Are You A Good Person?

Are you a good person? Most people believe that they are. But I have a test for you today to see if you truly are a good person.

Have you ever lied? If you answered "yes", that makes you a liar.

Have you ever stolen anything, even a candy bar when you were a child, or a paperclip from work? If you answered "yes", that makes you a thief.

Have you ever looked at someone with lust? If you answered "yes", that makes you an adulterer.

Matthew 5:28 (KJV)
²⁸ But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

If you answered "yes" to all of these questions you are a lying and thieving adulterer.

These sins are discussed in the Ten Commandments. Yet, I only asked about three of them.

You might be thinking to yourself, "What's the big deal? Everyone commits sin sometimes. It doesn't make him or her a bad person.

But this thinking is very different from God's.

James 2:10 (KJV)
¹⁰ For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

James is saying here that if you fail to keep even one commandment you are guilty of breaking the whole law! This may seem too extreme for you, but because God is perfectly sinless and holy, He cannot tolerate to be with any sin at all.

And do you know what the penalty is for breaking the law?

Revelation 21:8 (KJV)
⁸ But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

The penalty is spending an eternity in hell!

This should make you concerned! Now before you dismiss these comments, please understand that you are not alone. Every single person on the face of the earth, myself included, has sinned and broken the law.

Romans 3:23 (KJV)
²³ For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

And we all face that eternity in hell!

Now, many of you may be thinking that God is a merciful God and that He forgives sin, that all you need to do is to say that you are sorry.

Let's look at this. Let's imagine that you have been convicted of being a murderer. The judge is about to sentence you to death. Even if this judge is merciful will he let you off if you say you're sorry? No, the sin must be paid for. But what if someone stood up and offered to take your place? The sin would be paid for, wouldn't it?

Well, this is what God has done himself. He was willing to die in the place of all mankind, paying the penalty for the sin that we all have committed. All we have to do is repent.  (Remember, though, that repentance is not just saying you're sorry, but rather turning away from sin, changing your behavior, and turning to God's ways.) Then we believe and trust in what God has done for us. We are then born again and are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. We have eternal life and will not have to suffer eternity in hell.

Yes, we all have sinned, but we have a God who has taken care of the penalty,  if we are willing to come to him in repentance and faith.


(Concepts taken from www.wayofthemaster.com.)