are now a child of God in Christ Jesus. 

None of the above is possible through human intervention or human interactions on their own. 

‭"I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” Galatians 2:21.

So what good is trying to live a good life apart from Jesus?  It is actually the same as those who live evil continually.  You read it in Revelation. Those thinking they lived a good life end up in the same place as those who blatantly denied Christ.  The Lake of Fire.  Being written in the Lamb's book of Life is everything. 

Don't necessarily take it from me. 

Read these things for yourself. 

‭"For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;" 2 Corinthians 5:14.

‭"For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God." Colossians 3:3.

‭"For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly." Romans 5:6.

‭"For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." 1 Corinthians 2:2.

‭"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8.

‭"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,  and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles;  and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also." 1 Corinthians 15:3-8.

‭"For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;" 1 Peter 3:18.

‭"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;  who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" Romans 8:31-35.

‭"But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many." Romans 5:15.

"‭But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,  that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;  for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;  for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?  How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”  However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?”  So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.  But I say, surely they have never heard, have they? Indeed they have; “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, And their words to the ends of the world.” Romans 10:8-18.

My Dear Reader, you and I were born entirely in our own sins.  We needed a Savior who is Christ Jesus.  Our "good" is by our own standards.  Our "good enough" is not nor will it ever be enough according to God's standard. God's standard is perfection available only in Christ. 

Time is indeed not on the side of humanity.  Jesus said that just as He left, He will return again to take with Him all who have called upon His Name for salvation.

If you have not. You will only know the unbearable, unbelievably painful loss of missing out when these people leave this world to forever be with Jesus. 

A ruler will arise after Jesus does take His people from this world who try to, and mostly succeed at, making the world believe he is God.  

Don't think it could never happen. 

Look at what you have lived through in your lifetime that you thought could never happen as well. 

Salvation is a free gift of God to all who believe.  No strings attached. 

Jesus did all the work.  When you come to Christ for salvation all His Father sees when He looks at the life of a Believer is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. 

Please don't rely on your own understanding. Please don't think that God will cut you some slack. 

That God will do this or that for you because you did stuff for Him. 

Jesus says to those who believe such things to "depart from Me for I never knew you".

Take the right step today and know for sure that your salvation is secure in Christ Jesus.  Know that your home will be in Heaven with Jesus.  

You alone must choose. 

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.