You probably wondering
“So, what is this troubling news?”
What if I told you, you are in danger right now and need saving?
In fact, all humanity needs to be saved!
You might be asking:
“Saved from what? There’s nothing dangerous or wrong; the suns out, it’s a perfect day, I’m in good health, I’m financially good, what do I need saving from?”
That’s an understandable question After all saved means:
“Being rescued from something dangerous or harmful” [1]
If there’s nothing dangerous and harmful in the first place, then why do you need saving?
But what if the danger was not clear RIGHT NOW but was sort of hidden?
There is something that you need to know:
There some VERY Bad news
The bad news is something about you (and all of humanity)
The Bad News:
Why you are in trouble!
Since you want to know more about this bad news, you must come to a realization that something is terribly wrong with you (and all humanity) and there is a very real danger that threatens each and every person that is not exactly clear to see.
So, what is it? What is this danger?
Only the Bible tells of this “silent” threat to humanity.
The main problem causing all this danger can be said in one word:
SIN!!!
Sin is the reality you need to wake up to; Sin is defined as anything that is against God’s laws, will, and/or nature.
After all sin is chaos (also known as lawlessness):
1 John 3:4
“…; sin is lawlessness.”
But you need to realize sin is a BAD THING! And major part of this bad news!
But what does Sin have to do with the bad news?
Well, it has something to do with
God and Sin
The Bible reveals, when sin enters his creation or his creation sins, God who by nature is the exact opposite of sin, is not happy about it.
As the Bible says about God:
Psalm 5:4
“...you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness (sin);…”
He cannot be with anything of sin or the creation it corrupts. For once it is corrupted it opposes his will and nature and is evil.
Because God is just
Revelation 16:5
“You are just…”
And righteous
Ephesians 4:24
“… God...[is]…righteousness…”
And he loves and cares for his creation
Psalm 145:8-9
“The Lord is… rich in love…. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.”
Whatever it corrupts must be destroyed or it might spread to other creations and end up ruining everything!
A creation of God who commits a sin (knowing its wrong) and usually begins to live a sinful life in rebellion against God, is called a sinner [2]
“Okay, but what does this have to do with me (or any other human)?”
Well because of two humans called:
Adam & Eve
According to the Bible, Adam and Eve were the first known humans created; they were made into a perfect world with no known sin, after all God said Earth was all good:
Genesis 1:31
“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.”
However, Adam (and Eve) were given a command from God to follow; it was the only command he gave them with a warning if they disobeyed (sinned):
Genesis 2:16-17
"And the Lord God commanded…,'… you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.'"
(wondering why these verses are all different colors? Click here to learn why)
However, Eve was tricked by a talking serpent one day that convinced her it was okay and even good for her to eat the forbidden fruit:
Genesis 3:1-6
“Now the serpent … said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’ ? ’ The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' ' . ' you will not certainly die,' the serpent said to the woman. 'For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.' When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”
So, Eve disobeyed God’s order and also gave Adam some and both ate and committed humanities first sin, and for humans, this is where all the problems begin!
(The whole story can be found in the Bible in Genesis 2:7-25 and Genesis 3:1-13)
However, you may be wondering
“But that was Adam and Eve’s sin, what do I (and the rest of humanity) have to do with that?”
That is a good question after all. Though they were the first humans; they still were just two people, how does that match up with me and the rest of humankind?
Adam was the first Human, but he was given the power to decide the fate of all humanity by God. So when Adam sinned by disobeying God it immediately corrupted the rest of humanity/his descendants so it was like all humans (you) directly disobeyed God!
The Bible says this is the case:
Romans 5:12
“…sin entered the world through one man (Adam)…[Therefore]… all sinned.”
Because of Adam’s mistake all humans automatically became sinners, including you!
So, what did God do about all humanity becoming sinners?
Well since God is a God of justice and moral, he is personally offended by sin. Sin against him causes his wrath on who committed it and destroys them:
Psalm 5:4-6
“For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness (sin);…You hate all who do wrong (sin); you destroy those....”
