Forgiven, Not Good: The Path to Heaven
Summary
### Summary
Today, we explored the profound truth that good people don't go to heaven; forgiven people do. We began with a light-hearted story about German chocolate cake and a humorous baptism joke to set the stage. I shared my journey from Chicago to Franklin, Tennessee, and my new role in mentoring younger pastors and helping churches like ours. We then delved into the Apostle Paul's teachings, emphasizing that all of us, regardless of our background, are buried under the power of sin. The Jews, who believed they were righteous because of the law, were reminded by Paul that they, too, fall short of God's glory.
We discussed the futility of trying to earn our way to heaven through good deeds, likening it to a game of "Jesus Says" where no one can ever be good enough. Andy Stanley's analogy of the game highlighted the guilt and frustration many of us feel when we fail to meet religious expectations. We examined Romans 3:10-18, where Paul uses various scriptures to illustrate humanity's inherent sinfulness. The key takeaway is that no one is righteous on their own; we all need God's grace.
We also tackled the common misconception that good people go to heaven by addressing the problems with this belief. First, we don't know the grading system for what constitutes "good enough." Second, whose standard of goodness are we using? History shows that human standards are flawed and change over time. We then looked at the Ten Commandments, realizing that none of us can keep them perfectly, further proving our need for grace.
The climax of our discussion was the story of the criminal on the cross next to Jesus. This man, who had done nothing to earn his way to heaven, was promised paradise simply because he believed in Jesus. This story encapsulates the essence of Christianity: it's not about what we do but about what Jesus has done for us. We concluded with an invitation to accept this grace through baptism, symbolizing the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
### Key Takeaways
1. The Universality of Sin: Paul emphasizes that both Jews and Gentiles are under the power of sin. This means that no one, regardless of their background or adherence to the law, is righteous on their own. We all fall short of God's glory and need His grace to bridge the gap between our sinfulness and His holiness. [24:43]
2. The Futility of Good Works: Trying to earn our way to heaven through good deeds is like playing a game where the rules are impossible to follow perfectly. Even the most devout individuals fall short. This realization should lead us to depend entirely on God's grace rather than our own efforts. [25:50]
3. The Misconception of Goodness: Many people believe that being "good" is enough to get into heaven. However, this belief is flawed because it lacks a clear standard and is subject to human interpretation, which is often biased and inconsistent. True righteousness comes from faith in Jesus, not from our own deeds. [32:49]
4. The Power of Grace: The story of the criminal on the cross illustrates that forgiveness and eternal life are available to anyone who believes in Jesus, regardless of their past actions. This underscores the transformative power of grace, which is not earned but freely given to those who accept it. [49:16]
5. The Role of Baptism: Baptism is a powerful symbol of our identification with Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. It serves as a public declaration of our faith and a personal experience of God's grace. While it doesn't save us, it is an important step in our spiritual journey, affirming our commitment to follow Jesus. [55:33]
### YouTube Chapters
[0:00] - Welcome
[20:38] - Introduction and Personal Story
[21:17] - Mentoring and Church Involvement
[21:58] - Baptism Joke
[24:05] - The Reality of Sin
[24:43] - Paul's Message on Sin
[25:50] - The Futility of Good Works
[28:32] - Jews and Gentiles Under Sin
[29:06] - Scriptural Evidence of Sinfulness
[32:49] - Misconceptions About Goodness
[35:00] - Problems with the Goodness Standard
[39:25] - Age of Accountability
[43:49] - The Ten Commandments Test
[45:00] - No One is Righteous
[49:16] - The Criminal on the Cross
[55:33] - The Role of Baptism
[56:36] - Prayer and Closing Remarks
Study Guide
### Bible Reading
1. Romans 3:10-18: "As it is written: 'There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they together have become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes.'"
2. Romans 3:23-24: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
3. Luke 23:39-43: "One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: 'Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!' But the other criminal rebuked him. 'Don’t you fear God,' he said, 'since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.' Then he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' Jesus answered him, 'Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.'"
### Observation Questions
1. According to Romans 3:10-18, what are some of the characteristics of humanity's inherent sinfulness?
2. In Romans 3:23-24, what is the solution provided for humanity's sinfulness?
3. What was the response of the second criminal on the cross to Jesus, and what did Jesus promise him? (Luke 23:39-43)
4. How does the sermon describe the futility of trying to earn our way to heaven through good deeds? [25:50]
### Interpretation Questions
1. What does it mean that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" in Romans 3:23? How does this shape our understanding of human nature and our need for grace?
