In the last segment we discussed the origins of the heavens and the earth. We talked about Lucifer, also known as Satan and why there is such a spiritual battle going on in the universe. We talked about our place in God's grand plan and how we can either be a part of it or reject it. This is the question we all must answer: Not someday, not later. If this is real, then eternity hinges on this question. And if it's not, then you've lost nothing but lived in hope. But if it is - and Scripture insists that it is - then everything, and I mean everything rides on your response: What are you going to do about Jesus?
My Good Deeds Versus My Bad Deeds
This has been at the crux of how to get into heaven. And the world has created quite the narrative. When we die, we're taken to heaven by an angel. Once there, we meet St. Peter who guards the gates of Heaven. He checks whether our names are written in the book, and if our good deeds have outweighed our bad ones, he finds our name and we are admitted to Heaven. Nothing could be further from the truth.
That isn't how we handle justice on earth, why would it be different in Heaven? Imagine this: You are sitting in a court room, just as an observer. A man is brought in; he is in chains on his hands and his feet. A lawyer gets up and says, "Your honor, I know my client has done this awful thing. The taking of a human life isn't something that should be tolerated lightly.
"However, I'd like to point out that my client has lived his life without so much as a speeding ticket. The only involvement with the court system at all is the occasional parking ticket. He has been an upstanding member of society. He owns a very successful business; he sponsors the local middle school basketball teams. He has always contributed to the Chamber of Commerce, the yearly United Way drive, and the yearly festival. So, we can easily see that his good deeds far outweigh this one horrible thing, and I see no reason to ruin his life over one bad decision."
Of course we do not do that on earth, because we know justice requires punishment. For the majority of the people, we believe actions have consequences. It doesn't matter how a person has behaved prior to a crime being committed, once that crime has been done, there must be justice. The Bible is clear on this one thing: There must be punishment for sin.
In the book of Genesis, we see the beginning of the law. But it wasn't really a law, it was instructions. God hadn't sat down and given a list of commandments but simply one instruction: 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” - Genesis 2:16-17 English Standard Version
The only recorded command Adam received was this: stay away from the tree. Was it God's intention to someday explain the tree, and allow Adam to use it? Who knows? And quite honestly that wasn't Adam's concern. His concern was to submit himself to God and obey. But even here we see the foundations of man daring to question his position in relation to God.
God's Plan Seen in The Old Testament
In order to understand God's plan, it is necessary to see the origins of sin. There is a lot to be unpacked here:
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree, which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. - Genesis 3:1-7 NKJV
We see that Adam, not Eve committed the original sin. As a young boy in church I had this idea that Eve had been walking through the garden when the serpent approached her. She took a bite of the forbidden fruit and then walked away to find Adam. But the Bible is clear, "She also gave to her husband WITH HER, and he ate. If he would have reached out and slapped the fruit out of her hand before she had taken a bite, none of this would have happened. But Adam committed the original sin, because he knew he was disobeying God in order to satisfy the desire of his flesh. And that desire was to be like the Most High. Sound familiar?
This is a blueprint for something Satan has done time after time throughout history. There is nothing new to his ruse, just new packaging. The first thing he always does is challenge God's word. "Has God indeed said?" This is the same ancient deception, repackaged for modern times. And it works to this day. None of us are immune; to this very day, Satan gets us to doubt God's word by simply challenging what we believe. Bringing doubt into our minds, "Did God really say?" Or casting doubt that He'll do what he says, "You shall not surely die..."
Even this doubt is enough to be considered a sin to God. In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses is reviewing the events that led up to this day of their finally entering God's promised land. Moses is reminding them of the time they failed: 29 Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. 30 The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fights for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, 31 and in the wilderness. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”
32 In spite of this, you did not trust in the LORD your God, 33 who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.
34 When the LORD heard what you said, he was angry and solemnly swore: 35 “No one from this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your ancestors, 36 except Caleb, son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly.” - Deuteronomy 1:29-36 NIV
Moses is recapping the time Israel was ready to take the promised land. But first, they sent 12 spies into the land to get a glimpse of what treasures the land held. Two of them came back with wonderful news, talking about the plentiful land. But 10 of them had bad news. They were afraid of the people and the cities. And instead of the people of Irael trusting in God to deliver them, just as we do today. They were relying on themselves instead of God.