So, when humans first sinned (Adam and Eve) there was a punishment for that sin, the punishment, in this case, was a twofold curse from God:
First there was a curse set on the whole Planet because of this sin:
On all animals:
Genesis 3:14
“Cursed are…all livestock And all wild animals!”
And on all the Earth:
Genesis 3:17-18
“Cursed is the ground because of you... It will produce thorns and thistles for you…”
God then curses the sinners who broke his rule: The Serpent, Eve, and Adam
Genesis 3:14-19
“So the Lord God said to the serpent (The one who deceived Eve), 'Because you have done this,
Cursed are you above all livestock
and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life…'
…
To the woman (Eve) he said,
' I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
with painful labor you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.'
To Adam he said,
' Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you,
‘You must not eat from it,’
Cursed is the ground because of you;
Through painful toil you will eat food from it
All the days of your life.
It will produce thorns and thistles for you
and you will eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food.’ ”
So, from this passage God says he cursed the entire Earth (all animals and all ground included) then he cursed the sinners: The snake that tricked and lied to Eve with its entire species with it and then Adam and Eve for sinning.
But you might ask
“Well how does that relate to me or anyone else? That was Adam’s and Eve’s curse, not mine, I didn’t do anything.”
Well, the curses on the planet still affect yours and everyone’s everyday life in some way, even if you haven’t realized it or not:
All animals are cursed in one way or another
One cursed animal is the snake, because a snake tricked Eve to eat the fruit, Snakes are in fact the most cursed of all animals:
Snakes are cursed to use their belly muscles to walk, consistently threated to be walked on by larger creatures and are usually despised by humans.
Also, all the Earth is cursed
And one way it’s cursed is the plants and soil are cursed to produce thorns and sharp plants to hurt other animals and humans.
“But what about Eve’s curse and Adam’s curse? How does that affect all of humanity today? It was their curse.”
Even though these curses were spoken to Adam and Eve specifically for their personal sin, because all humanity had sin through Adam, this made all humanity sinners, these curses then also apply to all humanity (you included!):
Romans 5:12
“…sin entered the world through one man (Adam),…in this way… all sinned—“
So therefore, all humans were to get the curses put on Adam and Eve!
This can be confirmed by noticing the curses are still on humanity by Gender:
Following the pattern of Eve, All Human Women are cursed with a painful birth when delivering a child and are cursed to be dominated by their husbands and/or other men (this was especially true almost everywhere in the ancient world).
Following the Pattern of Adam, all Human men are cursed with hard labor with sweating (especially in the ancient world this hard labor was farming the ground to live [grow food] and support their families).
So, to partially answer the former question
“What is exactly do I need saving from? Everything is fine.”
Let’s be honest, everything in your life (and also in this world) is NOT FINE!
Have you ever seen a snake and don’t like them/are scared of them biting you?
If you have then I bet, you were struck with fear! I bet you or someone else wanted to kill it! Think about how the snake might have felt: All its life it has to use its belly muscles to crawl and constantly has to be alert of something bigger stepping on it all the time and when I came across you, I bet it was as terrified of you killing it as you were of it biting you! Well, that was not good for you and especially not the snake!
Have you ever got a thorn stuck in your toe?
I bet if you have, it hurt, and you had to pull it out and then it ached where it was. Well, that’s not perfect or fine, that hurts your skin!
Are you a woman who has ever given birth?
If you have you know it’s extremely painful and agonizing so much so that you might had to have medicine to dull the intense pain! Well, that’s not perfect! That hurt you and was very strenuous! And that can even be life threatening to your own health if something goes wrong! Now that’s really NOT GOOD!
are you a man who ever had to work hard in a field trying to grow food for you your family to eat? Or maybe had to work hard at a stressful job trying to get money to buy food for you and your family to live?
Well, if you have then I bet it was some hard work! I bet it was rough and sometimes you got so overworked you wanted to quit, now that’s not perfect or good at all!
In fact, there’s a lot in your life and the world that is not perfect and not good, it’s painful, agonizing, and just wrong.