2. How does the story of the criminal on the cross next to Jesus illustrate the concept of grace and forgiveness? [49:16]
3. Why is the belief that "good people go to heaven" flawed according to the sermon? What are the problems with this belief? [32:49]
4. How does the analogy of the "Jesus Says" game help us understand the challenges of living up to religious expectations? [25:50]
### Application Questions
1. Reflect on your own life. Are there areas where you have tried to earn God's favor through good deeds? How can you shift your focus to relying on God's grace instead? [25:50]
2. The sermon mentioned that human standards of goodness are often biased and inconsistent. How can you ensure that your understanding of righteousness aligns with God's standards rather than human ones? [32:49]
3. The story of the criminal on the cross shows that forgiveness is available to anyone who believes in Jesus, regardless of their past. Is there someone in your life who needs to hear this message of grace? How can you share it with them? [49:16]
4. Baptism was described as a powerful symbol of our identification with Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. If you have been baptized, how has this experience impacted your faith journey? If you haven't, what might be holding you back? [55:33]
5. The sermon highlighted the importance of recognizing our own sinfulness and need for grace. How can you cultivate a humble heart that acknowledges this need daily? [24:43]
6. The analogy of the "Jesus Says" game can lead to feelings of guilt and frustration. How can you find freedom from religious guilt and embrace the grace that Jesus offers? [25:50]
7. The sermon concluded with an invitation to accept God's grace through baptism. If you have already accepted this grace, how can you continue to live out this commitment in your daily life? If you haven't, what steps can you take to explore this further? [55:33]
Devotional
Day 1: The Universality of Sin
Description: The Apostle Paul emphasizes that both Jews and Gentiles are under the power of sin. This means that no one, regardless of their background or adherence to the law, is righteous on their own. We all fall short of God's glory and need His grace to bridge the gap between our sinfulness and His holiness. This truth is a humbling reminder that our human efforts are insufficient to achieve righteousness. Instead, we must rely on God's grace, which is freely given to all who believe in Jesus Christ. Understanding the universality of sin helps us to see our need for a Savior and the importance of grace in our lives. [24:43]
Romans 3:23-24 (ESV): "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."
Reflection: Think about a time when you felt you were better than someone else because of your actions or beliefs. How does recognizing the universality of sin change your perspective on that situation?
Day 2: The Futility of Good Works
Description: Trying to earn our way to heaven through good deeds is like playing a game where the rules are impossible to follow perfectly. Even the most devout individuals fall short. This realization should lead us to depend entirely on God's grace rather than our own efforts. The analogy of the game "Jesus Says" highlights the guilt and frustration many of us feel when we fail to meet religious expectations. Instead of striving for perfection through our deeds, we should embrace the grace that God offers, understanding that it is not our works but His mercy that saves us. [25:50]
Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV): "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."
Reflection: Identify an area in your life where you are trying to earn God's favor through your actions. How can you shift your focus from your works to God's grace today?
Day 3: The Misconception of Goodness
Description: Many people believe that being "good" is enough to get into heaven. However, this belief is flawed because it lacks a clear standard and is subject to human interpretation, which is often biased and inconsistent. True righteousness comes from faith in Jesus, not from our own deeds. The problem with relying on human standards of goodness is that they are ever-changing and imperfect. By recognizing that our own goodness is insufficient, we can turn to Jesus, whose sacrifice provides the true standard of righteousness. [32:49]
Isaiah 64:6 (ESV): "We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away."
Reflection: Reflect on a time when you judged someone based on your own standards of goodness. How can you begin to see them through the lens of God's grace instead?
Day 4: The Power of Grace
Description: The story of the criminal on the cross illustrates that forgiveness and eternal life are available to anyone who believes in Jesus, regardless of their past actions. This underscores the transformative power of grace, which is not earned but freely given to those who accept it. The criminal had done nothing to earn his way to heaven, yet Jesus promised him paradise simply because he believed. This powerful example shows that it is not our past or our deeds that determine our salvation, but our faith in Jesus and His grace. [49:16]
Titus 3:5-7 (ESV): "He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
Reflection: Think of someone in your life who you believe is beyond redemption. How can you pray for them and show them the grace that Jesus offers?
Day 5: The Role of Baptism
Description: Baptism is a powerful symbol of our identification with Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. It serves as a public declaration of our faith and a personal experience of God's grace. While it doesn't save us, it is an important step in our spiritual journey, affirming our commitment to follow Jesus. Baptism represents the cleansing of our sins and the new life we have in Christ. It is a tangible expression of our faith and a reminder of the grace that has been extended to us through Jesus' sacrifice. [55:33]
Colossians 2:12 (ESV): "Having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead."
Reflection: If you have been baptized, reflect on what that experience meant to you and how it has impacted your faith journey. If you have not been baptized, consider what is holding you back and how you can take this step of faith.