God was angry at their lack of faith and became angry. This is what led to their wanderings in the desert for 40 years. The point is plain: in God's eyes your good deeds will never be good enough.
God's justice is straightforward: "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23 NKJV). There it is, no ambiguity, no stipulation. But thank God that isn't the end of the verse. "but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord".
As the Bible often points out, sin corrupts. In the Old Testament there were many things that were considered clean and unclean. Some of these things were very important and shows us a glimpse of a Supernatural God whose knowledge surpassed the conventional wisdom of the day. For example, while pagan cultures were making potions out of animal parts and excrement, Israelis had a sophisticated quarantine system in place for people who were diagnosed with various diseases. In a time when people had no idea whatsoever about micro-organisms, for some reason the Israelis were smart enough to keep the sick away from the population in order to control the spread of disease.
Other things, however, were more symbolic than anything. For example, walking over a grave would make a person 'unclean' until the evening. Now anyone who has visited a graveyard has probably walked over a grave site with no adverse effects. These things were symbolic, showing the Israelites that corruption could pollute the holy. God was teaching them a valuable lesson: that sin could not be allowed to corrupt that which is holy. In fact, God made it clear that corruption could not stand in the face of the holy.
Dagon Vs. The Ark of The Covenant
In 1st Samuel chapter 5, we read the story of the god Dagon who was worshipped by the people of the city of Ashdod. After defeating Israel in battle, the Philistines captured the Ark of The Covenant and brought it to the city of Ashdod, placing it in the temple of their god Dagon. The next morning, when they rose to worship their god, they found his statue lying face down before the Ark.
They set Dagon back up in his place. However, the following day Dagon is face down before the Ark again, but this time his head and hands are broken off and only the torso remained. This is a stunning show of dominance; this is a declaration to the whole world. God doesn't share space with idols. Even in enemy hands, the Ark commands reverence. The unholy cannot stand in the presence of the holy.
New Age Thinking = Old Age Deception
There is one particular prophecy in the Bible that I see coming to pass everywhere I look. "Professing themselves to be wise, they have become fools". (Romans 1:22 NKJV) This is certainly true when it comes to modern religion. Whether it's a church for atheists, or this new age thinking, it seems people have completely dismissed the idea of a real God and decided a 'make it up as you go along' method is just as good. There are several modern-day deceptions in this world and the number grows almost every day. One of these is the idea that there are many paths to God and one path is just as good as the other.
The one thing this philosophy lacks is the simple wisdom of ownership. Who owns Heaven anyway? If God is real, and we know that He is, then who gets to decide on how to get there? Certainly not us, but God. And God has made it abundantly clear that anyone who approaches him must do so through Jesus Christ the Messiah. This is not optional. No one gets a backstage pass to Heaven. I hate to disappoint Robert Plant, but there is no stairway. Anyone who comes to God must approach him through the Messiah.
And if you think that is very mean of God, then take it up with him; that's his words not mine. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) This is not some sort of idea dreamed up by man in order to promote one religion over another. This is the only way to approach God because unholy cannot stand in the presence of holy. Let's go back to the whole 'good deeds vs. bad deeds' belief.
If this were really a truth, then the question would become whose judgment are we going to go by when it comes to what is a good deed? Are we to judge ourselves on this premise? Are we going to allow God to judge us, or St. Peter or an angel? Let me give you a hint: Do NOT pick God to judge your good deeds. Because God has made it clear what he thinks of your own efforts to become righteous: "All our righteousness are as filthy rags." Isaiah 64:6. Paul echoes this sentiment in the book of Romans:
"As it is written: None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands, no one seeks God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." - Romans 3:10-12 ESV
Letting your good deeds outweigh your bad deeds just got a whole lot harder.
And that's why you need Jesus. Not because God is creating this spiritual franchise that requires you to be a Christian in order to get access to him, but because there is only one thing that can stand before holiness, and that is holy. It's time to put this into straight-forward, clear language: God sent the best he had to earth in order to reconcile you to himself. If that isn't acceptable to you, then God isn't the one with the problem.