The reason you though your life was perfect and fine is because you were just born into a world with these things and there now “Just a part of life”. Well, the Bible has revealed that these things that you consider “Just a part of life” are actual curses by God that are on you, others, and the entire earth. These things were NEVER MEANT TO BE “JUST A PART OF LIFE” they are curses:
Snakes walking with their bellies and scaring you were never meant to be!
Thorns in your feet were never meant to be!
Painful births were never meant to be!
Hard strenuous work to just live and eat were never meant to be!
It’s a curse because of Adam and Eve’s (and the Snakes) SIN!
This is one reason why you need saving, from all these curses!
You might say:
“Well, those things are curses, okay, but there just a part of life now, I don’t need saving from these things especially from a little thorn in my toe.”
Well, that would be fine…if that was it; however, there is one more curse that’s worse than the rest of them; a curse to top them all. The one curse God originally warned would happen to Adam (and Eve) when he ate the forbidden fruit.
After sinning God told Adam his ultimate punishment:
Genesis 3:19
“In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”
This punishment was the curse of returning back to dust. Adam would work for the rest of his life until one day he just would decompose back to dirt.
This curse was also known as Death!
He was to die and then decompose; this was the ultimate curse for their sin!
The Bible confirms this saying; for humans, the punishment for sin is DEATH!
Romans 6:23
“…the wages of sin is death”
Because all humans have sinned by default, no only does everyone inherit curses but inherits the ultimate curse: Death through Adam!
Romans 5:12
“…Sin entered the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—“
Like the other curses, this curse is obvious today, because it’s just “a fact of life” that every human dies or is going to die:
People of all ages, nationalities, ethnicities, occupations, social status, and Genders die!
ALL DIE!
Have you ever had someone in your family you loved die? How about a close friend? Mabey you yourself came close to Death at one time?
If you have lost a beloved person yourself, you know it hurts horribly: the shocking horror and sadness of knowing there physically gone and will not be a part of your life anymore. The Guilt of what more you could have done while they were alive, the sadness of having to move on without them and say your last goodbyes. This sadness could bring anyone to their knees!
But just as bad, if you have had a close encounter with death, you know the fear and struggle to stay alive and what it felt like to almost die.
Once again not everything is fine in your life or in the world even if it’s “Just a part of life”: People you known and loved are dead and gone, and worst of all, one day YOU ARE GOING TO DIE!
But now you know the reason why all humans die:
It’s a curse by God, all because of the sin of Adam!
Now at this point you may say:
“Well, that’s not fair! I wasn’t even born back then! I never decided to disobey God, why do I have to pay for Adam’s decision? Why do I have to live a life of suffering, and die?”
Though this is an understandable question and feeling there is a reason why. Though not fair, Adam was held responsible for all humanity and was also the father of all (or at least all modern) humanity. When someone responsible for others makes a mistake the one under their care will always pay. Sadly, all humanity (including you) has to pay for daddy Adam’s mistake.
So, this is why you are in trouble and need saving! Because you are cursed and are going to die for what Adam did!
Then you might say
“Well Death may not be pleasant, and I may want to do anything to stay alive, but if that’s all then that’s sad, but hey, that’s life now everyone dies eventually.”
But as the Bible reveals, the effect of sin does not end there!
In fact, as God reveals more details of his wrath on humanity, we see it gets MUCH MUCH WORSE!!!
Since God cannot co-exist (be with) sin, he cannot have you or any human near him or vice versa
As God tells sinful humans:
Isaiah 59:2
“… Your iniquities (Sin) have separated...You from your God;”
You (and all Humanity) are eternally separated from God
Because you (and all humans) are sinful through Adam you cannot be with God, talk with God, or have a relationship with him, you must be separated from him and all his goodness forever!
The Bible tells God cannot be in the presence of any evil (in this case arrogance/pride):
Psalm 5:5-6
“…The arrogant cannot stand in your presence.”
This means you can never talk to or have a relationship with or see your creator again!
Not only Death, not only separation, but there something much worse:
Because you and other humans are sinful GOD IS AGAINST YOU!!!
Now God is incredibly powerful:
As Psalm 93:4 says
“Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea—the Lord on high is mighty.”
