GOOD PEOPLE GO TO HEAVEN!....Don't They?

I just read a little book by Andy Stanley.  I mean less than a hundred pages entitled, Since Nobody is Perfect, How Good is Good Enough?  It really started  me to thinking about one of the biggest worries weighing on some
Christians' mind, Eternal Security!  With so many different philosophies and religions to choose from, most that conflict with each other, how can one be sure they've chosen the right one?  Makes you wonder if our best option isn't to be as good as you can and hope for the best!

But the title of the book begs this question:  Just how good is good enough?  I've tried a few strategies of my own, none that have proven very successful, but at least I tried.  Like keeping the Ten Command-
ments (Exodus 20: 3-17). 

 I thought that would be a good place to start, since that's what every Sunday School teacher, I've ever had since childhood assured me would probably do the trick.  But I didn't even get past the first one, Thou shalt have no other gods before me.  It wasn't until I dug a little deeper in the scriptures that I found out that an idol is more than a wooden or stone object one bows down to and worships, but could be something as simple as thinking it okay to skip church and bible study for a few weeks to work overtime for a new bedroom suite I saw at Kittle's!  What a disappointment to read Colossians 3:5 and find out that anything inciting earthly desires or greed and comes before God is also idolatry.

I tried this one too:  Let your conscience be your guide! Another flop for me.  I was doing pretty good for awhile, my mom and others really did a job on me, piling on the guilt whenever I did something wrong.  But then I found out that you really can ignore your gut...or that little voice in your head, if you really want to!  All it takes is a little practice and before you know it you hardly hear it at all.  For Christians, our conscience is activated by the Holy Spirit, but it is possible for us to quench His power and effect in our lives (I Thess. 5:19)

Who could find fault in this last one!  Doing good deeds!  I mean people are helped and you get brownie points from almost everyone once they find out about it!  It also helps with the guilty conscience we talked about above, because to some people ways of thinking if you do enough good things you can actually wipe out all the bad stuff you said or did in the past!  Sorry, this won't get you in the kingdom either!  So just what does it take to know for sure you're going to heaven when you die?  YOUR FAITH IN JESUS!

*You'll never be good enough (Romans 3:10-12; Psalms 14:3; Mark 10:18)
*Any good deeds or acts you perform count for nothing (Isaiah 64:6; Ephes. 2:9)
* The law was never meant to save us but to teach us that we are sinners!(Galatians 3:23-25)

Only by admitting that you are a sinner - NEED
Realizing that Christ is the only sure - WAY
Surrendering your will for His - ACCEPT
Live daily by grace will you get- ASSURANCE

GOOD PEOPLE DON'T GO TO HEAVEN ... ONLY FORGIVEN ONES!

(Hope I see you there!)