But I’m a good person…

Dave Miller — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:38:13 +0000

“But I’m a good person…” I’ve heard that statement many times, usually from a Christian friend or family member; often from a non-religious person as well. When a discussion about life after death comes up, the subject inevitably turns to heaven, who goes there and why. According to an ABC poll, 85 percent of Americans believe they are going to heaven. The most amazing part of this poll is that 77 percent of people who describe themselves as “not religious” think they are going to heaven.

Jesus says in Matthew 7:21 that not everyone who calls him “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven. Just a few verses earlier, in Matthew 7:14, Jesus says that few even find the gate to life eternal. This should give even the most religious Christian pause. What are the chances that everyone in your church is among the few who find the narrow gate? Could some of them be on the wide path, even though they think they’re not? Could you?

One of the things that might falsely convince you that you are on the narrow path is if you think you are just as good or better than other people in your life. The fact of the matter is that virtually everybody can find somebody more despicable than himself without looking too hard. In a church setting, all you have to do is find the busybody, the gossip or the world-pleaser and compare yourself. You’ll certainly measure up better in the eyes of God, right?

“…do not think more highly of yourself than you ought…” Romans 12:3

This is a deadly step toward self-deception. We must never minimize our own sinfulness by comparing ourselves to our sinful brothers or sisters. God doesn’t grade on a curve. We won’t be compared to the adulterer, the homosexual or the thief – we’ll be compared to Jesus, and we will be found wanting. Romans 3:23.

One of the dominant features of universal human fallenness is deception about one’s true condition. The sinner is unwilling to see himself in his true condition and is convinced of his own goodness. People deny they are sinners. They deny that there is evil in their lives because they are good – and they do not see the evil in their religion. They are self deceived. They may claim the name of Christ, but in reality they hate God. They may have some sentimental feelings for Him, but only for the parts of Him that they find acceptable. — John MacArthur

“Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up.” James 4:10

It is impossible to understand how holy God is until you have an inkling of how sinful and depraved mankind is. Start with yourself. Take a good hard look in the mirror and dig deep into the corners of your life where you would rather not go. Dig out that sticky sin. Pull it out into the open and thrust it into the light! Yes. It is going to hurt. Hold it up to God with tears and cry for forgiveness. Lay down that burden and NEVER pick it up again. Take comfort that God promises to all who trust him, forgiveness of sins and fullness of grace.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16

Learning to Swim

Dave Miller — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:56:58 +0000

When I was a young boy of about six, my mom made me take swimming lessons. I hated going because the water was freezing cold and I was the only boy in the class. I had to learn how to dog paddle to pass this class and I just wasn’t very good.

Well, it came about that one Sunday, probably in mid-July, there was a church picnic at the pond behind my grandparent’s house and I figured that if I could convince my mom that I knew how to dog paddle, she wouldn’t make me go back to that freezing cold pool with all those icky girls. So I walked out into the pond where it was about three feet deep, leaned forward and started doing the dog paddle.

From my mom’s perspective on the shore it looked like I was swimming along just fine, but under the murky water, I was walking on the bottom of the pond. And on the shore, I saw people telling my mother, “He’s really doing well!” and “Look what a good little swimmer he is.” I was sure I had them all fooled.

But there was a boy at that picnic, bigger than me, and somehow he knew I was faking it. When I got out of the water, he picked me up, carried me out to the end of the dock and threw me into about eight feet of water. As I was sailing through the air, a thought crossed my mind, “I am going to die.” Well, I popped up to the surface and looked to see who was coming to save me. Not a soul. And why should they come after me? Everyone had seen what a good little swimmer I was. Finally, I started doing what I had learned – kicking my legs and paddling like crazy with my hands.

Amazingly, I stayed pretty close to the surface and started moving toward the shore. And that boy who threw me in just stood on the dock laughing. His name was Mark, I’ll never forget that, and he was laughing at me but I wasn’t angry with him at all. Because on that day in mid-July, Mark taught me how to swim.

You see, I didn’t trust the water to hold me up; I trusted my own feet on the solid bottom of the pond. And I fear that there are many who are doing the same thing in their Christian life today. You look just like the real swimming Christians, but you’re just going through the motions on the surface, trusting your own footing and distrusting God to keep you afloat.

There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who have entered through the narrow gate who are on their way along the narrow path to heaven; and those who are on the wide way to destruction. They both look like they’re doing the same things to most observers, but one is faking it

If you haven’t entered through the narrow gate and if you find yourself on the wide way, I hope I’ve thrown you in the deep part of the pond with this story. I hope that the thought crossed your mind, “I am going to die,” Because you are.

The Holy Spirit was sent to us to convict us of sin now, so we will know which path we are on. If you feel convicted right now in some way, then the Spirit of God is working in you. Rejoice! This is good news! Hebrews 12:6 says, “For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and chastises every child he accepts.”

On the other hand, if you feel no conviction, then you are either firmly on the narrow path with your eyes wide open, or firmly on the wide way with your eyes tightly shut. There could be a narrow door right in front of you, but you would never see it.

Open your eyes, kick off of the bottom, trust that God will not let you sink. Confess your sins and accept Jesus as Savior and Lord. Walk in His way; Trust and Obey.

Trust AND Obey » wide path

But I’m a good person…

Learning to Swim