Are You A Good Person?
Are you a good person? The Bible says that in proverbs 20:6 “most men will proclaim every one his goodness”
You may very well be a good person, you may be moral, ethical, hard-working, a doer of good things, and so on. However, it’s not our standard of “good” that matters, but rather it is God’s standard that we must see.
In light of God’s standard – The Ten Commandments – ask yourself some questions to see if you are really good according to His standard.
1. Have you ever stolen anything? The value of the object taken doesn’t matter. If
you steal something of little or no value, it is still stealing. The Bible says in Exodus 20: 15 “thou shalt not steal.” What do you call someone that steals? That’s right, if you steal something you are a thief!
2. Have you ever told a lie? The Bible says in Exodus 20:16 “thou shalt not bear false witness
against thy neighbor,” that simply means “to lie.” So, what do you call someone who lies?
A liar, if you have ever told even one lie you are a liar.
3. Have you ever looked on a person with lust? Exodus 20:14 says “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” However, Jesus took this a step further in the New Testament when He said in Matthew 5:28 “that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her in his heart.” According to Jesus just looking or fantasizing is the very same act of adultery! If you have done this even once you have broken the 7th commandment, and are guilty of adultery.
4. Have you ever taken God’s name in vain? Exodus 20:7 says “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” If you have ever taken the Lord’s name and used it as a cuss word or a swear word you have taken His holy, beautiful name and drug it in filth. The ONE who gave you everything you hold dear, you have offended and hurt. Even if you use His name in a slang way or even as a believer your life doesn’t reflect Him, you profane Him. That is called blasphemy, and He will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.
5. Have you ever killed someone? Exodus 20:13 says “Thou shalt not kill” Most can say they
have never broken this commandment, but have you ever hated someone? The Bible makes a
startling statement in I John 3:15 “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know
that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” You might say that that is extreme and way
out, but think of this, when you hate someone you can’t have a spirit of mercy and
compassion for that person, you can’t have an attitude of prayer for their spiritual well being.
The Bible makes it perfectly clear that what goes on in our thoughts carry as much weight as what we actually do. There are many who have contemplated the murder of another person, but because of the fear of the legal system or their moral values, they don’t follow through on these thoughts. But in the sight of God, the thought is the same as the act.
These are only five of the commandments; there are five more we have not looked at. But even if you could keep most of them, it says in James 2:10 that “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point he is guilty of all.” So according to God’s standard if you only broke one commandment it is the same as breaking all Ten Commandments.
So, God’s standard being the only standard for good, if you died right now and stood before Him would you be innocent or guilty? Would you go to heaven or hell?
You might be thinking – yes I am guilty, but because God is good, kind, and loving He would overlook my sins and forgive me. I’m sure you would agree with me that in a court of civil or criminal law that argument would not work. So if we would expect judgment from a good, but sinful, judge how much more would we expect of God?
I am also sure you would agree with me that God shouldn’t let unrepentant murders, liars, thieves, rapists, adulterers, etc. into heaven. If God permits sin to go unpunished or wrongly judged, if He turned a blind eye, He would be a corrupt dishonest judge. God is holy and just, He cannot stand to be in the presence of sin.
God did make a way where His justice and His goodness could meet. We sinned by breaking the law, but He became a man to pay our fine.
Jesus conducted a legal transaction on our behalf. He satisfied the law when He was crucified and rose from the dead. Because He paid our sin debt we were granted forgiveness and given the free gift of everlasting life. Ephesians 2:8, 9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” Also in Romans 5:8 it says “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
You must be very careful here not to make the fatal mistake of believing you will enter heaven
because you have lived a good life. Romans 3:10 tells us that “As it is written, There is none
righteous, no, not one:” Again Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God;” In Isaiah 53:6 we are told this concerning Jesus sacrifice “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
At the very best we are just reformed liars, thieves, adulterers, and so on. In light of this can you honestly admit you have lived a good life?
