Am I Going to Heaven or Not?

READ: Romans 3:21-31

Scripture often reveals truth in stark contrast to what we hear about Christianity. Such is the case today.

Ever hear that good people go to Heaven and bad people go to Hell? Big problem: There are no good people. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All deserve to be punished, yet all are freely justified by Christ’s sacrificial atonement. Does that mean all are going to Heaven? No. Only those who accept this atonement Christ freely offers are saved; without it, any one of us would be going to Hell. No wonder Paul instructs us not to boast in our good works, but to boast only in the cross of Christ!

So, then, if it’s not what you do, but what you believe, is God’s grace a free pass to sin? Little problem: Definitions. Believe doesn’t mean profess as true; it means accept as true. And if we accept something as true, we act on it. So to believe in Christ is to obey his teaching - all of it! Hence the conclusion in James 2:14-26: Faith without works is dead.

But I thought the New Covenant of God’s grace replaced the Old Covenant of the Mosaic Law? Nope. As it turns out, we don’t nullify the law by faith, we uphold the law. By believing in Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit he gives, we live according to the moral law God gave Moses. When we fail, the sacrifice of Christ atones for us, but by the Spirit we are assured of God’s final victory: not only our freedom from the penalty of sin, but our freedom from the power and presence of sin as well.

People of Action

Lights Camera Action!

Like God, in the form of a pillar of smoke, led the Israelites through the desert for 40 years, Jesus came to earth 2000 years ago to lead us.

 

Jesus lived a perfect life, withstanding Satan’s temptations.  He took our sins upon himself, and defeated death with his ascension so that we might also live with God for eternity.

 

Jesus, of course, did much more. He taught us how to live. Unlike many hypocrites of the day (and today!) he walked the talk. He fed thousands and healed many of the sick.

 

Jesus was a man of action!

 

Today’s reading is James 2:14-26. James, the brother of Jesus, explains that, “faith without deeds is useless.”

 

Does that mean that deeds will earn us eternal life in heaven? No, only faith, a gift from God that comes to us by the Holy Spirit, can do this.

 

I cannot see the wind, nor can I see your faith. I know when the wind is blowing by looking at a flag. Similarly, I know you have faith by watching your deeds. Deeds reveal who we are.

 

Although we are imperfect, Jesus instructed us to do the things he did. We are to worship God, we are to love our neighbors and we are to tell the world who Jesus is.

 

We, people of faith, are to be people of action!