It's really very easy to understand, once you open your mind. As a human, you are flawed. Sin entered your life, and you are not capable of saving yourself. Your own deeds will never be enough to satisfy the judgement of sin. The wages of sin is death. But Jesus came to pay that debt for you, because only God could pay the debt. That's right: the Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us.
God himself had to pay the price that no mere mortal could pay. And only if that debt is paid in full can someone approach God.
The Real Evil Behind Deeds
The Old Covenant or Testament had huge drawbacks. It relied on a combination of deeds and sacrifice in order to be cleansed of sin. However, this wasn't enough; and the sacrifices had to be repeated once a year in order to remain cleansed. However, the bigger problem was the deeds. And even to this day, more people are putting their salvation in jeopardy due to deeds than any other reason. That's right: you can put your salvation in jeopardy by just relying on your own self.
One of my favorite books in the Bible is the book of Galatians. Some people might think that to be an odd choice: but not me. Galatians is there to remind me every time I sink back into this mentality that I must do certain things in order to secure my salvation. I don't know what it is about the human condition, but we have this almost obsessive desire to please God by doing things. Let me tell you a story: I grew up in the late 60's and 70's. My mother wanted to be part of everything during my childhood. She was a member of the PTA (I think it's called PTO now).
One night there was a PTA meeting at school. Now back in the day, it wasn't considered polite to have a meeting without offering people food and refreshments (I kid you not). So, people would bake cookies, cakes, I mean actually make food to take to the PTA meeting. Those were the days! Just about every kid want to go to PTA because we all knew there would be sweets, chips and pop. So, while the meeting is going on, we're all playing hide-and-seek in the school, like it had suddenly turned into the giant indoor playground.
After a while we all return to the cafeteria, where we expect the meeting to be over and glorious sweets will abound. Except there's my mother in the corner of the room, crying. When I asked what had happened, she tells me that one of the ladies she went to church with was there and had called my mom a hypocrite. Why? Because mom had worn a slacks suit to PTA, and not a dress. And Missionary Baptists did not believe that women should wear pants.
Deeds offer a great source of pride, and a great source of condemnation. To this day I cringe when I see someone doing something, simply because the Old Testament mandates something is supposed to be done. Keep this in mind: Whenever you try to incorporate an Old Testament law into your daily life, you are trying to follow a rule that never applied to you in the first place and certainly doesn't apply to you now as a Christian. In fact, the third chapter of Galatians is something that all Christians need to remember.
O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? 2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? 4 Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?
5 Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? — 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” - Galatians 3:1-6 NKJV
To me, this Scripture is crystal clear. Paul is angry, and I mean angry at the church in Galatia, because while they started their Christian lives in faith in Jesus Christ, they are now reverting back to following the law of the Old Testament as a means to continue their walk with God. So, Paul is asking them point blank: Did you receive gifts from God through faith, or following the law? Are you trying to perfect yourself by your own deeds? Have the things you have gone through as Christians now in vain? And finally, he reminds them that it wasn't the deeds of Abraham that caused God to bless him, but by his faith.
Being saved by deeds isn't an option. In fact, Paul is telling us that deeds can be a stumbling block to your salvation. He uses some pretty harsh language and quite frankly no one wants to preach or teach on this because it is so harsh. But Paul is asking a question that needs to be answered, and answered in our hearts: Is your salvation in vain, because you are relying on your own works to save you, rather than the completed work of Jesus on the cross?
I wrestled with these things for a long, long time. Then one night, as I prayed over these things, God gave me a simple word that solved this mystery once and for all:
"Learn from the Old Testament but live by the New".
Once again, we clearly see from the Bible that our own deeds won't save us, nor can we earn forgiveness.
The River of Truth
One of my favorite Bible teachers was Chuck Missler. In fact, I measured my growth in Scripture by my ability to disagree with something Chuck said. But one of the many sayings that has forever been logged into my brain is this: "The river of truth flows between the banks of two extremes."