God has eternal (never ending) POWER!
Romans 1:20
“God’s… eternal power…”
God’s power is never ending! And He is against you and all humanity; his wrath is upon all humans!
As The Bible says:
Romans 5:16
“…The judgment (death) followed one sin and brought condemnation (Wrath)…”
the Bible says:
John 3:36
“…God’s wrath…[is]…on them(sinners).”
You (and all humanity), because of sin, are natural enemies of God
The Bible says that sin hurts because of death (the curse) and sin has power because of God’s nature (his law)
1 Corinthians 15:56
“ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.”
If you have been living the way you want and not God’s way, you need to know God is angry with your sin! And his wrath is upon you right now!!!
This is the real danger you need saving from!
You might say:
“So, if God is soo angry at me and his wrath is on me, where is this wrath and separation? shouldn’t something more be happening? Or is the wrath of God just the curses on humanity?”
While the curses are a part of God’s wrath, you as an individual, could have a very okay life, living the way you want, your life could be okay and you could in general, live a great successful life.
BUT the Bible reveals all that will change in the future when you die!
After death you will come back to life on a day called Judgement Day where you will find yourself face to face with God and will be judged by him and face his wrath!
That is when the REAL danger of the wrath of God will be obvious!
As the Bible says:
Because Judgement follows sin:
Romans 5:16
“…The judgment followed one sin …”
After death judgment will happen:
Hebrews 9:27
"…[All] people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,…"
There is a day when this judgement will happen:
Acts 17:31
“…he (God) has fixed a day on which he will judge the world [All Humanity] …”
When this day comes all the dead will be brought back to life and will be judged:
Revelation 20:31
“The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged...”
Where you will be judged according to your own sins:
Revelation 20:31
“…each person was judged according to what they had done.”
So, when you die you and every person who has ever been born will be brought back to physical life again only to be judged at judgement day.
Because you have sinned in your life, you will be condemned personally by God for all your personal sins in words and actions in your former life:
Because Judgment that follows sin will bring condemnation (wrath!)
Romans 5:16
“…judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation (Wrath)…”
And after you are condemned for your sin, you (and all humanity) will finally be eternally punished and destroyed for all your sins, by being condemned to a fiery burning lake called Hell:
The Bible says God DESTROYS people because of THEIR SIN!
Psalm 5:5-6
“…The arrogant (Sinners) cannot stand in your presence. you destroy those…”
God has the authority to throw you into hell after your physical death and judgment:
Luke 12:5
“After your body has been killed, [God] has authority to throw you into hell.”
Hell is a massive fire reserved for this day:
2 Peter 3:7
"… reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly(sinners)."
Hell is like a fiery furnace that will set you (and all humanity) on fire:
Malachi 4:1
“…it (Hell) will burn like a furnace…. And [it] will set them on fire. ”
Hell is an unquenchable fire (it cannot be put out or stopped)
Matthew 3:12
“He (God) will …burn… up…[Sinners]…with unquenchable fire.”
Once you (and everyone else) is thrown in, it will be painful and full of cries of pain where you will suffer:
Matthew 13:42
“They [God’s Angels] will throw them [the sinners] into the blazing furnace [Hell], where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (intense pain and yelling).”
there was a story told about Hell, in this story this one particular rich man after death was judged by God and condemned to hell, this was his reaction and experience:
Luke 16:22-28
“[The] rich man …died and was buried…And being in torments in Hell, he lifted up his eyes [and] .… he cried and said, ‘…have mercy on me, …send Lazarus (Someone not in hell in the story) that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame’…‘I beg you… I have five brothers,…testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ "
We see when someone is cast in Hell they will be completely set on fire. Since this man obviously has all his nerves, he feels the fire burning his skin off, he is in horrible pain (torture) and is so hot he begs this man to just give him a drop of water to cool his tongue off for just ONE SECOND!!! This is so bad that he wants NO ONE TO GO HERE he begs this man to go back to where his family lives and warn his other brothers of hell so they might NOT COME HERE!!!
