Drink from The Well

If you were to stand in front of God today and He asks you, “why should I let you into heaven?,” What would your response be? Would you start by listing all the good things you have done in your life? If you’re not a Christian, you might appeal to the fact that you have lied here and there but at least you did not kill anyone. Therefore, this makes you a pretty good person. If you’re a Christian, like the rich young ruler (Lk 18:18-30), you might point to all the things you have done for God – your works. Things like going to church, reading your Bible, praying every day, being a good neighbor… the list can go on and on. By all means, these are all great things to do, and should be encouraged. But these are not qualifications when it comes to getting into heaven. 

As work-oriented beings who are good at “earning things,” we tend to attribute our standing with God to what we have done, and how good we have been. We might even admit we’ve done a few bad things like telling white lies, but generally speaking, we are good people. But what if I told you that is not enough to get you into heaven, and that you have to be perfect? The Bible teaches that God will judge us compared to perfection, not compared to other people (Matt 5:48). God has to judge because he is good. If the government in your area said that starting tomorrow there is no punishment for breaking any law, what would happen? Obviously, chaos. So, it is actually a good thing that the government has punishment for breaking the laws. This is the same with God. Because he is good, he has rules for us to live by (rules that are actually good for us) and a punishment for breaking them. That’s why he has to judge. Since God’s standard is perfection and we have done wrong, we aren’t deserving of a reward but punishment. That place of punishment is called hell, which is somewhere we want to avoid at all costs.

So, let’s see exactly how perfect we have been. Here is a quick test: Have you ever lied? Have you ever stolen something? Or used bad language? Or been selfish or prideful? I don’t know about you but my answer is yes to all the above. You see, when we stand in the presence of a holy God, even the smallest sin discredits us and makes us guilty. If we are honest, we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s standard (Rom. 3:23). We are not worthy to be in His presence. The Bible teaches that our problem in life is not about how good or how bad we are. Rather, it’s sin–and that’s something we all have to deal with. ​​Sin is not living according to God’s standard, the way he wants us to (1 Jn. 3:4). When a person fails to obey God’s commandments, he commits sin. The first instance of human sin in the Bible was the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God gave them a clear command (Gen. 2:16–17). Genesis 3 gives the account of their sin and God’s righteous punishment. Adam and Eve had a choice to either obey or disobey God’s commandment. They freely chose to sin. After that, they had children “in their own likeness, in their own image” (Gen. 5:3). That likeness included a sinful nature. In that respect, all of their children were “conceived in sin.” We human beings sin, but that’s not the only reason we are sinners. We are born sinners. David realized this fact and expressed it as having been conceived in sin in Psalm 51:5. All humans are similarly conceived in sin; that is, we all have this inbred sin nature. Adam and Eve’s sin changed the trajectory of history, making it impossible for “good people” to be with God. The good news is that there is a solution to this problem. In Adam we die, but in Christ we live (Rom. 5:17).

Though all are born sinners, deserving of death, all have the opportunity for salvation. God offers us the gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ (Jn. 3:1–18). The curse of sin that all people inherit from the “first man Adam” can be broken by faith in “the last Adam” (1 Cor. 15:45). You see, there is no amount of good work we can do to make up for our sins. Even our good works are considered filthy rags (Isa. 64:6). The gospel account of the rich young ruler highlights how even when we attempt to follow the rules, we can’t do it perfectly (Matt. 19:16-26). We need to do it perfectly, and only one person has been able to do that. That person is Jesus Christ – he is our perfect high priest (Heb. 4:14-16). Paul, in writing to the Church in Ephesus, was intent on reminding them that there is nothing they could do to earn a good name or a good place with God. No amount of good work could save anyone. On the cross, Jesus paid the full price for the sin of all who trust in Him. The justice of God was satisfied. The mercy of God was unleashed. (Isa. 53:5) IT IS FINISHED! All we have to do now is to give up our striving and dependence on our own righteousness, and trust in what Jesus has done for us (2 Cor. 5:21). This is how we are saved – by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ (Eph. 2:8-10). 

