1. Question (paraphrased): Gandhi and Bill Gates dedicated their lives to social justice, equality, and charity, and my Christian friends believe that just because they didn't believe the right thing that they are spending eternity in hell. Is getting into Heaven so cut and dry? Or do you think God chooses in a more sophisticated manner?
This is a question that some Christians would avoid trying to answer because they don’t want to step on people’s toes. I’ll try to answer this the best that I can. This is going to be a long answer! Brace yourself!
At the beginning of creation, Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden and living in perfect unison with God. The Bible says that they walked in the garden with God and talked with him every day. They were literally best friends and companions. God created men in his image, which means that they were perfect and without sin. If God is a holy and perfect being (which I believe he is), he can only be in the presence of righteous, perfect people. After Eve disobeyed God by eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (and consequently offered it to Adam), humans lost their perfection. For that reason, God sent them from the Garden, which was his dwelling place on the earth. Since then, humanity has been imperfect. Because Eve ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, humanity is now able to know what God has always known: the difference between good and evil. We had no idea that evil even existed! We were in perfect communion with the perfect creator!
Now, when we think of justice, we think of people working to correct their own misdeeds. When a prisoner is locked up, often he has the chance to redeem himself by working his way back to normalcy. If his behavior is good, he moves to a different prison with less strict rules, and eventually, he may earn his freedom. In this scenario, he is attempting to rectify his standing in society because of the malicious act that he perpetrated. Try applying this scenario to the paragraph above. If Adam and Eve are now prisoners because of their knowledge of good and evil, it is impossible for them to redeem their situation. In this case, they are not rectifying themselves in society because of an act that they committed; rather they would be trying to erase the knowledge that they gained from eating the fruit. They cannot “un-know” the knowledge that they have received. They cannot erase the knowledge that was implanted in them and undoubtedly passed on to their children (and their children, and their children, etc).
It was for this reason that Jesus came. We cannot in any possible “work” our way into heaven.
“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” 1 John 3:16-18
God’s love is unconditional. You’ve probably heard that phrase many, many times, but let me explain it a little more than you may be used to. “Unconditional” means that God loves us all equally. When we think of “unconditional,” we tend to think on the negative side. For example, “Even if I mess up and sin, God still loves me because his love is unconditional.” While that is true, the other side is also true. “Even when I do something amazing and praiseworthy, God still loves me the same amount because his love is unconditional.” There is NOTHING that we can do to make God love us less. There is NOTHING that we could do to make God love us more. No misdeed or good deed will enhance our standing in the eyes of the Lord. He already loves us at his full capacity, which is much, much more than we can imagine.
With this in mind, look at Ephesians 2:8 and 9 – “For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith – and this is not of yourselves, it is a gift from God – not by works so that no man can boast.” What we see here is that God does not base our salvation upon our deeds. Why? Because his love is unconditional. If we were all judged upon our good deeds, we would all be in trouble. I don’t know about you, but more often than not, by sinful thoughts and bad deeds out number my good deeds by far! I’m so thankful that I am not seen based on my deeds. Verse 8 says that we are saved by grace through faith. Odds are that you have heard this verse, too, so let me explain. Grace is unmerited favor. God has mercy on us, but we (even I!) don’t deserve it! However, the verse also says that this grace comes through faith! By adding “in Jesus Christ” at the end, the verse is a little more clear. By faith in Jesus Christ, I have been saved by God’s favor that I in no way earned. Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.”
Have you ever wondered why he said this? Seems quite exclusive, doesn’t it?
“God made him who had no sin to become sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” – 2 Corinthians 5:21.
“Him who had no sin” is Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, the first half of the Bible that documents life before Jesus’ birth, God required sacrifices of lambs to cleanse humanity of sin. By sacrificing these sinless creatures, man’s sin was covered temporarily; until the next time that a sacrifice was required. When Jesus arrived on the scene, all of that changed. Jesus, often called “The Lamb of God,” became our permanent sacrifice. No longer would humanity have to sacrifice animals to please God. They simply need to believe that Jesus “became sin for us” and cleansed us from all impurities.
Those who don’t believe that Christ became sin and took God’s wrath have not yet received Christ’s cover. Colossians 3:3 says this: “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” When God looks at believers, he no longer sees them as sinful beings. He sees Christ. As a believer, I am literally hidden in Christ so that when I die and God pronounces his judgment on me, he sees Christ and not my “deeds.” It’s fascinating, isn’t it? I am so thankful for that.
So, with that said, I do believe that getting into heaven is cut and dry. BUT, I refuse to believe that God doesn’t grieve over the loss of a soul. The Bible says that God desires that EVERYONE come to know him. “The LORD is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” God wishes that everyone come to accept Christ as savior.
So, referring back to the part where I said that God does not judge us based on our deeds, rather, he looks at whether we are hidden in Christ, let’s talk about Gates and Gandhi. I do believe that Bill Gates and Gandhi are amazing men. However, if they are not hidden in Christ, they will not be spending eternity with him. Gandhi specifically was raised in a country where Christianity was not the main religion. One could assume that he may have never had the opportunity to hear the message of Christ. That may be true, and it may not be. Either way, God says that he reveals himself to everyone and provides him or her opportunities to discover him. “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” Romans 1:20. This means that even though Gandhi may not have been directly told of the power of Christ to save, he is without excuse because God has revealed himself through creation.
God is patient with YOU, not wanting you to perish, but to come to repentance. He wants you to accept Christ as your savior. I hope that this has answered your question and spurred something inside of you. Remember that there is NOTHING you could do to make God love you less (or more)! He LOVES you. He desires that you know him, and so do I.
No comments:
Post a Comment