On the other bank of forgiveness is Universalism. This universalism is a crafty thing; be very careful that you don't get tangled up in the tentacles of this teaching. Because like many false teachings, there is enough truth in it to be considered dangerous. Universalism is the idea that everything has been done; you don't need to do anything at all in order to be saved. Yeah, it might be nice if you followed the teachings of Jesus, showed a genuine change of heart. But all those things are works, and you're not saved by works, you are saved by grace. And you're going to Heaven whether you like it or not.
This is one of most dangerous teachings out there. And that's because it gives people a free pass to live their lives as they see fit, without any accountability. Considering the present mentality of this younger generation to blame anything and anyone else for their own bad choices, there's obvious reason why this is becoming more prevalent in the world today. The ultimate Universalism that I've ever heard comes from this idea that someday, we will all be forgiven and received into Heaven to be with God forever.
Universalism is the belief that all souls will eventually be reconciled to God, including those previously condemned in traditional theology. In fact, some go as far as to say eventually even Satan himself will be forgiven. While this is what I call a "nice, warm, fuzzy sentiment", even the furthest stretches of the word of God wouldn't cover this deception. This has to be based on personal theology, not Scripture. The Bible says the complete opposite. "Because narrow is the is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few that find it" - Matthew 7:14 NKJV
Can Satan be saved? The principle of forgiveness is clear; absolutely not. In order for Satan to be saved, Jesus would have to have died in his place. But before that, Jesus would have had to be born or created as such a being as Satan. Since Satan is an immortal being, he cannot die, nor could Jesus be able to die in his place. The reason for our salvation is clear. Jesus died as a sacrifice for us. He became one of us and lived as one of us for 33 years. And when the time came, he offered his sinless body up as a one-time sacrifice for us all.
“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” - John 1:12
“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
“For by grace you have been saved through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” - Ephesians 2:8-9
“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” - Acts 16:31
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” - John 3:36
Where else shall I go? Jesus, who said at the time of the end, the angels will separate the righteous from the unrighteous, and send the unrighteous into everlasting punishment? Or the book of Proverbs that tells us there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end is destruction? The continuous theme throughout the Scriptures is a difference between those who followed and obeyed God, and the rewards they received due to their faithfulness, and the destruction of the wicked who followed the lusts of their own flesh. If there is no punishment for sin, then why did so many things have to happen in order to redeem man?
But the most troubling hurdle for universalism is the age-old double-edged sword of freedom of will. There are people out there who genuinely believe in Allah, the god of the Muslims. There are people out there who worship various gods, animals, mythical creatures and some who worship the planet. There are some who worship nothing at all, some who worship their money. And you know what? They have every right under God to do just that. But God will never take away their rights and force them to spend eternity with him if that isn't what they want to do.
People make a conscious decision every day. Some want to spend their time on earth fulfilling every carnal desire their flesh can dream up. And they have every right to do that. They can decide to live this life on earth and sacrifice their future for a good time right here, right now. But God doesn't reward such selfish behavior. In fact the Scriptures are full of warnings to those who do so. God isn't a liar and his word isn't void. And that is the bottom line of every universalist; in order to be faithful to universalism you have to abandon the Scriptures.
The Deepest Bottom Line
Bottom of the most bottom line, the very deepest bottom of them all is what are you going to do about Jesus? You can go about your life putting off a decision; you may make an alternate decision to ignore the Bible and follow another path. But there is only one path that leads to eternal life, and there will be few that find it. Not because God has hidden the path, but the world has. The Bible says that in the last days false prophets and false teachers will emerge and deceive many. And those days are here. But there is only one Gospel. Only one message of Good News.
And that message deserves every bit of praise and accolade we have laid on it over the years. The message that your sins are forgiven. They were forgiven 2,000 years ago on a cross near the city of Jerusalem. When a man who had healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead, given countless people hope and still does to this day. When that man was nailed to a cross due to the voices of a few dozen religious leaders who feared the people who were listening to this man. Little did they know their anger and their hatred was fulfilling God's plan, not derailing it, thereby setting the stage for the greatest event in human history: The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
If you’ve been relying on your own goodness, it’s time to lay it down. The cross isn’t a backup plan—it’s the only plan. What will you do with that truth today?
Did you miss part one? Read it HERE
Our next segment will deal with you and your purpose on this earth.
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