Finally, once you are in hell this will end the wrath of God and will end in your destruction for eternity. And worst of all you will eternally be separated from God and his Glory!
2 Thessalonians 1:9
“They [Sinners] will be punished …and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory….”
So, this is the bad news the Bible wants to warn you about! In fact, this is the worst new EVER!!! This is some terrible news for you and all humanity!
Now, you might say in your defense:
“Well, that’s not fair! I’m a good person God! I have never murdered anyone, or treated anyone mean, I try to be kind to everyone and obey the rules of society, I don’t deserve any of that!”
Many people say they are good and have never done anything really horribly wrong
So, if you are a good person can you be spared from God’s Wrath? Well, what does the Bible say about humans being good?
But if goodness is all about not sinning, what exactly makes a human sinful?
Is is committing your first known sin? What does the bible say when humans become sinful and what you can do to stop it?
So, no there is no way to stop your sin in fact a Bible verse tell you are so under your corrupt human nature that it describes you as a dead zombie that just follows the ways of the world like a leaf in the wind!
Ephesians 2:1-3
(This was originally in past tense, but because this applies to you it’s in present)
“you are dead in your transgressions and sins(You are the living-Dead in your sins and betrayal to God: A Zombie!), in which you live in and you follow the ways of this world(Like anything society is doing or everyone is into you do without second though) and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air(You follow Satan along with following the world’s ways because Satan controls the ways of the world) , the spirit [Satan] who is now at work in those who are disobedient(you and all the world ).All of us are them now, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts (Much like with the world whatever you feel and crave is what you do: wrong or not). Like everyone, we are by nature deserving of wrath [Of GOD!].”
So, wherever you realize it or not you are a zombie of sin, you have no choice but to sin or follow the ways of the world wherever they may lead. Your way of living up to this point had been controlled by Satan and had been deserving of God’s wrath!
Now this is some bad news!
You have to be born only to be a slave of your own sinful nature to follow the ways of this world and by extension Satan without even a question or thought and at the end of it only to die. Not only that but because of the punishment of sin by Adam you have to physically and emotionally suffer when you are living because you are cursed and because God is against you. And not only that Because of sin you have to die eventually. Also eventually, because of your own sin, after your Death you will be brought back physically to life only to be condemned by God at the judgement day. Where you will forever rejected by him and finally sent to Hell to burn, dying a horrible painful fiery death, and worst of all to be eternally separated and cursed forever ALL BECAUSE OF SIN!!!
NOW THAT’S SOME HORRIBLE AND DEPRESSING NEWS!!!
However, it was not only the worst news ever just for Humanity, but it was also the worst news ever for God too!
God created Humanity in his image:
As God says:
Genesis 1:26
“Let us make man (Humankind) in our image, after our likeness.”
And God WANTS to have a relationship with Humanity and wants them to be close to him
At the recording of the first humans, Adam and Eve God was talking to them often. (See original link to Genesis above) But because of this sin He could never spend time with his beloved creations made in his image, nor have humanity for eternity as he planned! Humanity was stolen from God by the serpent tricking them to sin and become corrupt!
So now that the bad news is out of the way now another question must be asked?
What will you do about your coming destruction, Separation from God, and curses that are on you now?
The Situation is bad, so it’s only natural to want to change it. You cannot change your nature and your past sins let alone Adam’s sin BUT maybe you can prove yourself as a better human to God by Doing Good works. Or maybe you come from a very good or Bible obeying family that does good works already like giving to the poor and following God’s ways as stated in the Bible.
Is this a way for God to forgive Humans?
“I am a son /daughter of _____ and my family is Forgiven and okay with God!”
Some might claim that their parents/family and them did good deeds and had “Godly values” and therefore they are right with God or they were born to a holy bloodline that God has accepted and has approved of their ancestor(s).
Is this acceptable to God?