It is impossible to live in this world and not notice the sin problem we all have (Rom. 3:23). Yet, God shows his unconditional love towards us sinners, whom He is willing to save (Rom. 5:8). We were unlovable, but He loved us anyway. We were hopeless, but He gave us hope. We couldn’t save ourselves, but Christ could. In our spiritually dead and sinful condition (Eph. 2:1), God chose to show his mercy, love, and kindness to us. Now, we get to choose – separation from God or communion with him? In contrast to our inability to keep the law of God and our wages earned by sin, God gives the gracious gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ (Rom. 6:23). What a beautiful exchange! This aspect of the gospel provides you with the opportunity to know and share what Jesus did on the cross. He died in the sinner’s place. He paid the penalty for sin so the sinner wouldn’t have to. He gave His life so you and I could live. By “eternal life,” the Bible means that you don’t need to die and end up in hell forever. You don’t have to experience the judgment of God upon sin for all eternity. You can live in heaven with Him for all eternity after this life ends.

The Bible also teaches that everyone will die (we all know this unavoidable fact), and that after death in this life comes a moment of judgment (Heb. 9:27). That moment of judgment does not need to end badly. God has given us a gift. His name is Jesus Christ. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ…” (Romans 8:1) = This is really good news! If you are “in Christ,” that means you’ve put your faith in Him, believing that He died for you and rose again from the dead on the third day (1 Cor. 15:4). Anyone in Christ is not going to be condemned for their sin and will not go to hell. If that’s you, then you don’t need to walk around feeling guilty or shameful over your sin once you’ve believed in Christ, because your sin is completely washed away (1 Jn. 1:7).

Do you believe that Jesus is Lord? Do you believe He was the Son of God who died for your sin and rose from the dead? Are you willing to confess your sin, accepting the bad news that you are spiritually bankrupt without God’s help? Are you willing to accept the good news that God has made a way for you to have a relationship with Him and be saved from the penalty of sin, which is His wrath? Through faith in Jesus Christ, God’s power can change you. You don’t have to live a life of bondage; you don’t have to be hopeless. Jesus can set you free. Jesus can give you hope. The question is often asked, how do I know if I’m saved? The simple answer is that if you have truly believed in Jesus Christ and put your faith in Him, God will transform you. He gives you his Holy Spirit as a guarantee (2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:14). The old ways of sin that you used to relish are going to slowly fade, and the new life you live in Christ will dominate your passions (2 Cor. 5:17). In a world looking for solutions to the brokenness of human sin, the gospel declares that Jesus is the answer. Do you know when you will die? No one knows. So, if you happen to die tonight without trusting that Jesus paid for your sins, you would end up in God’s place of punishment. That should absolutely terrify you. You won’t get a chance after you die. Your only chance to accept his gift is while you are still living (2 Cor. 6:2). So then, why not this very day, make the big and carefully considered decision to trust that Jesus paid for your sins? “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) Though our sins are many, His mercy is more.

Remember the question I started with? Let’s try answering it again. If you were to stand in front of God and he asks you why he should let you into heaven, what would your response be? Hopefully, you would say “because Jesus died for me and took the punishment I deserved.” This is why we get to go to heaven. And since he took 100% of our punishment, there is 0% left for us. So, the ONLY reason why we get into heaven is because of Jesus dying for us and paying in full for our sin. Our good works WILL NOT get us into heaven. Even if our “good” outweighed the bad, it would not be enough to get us into heaven. Sincerely receiving Jesus and trusting in him, changes everything. This frees you to do good works as a fruit of your salvation — NOT as the basis of it. Out of gratitude, you will then desire to live your life God’s way, purely out of thankfulness for what he has done for you. You no longer trust in your own goodness, but in Jesus Christ. Anything good that you now do is a gift of grace – there is no room for boasting. And you come to know that the Christian life is one of humble dependence on God.

Forgiveness is never free; it always has a cost. And God chose to pay the price Himself—so we could be restored. So, my friends, please remember this: Heaven is NOT for good people, it is for FORGIVEN people. And how do we become forgiven people? By trusting in the finished work of Jesus on the cross for us, when he took all the hell punishment that we deserved so that we can be in heaven with God FOREVER. I pray you will trust in Christ, and rest in this good news of salvation. After you’ve done so, please don’t keep it to yourself. Rather, go share it with as many people as possible.

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.” – Romans 5:1-2

“Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!” – Romans 5:9

The Blood by David Funk & Bethel Music

It’s never been about performance, perfection or striving for acceptance.
Let me tell you, it’s only by the blood.
It’s never been about deserving, or earning. It’s a gift that’s freely given.
Let me tell you, it’s only by the blood.