But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ.
– Philippians 3:7-9
A thousand years from today, the absolute distinguishing feature between everyone who ever lived on this earth will be this one thing: who is saved and who is not. All that will matter is this: Where do you stand with God?
That’s not an answer you need to wait to discover. Many people think that God will one day weigh the good and the bad they’ve done and decide then if they can come into heaven. All their eggs are in that one basket. If there are a few rotten eggs among the good ones, they hope God will overlook them and focus on the really good stuff.
Here’s the problem with that thinking: There’s no sin in heaven. God won’t “overlook” anything. We need a solution to erase our sin problem here and now.
No good work puts you on God’s good side. No association will do it either (as in, “my family is very religious”). To all that, Paul in Philippians 3:8 said in effect: I had to come to the place where I hated those things I thought would earn God’s favor. They deceived me into thinking I was fine on my own efforts and I didn’t need Jesus.
So what should you bring to God if you want to get into heaven? The hymn writer had it straight — “Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to Your cross I cling.” If God were to say to you, “Why should I let you into heaven?” the answer would be, “You shouldn’t, except that I’m trusting in Christ and what He has done for me.”
Either you trust in your merits, or you trust in Christ. Your eternity hangs in your answer. Read this slowly: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Your eternal salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ alone. You’ll go with Him and through Him and in Him or not at all. That is how you know you are saved.
James MacDonald & WALKINTHEWORD.COM
On this day…
- 2 Kings 20 – 2024
- 2 Kings 19 – 2024
- The Holy Believer is a Walking Sermon – 2011
- How Are the Synoptics “Without Error” – 2011
- How to Glorify God in Your Decision-Making – 2011
- How Are the Synoptics ?Without Error – 2011
- Emerging church – 2009
- Messiah – 2009
- THE EXCLUSIVENESS OF CHRIST – 2008
- PROGRAMME OF BELIEF – 2008
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.