God is good and just. If I try my best and ask for forgiveness, I will go to heaven when I die. God just asks us to believe he exists and do our best. No one is perfect, and we all sin, but that’s not evil. There are various degrees of sin and evil, so surely hell is for the worst people. WOE to those who believe or live by these statements!
BEWARE
BEWARE of believing or saying these statements IF you are truly a disciple of Jesus Christ! Believers and non-believers often speak these statements without realizing that the two facts in these statements, from God’s word, are twisted to deceive people about sin and evil. God warns us.
For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths. (2 Tim. 4:3-4, NLT)
According to God’s word from these popular statements, there are only two truths. We must know God’s truth, or we will be deceived by the enemy, Satan, the father of lies. Let’s look at God’s truth and how these statements pervert it to approve sin and evil.
1. God is good and just:
"Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." (James 1:17, NIV)
"And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone." (Mark 10:18, NIV)
A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he." (Deut. 32:4, NIV)
"Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you." (Psa. 89:14, NIV)
"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8)
God’s goodness and justice require obedience, love, kindness, boundaries, and consequence. Without these elements, how can there be pure goodness and justice? God is the only one who can see into our hearts and know our motives.
What and whom you believe and how you live your life on earth will one day be judged by Jesus. His judgment will be according to God’s commands, standards, and justice, NOT ours. It will be his way, or we will go to hell for all eternity.
Not many people want to hear this truth. They want to feed all their flesh desires without regard for God’s commands and instructions. They choose to live in disobedience, rebellion, unrepentance, sin, and evil with the devil, believing there is no eternal consequence. They think if they believe God exists and try to be a good person, God will give them a free pass into heaven.
How would God be good and just if he gave disciples of Satan a free pass into heaven? Because God is good and just, he sent his only Son, Jesus, to die for our sins (John 3:16) so that we could choose salvation and follow him. God provided our salvation through Christ because we all sin because he is just. Let’s look at God’s truth about sin.
2. We all sin:
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus. (Rom. 3:23-26, NLT)
Understand Salvation
Some people are confused about what salvation is. Salvation is believing in your heart and confessing with your mouth that Jesus is the Son of God and he died for your sins. It is surrendering every aspect of your mind, heart, and life to learn how to follow Jesus. Salvation is loving God with all your heart and working with Jesus to be transformed into his likeness.
No matter what you say to God or others, your true heart and allegiance are revealed in your attitudes, words, and actions. Being Christ’s disciple means you will live in true repentance; you will turn your heart, mind, attitudes, words, and actions completely away from your sin. Saying sorry and then choosing to continue to sin is not repentance. The Bible is clear about who loves and follows God.
And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, "I know God," but doesn't obey God's commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God's word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. (1 John 2:3-6, NLT)
Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. (Matt. 3:8, NLT)
We All Choose God or Evil
There is no more precise truth than God’s. Jesus tells us that we can’t serve two masters. Serving Jesus and sharing his truth may make people uncomfortable, but it doesn’t change the truth.
If believers choose not to share the truth in compassion and love, they are not following Christ’s command and commission to share his gospel and love with the world. People must know that their choice on earth has eternal consequences and must be warned. Once they know the truth, only they decide for themselves. God instructs us.
I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he comes to set up his Kingdom: Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. (2 Tim. 4:1-2, NLT)
When Christ’s disciples work with him in complete surrender, their lives will look and sound like Jesus. Our transformation with Jesus is a lifelong process, but the only one with the promise of heaven! I would not be here if I had not surrendered my life to Jesus. Every day I pray for him to guide me and show me his ways. One of the first ways to see God’s truth more clearly is to understand what are sin and evil and to flee. Let us obey God’s word and live for him!
Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. (3 John 1:11, ESV)