Quotes
1. "The Bible makes no sense until you realize that God is way up here and we are all way down here. And the big problem Paul is addressing is that the Jews, a lot of the Jews thought they weren't down here. They thought they were up here because they had the law. And especially those, you know, really good Jews, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees and the Sadducees, they felt like because they were keeping the law, they were up here. And Paul is just trying to get it through their thick heads. And I want you to understand this too. God is up here and you are down here. You're not, it doesn't matter how good you are. You can't get closer to up there. It doesn't matter." [24:43] (41 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
2. "What Jesus taught is, is that good people don't go to heaven. Jesus taught that forgiven people go to heaven. And my favorite example, I'm so glad Shane did all the hard passages and gave me this one. My favorite example is this, is on the cross, okay? And it's irrefutable. Come at me if you want to on this one, but it's irrefutable. Jesus is being crucified next to two criminals on the cross. And in your Bible, it says that they were thieves or maybe it just says criminals, criminals or whatever. But the word, like it's translated pirates. They were like, they were really, really bad people, okay?" [47:28] (42 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "Christianity is not about do, it's about done, right? It's not about what you do, it's about what's been done. Christianity teaches that good people don't go to heaven, and forgiven people go to heaven. And the way that we get forgiven is not by making up extra credit, it's by throwing ourself on the mercy of the only one who could pay for our sins. It's by doing exactly what the criminal on the cross did and admitting I'm not a good person and recognizing who Jesus was and asking. I believe you're the king. If there's any hope for me, it's certainly not in my deeds because my deeds got me here, if there's any hope for me, Jesus, it's in you forgiving me." [51:37] (53 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "So what shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all. We are they. We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are under the power of sin. Okay, so your next question should be, well, Tim, if we're all, just down here, and we're all buried under the power of sin, then why do we have this thing in the first place? And this is a really important verse. I hope you'll hang on to this for a second. Paul says, here's the answer to your question. Therefore, no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law. Can I just say that again? No one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law. You can't be, be good enough. Rather, through the law, we're conscious of our sin." [31:15] (54 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
5. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All. Okay? In verse 10, he says, there's no one righteous, not even one. In verse 20, therefore, no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law. Okay? Are you with me? No, it's not happening. Rather, through the law, we become conscious of sin. So that's what we're doing here today. But there's one more major problem with this whole idea that good people go to heaven. And that is this. It makes a liar out of Jesus Christ. No religious leader ever taught what Jesus taught. Jesus taught that good people don't go to heaven. Jesus didn't teach karma. Jesus didn't teach that you can make up for your own sins." [45:00] (45 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
6. "The problem is some people might be better at game playing than others. And the greater problem, as Andy continues, is every once in a while, I'd meet people who had never played Jesus Says and they were like sinners and bad people. And I think, you know, they really need to play Jesus Says, but they don't want to. And again, he's just being honest. And a part of me kind of envied them because they don't carry any guilt. They just kind of do whatever they want. But then somebody would come along and say, Andy, you need to go talk to these people who don't believe in Jesus Says and tell them that they need to play, which kind of makes sense because Jesus is awesome. But I was never really sure I wanted to tell them." [27:24] (46 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
7. "And the truth is, figuratively, you're hanging on that cross next to Jesus. Please understand, as we do Amazing Grace, as we sing Amazing Grace right now, that it is available for everyone. That it is there for everyone. And let me tell you, let me finish this passage. The end of this passage. I didn't finish it yet because I wanted you to have it as the punchline. Again, the righteousness from God has been made known to which the law and prophets testify. This righteousness has been given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There's no difference between Jew and Gentile for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And, here's the part I haven't read yet, that all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." [54:27] (58 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
8. "And listen, I'm not trying to convince you today that Christianity is right. That's not my point. I'm just trying to convince you that it's different. So here's a couple of problems that we have, major problems that we should have with the good people go to heaven thing, okay? Because chances are, some of you believe this, and you're going to run into this. Problem number one, we don't know the grading system, all right? Did you ever have one of those teachers in class that changed the grading system and made 93 and up be an A? Anybody feel my pain there, right? I mean, what was wrong with that teacher? I mean, a 92 is an A minus, it's not a B plus. Can I get an amen? But sometimes the teacher would just go in and be like arbitrarily like, I'm going to do whatever I feel like doing. And what if you started the class and the teacher's like, look, I don't even know what I'm going to do. I don't know what the grading system is. Just do your best. That's basically where we're at with the good enough thing. If all good people go to heaven, then we need to know what it means to be good. And we need to know the scale, okay?" [35:00] (64 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
9. "And then they get to Lent the next year and they're like, okay, all of a sudden they're smelling steak again. And they're calling each other like, where's that coming from? Do you know where that's coming from? And he's like, no, no, nobody knows. And so they're like, oh, I think it's Bill. He doesn't, he didn't get the rule. He doesn't understand. We better go over and tell him. And they go over to Bill's house just in time to see him with a little bit of water going, you were born a cow, you were raised a cow, and now you are a fish. Thank you. Thank you. All week, try the veal. That's not how transformation happens, okay? It's not just some magic thing. But if you haven't been baptized by immersion, man, I want to encourage you because we're going to have several of them. You guys have had 108 baptisms at this church already this year. I'm keeping track." [24:05] (54 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
10. "And listen, I think good stuff is important. Good works are important. I think you should be a good person. But there is not enough extra credit to bring a 30% up to an A. No teacher ever gave you that opportunity. Unless it was a chemistry teacher and wanted you to help him make crystal meth in the lab. But, you know, that's a whole other story. Okay? Let me get. Let me get back to it again. I can see what TV shows you watch. This is good. I love this church. Okay? All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All. Okay? In verse 10, he says, there's no one righteous, not even one. In verse 20, therefore, no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law. Okay? Are you with me? No, it's not happening. Rather, through the law, we become conscious of sin. So that's what we're doing here today." [45:00] (59 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
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