A good life will not get you into heaven, neither will church membership, baptism, good works, or any other thing you could do. There is only one way to heaven, and that is through Christ. He said in John 14:6 “…I am the way, the Truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me.”
There are two things needed for you to be saved: First, you must repent of your sins. That means being willing not to be just sorry for what you have done, but also be willing to turn away from your sin and follow Christ, and second, You must put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and prayfully ask Him to be your Saviour.
How can you do this? Follow what is found in the Scriptures, Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” In Romans 10:10 it says “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
You can follow this model or you can just pray from your heart in your own words to ask for salvation.
Dear God forgive me for sinning against you. According to Your law I don’t deserve to go to
heaven, in fact, I deserve to go to hell, but according to Your Word, you are not willing that I
should perish. You provided a way for me, you sent your only Son, Jesus, to take my punishment
for me, He suffered and died on the cross for me. He rose again on the third day. I now repent
and yield myself to Him to be my Lord and Saviour. I will read your word (Bible) daily and obey
what I read. In Jesus name, amen.
SO NOW THAT YOU ARE SAVED
Upon receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour, the Bible tells us that we can expect a
change to take place within us. That will affect the way we think, feel, and react to situations that will
arise in our lives. II Corinthians 5:17 says “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old
things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
How does the “new life” happen? How is it that we become “a new creature”? This is important so
please pay close attention. When a person prays accepting Jesus Christ as Saviour, the Holy Spirit comes
to live within us at that very moment. In John 16:7-15
(7) Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the
Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
(8) And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
(9) Of sin, because they believe not on me;
(10) Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
(11) Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
(12) I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
(13) Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not
speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things
to come.
(14) He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.
(15) All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall
show it unto you.
Jesus is talking to His disciples about the Holy Spirit. He calls him the Comforter. In verse 8, Jesus says it is the Comforter who reproves and convicts man of sin, and righteousness, and of judgment. When a person knows that they have sinned against God and needs Jesus to save them, it is because the Holy Spirit shows them the need to repent and be saved. Verse 13 says that it is the Holy Spirit who will show us what is right. “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:…” From the moment of salvation He gives us a new sensitivity to right and wrong, and that is why when a believer sins he is convicted of it. The believer senses that something is not right in his relationship with Christ. When sin happens in the life of a believer and he is convicted by the Holy spirit, the believer knows that it is time to pray and ask God to forgive him of his sin, not because you can lose your salvation because I John 5:13 tells us that Christ gives eternal life “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” We pray and ask for forgiveness so that a close relationship with Jesus Christ can continue uninterrupted. Psalms 66:18 says “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:” When a believer sins, God doesn’t take away his mercy and love by taking away salvation, But according to this verse, He will not listen if we pray with un-confessed sin in our life. Why will God not hear us? It is because He is holy and cannot stand sin. Once a believer repents, fellowship is restored and blessing continues.
God cannot take away our salvation because once the Holy Spirit comes to live in a person’s heart He never leaves. Ephesians 1:12 - 14 in essence tells us that after a person receives the gospel of Christ and trusts Christ for his salvation, he is sealed with the Holy spirit of promise. This signifies something that cannot be broken. The language is even stronger in verse 14 saying He is “the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession…” When a sinner receives Christ as Saviour he is born into the family of God through the Holy Spirit. In civil law, a person who is adopted in a family can never be “un-adopted” and his/her rights as a family member outweighs the rights of blood born family members. We can never be taken out of God’s family once we are in Christ. Verse 14 says the believer is a “purchased possession.” Once saved, we belong to the Lord Jesus Christ who purchased us with His shed blood on Calvary. He shed His blood to pay our sin debt.
The new life in Christ is given so we can live for Him and tell others how they too need to be saved. We live in a sad world today where many name the name of Christ but yet their lives show little or no evidence of living for Him. Sadly many only know Him in name and not in heart. A person who is truly saved desires to obey God and follow Him. If you would like to know more please contact me and let me teach you one on one how you can grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. You can contact me by email at douglasculver@yahoo.com. I will respond to all emails in a timely manner.