Well there was a group of Humans in the Bible who though they were fine because God loved one of their ancestors and through him they were a part of a holy chosen bloodline:
They were called the Pharisees
They claimed that they were Abraham’s descendants; Abraham was a very special human who was right with God and chosen by God himself in the Bible, so therefore by his righteousness and favor with God they were forgiven and not going to hell by default, but look at what The Bible says to that:
Matthew 3:7-9
“…When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming…, he said to them: 'You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?...And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.' ”
So what he was saying was, it didn’t matter who their ancestors, family, or holy bloodline was:
They were still going to face God’s wrath. The most holy and renowned bloodlines/families in the entire Bible (Abraham’s bloodline) was not enough for the Pharisees to be pardoned from God’s wrath!!!
This same group that claimed they were better and right with God than all the other nations (other nations in the Bible are called Gentiles) because they were a holy chosen nation, is the same group that God’s chosen ambassador Paul talks about as being no different from these other nations. He makes this claim using their own holy book (The Old Testament) and proved that all humans wherever a “holy” Jew or “common” Gentile were all evil and sinful no matter their background:
Romans 3:9-18
“What shall we conclude then? Do we (The Jews) have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.
As it is written:
(Ecclesiastes 7:20)
'There is no one righteous, not even one;'
(Paul’s paraphrasing of Psalm 14:2-3 & Psalm 53:2-3)
'there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.'
(Psalm 14:3)
'All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;'
(Psalm 14:3 & Psalm 53:3)
'There is no one who does good,
not even one.'
(Psalm 5:9)
'Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.'
(Psalm 140:3)
'The poison of vipers is on their lips.'
(Psalm 10:7)
' Their mouths are full of lies and threats; '
(Isaiah 59:7)
'Their feet are swift to shed blood'
(Isaiah 59:7-8)
'ruin and misery mark their ways,
and the way of peace they do not know.'
(Psalm 36:1)
'There is no fear of God before their eyes.' ”
So if you do come from a holy bloodline (especially Abraham’s) and are using that to justify your right that you are automatically forgiven before God, the Bible is clear it will not work, even if it's Abraham!
“Okay I don’t come from a holy bloodline, but my family (Father, mother, sister, brother etc.) Are very godly and righteous people we do good in our community, surely that counts for something?”
Some don’t try to be justified though a holy blood line/their ancestors, but are justified through the good works of their own family or one family member like a mom or dad who did great works, what does God say about this? Can God forgive this way?
God answers this question when someone wants to be forgiven through the good works of their dad, here is God’s response:
Ezekiel 18:5-12
“Suppose there is a righteous man
who does what is just and right.
He does not eat at the mountain shrines
or look to the idols of Israel.
He does not defile his neighbor’s wife
…
Suppose he has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these other things (though the father has done none of them):
He eats at the mountain shrines.
He defiles his neighbor’s wife.
He oppresses the poor and needy.
He commits robbery."
So he tells this story and makes a conclusion:
Ezekiel 18:13
"Will such a man live(because his father was good)? He will not!"
And he says:
Ezekiel 18:20
"The one who sins is the one who will die(pay)."
So it makes no difference what your family or even parents were like how ARE YOU LIKE? That’s the real question, it’s great for your mom or dad if they were godly people but what about you? Are you good like them? What have you done?
God says you will be judged by your own life not by your parents or other family member’s life:
Ezekiel 18:30
“I will judge each of you according to your own ways,”
So maybe righteous family or lineage does not matter but how about this:
“I’m not perfect, but I try to be good and do good works to make up for all the bad I have done. I try to be a better and less sinful human to prove to God I will try not to sin again and he forgives me.”
Many Humans seeing the Biblical reality of their situation turn to trying to cover their sins by working to obey God’s standards and doing Good works. They believe the Good of their actions proves they are better and a way to say sorry to God as a way to make up for all their wrong (and Adam’s).
Well what does the Bible have to say about works to make up for sinful deeds?
What does God say about being saved through them?
The Bible says if you are trying to be saved though good works, they better be far exceeding that of the most righteous, strict, and detailed obeying people of the Law of God to exist in all of history: Pharisees and their teachers in first century Judea (The Pharisees were a Judean denomination that followed the most difficult, Strict, and detailed obedience to the Laws of God ever recorded)
Matthew 5:20
“…I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
So if you’re working to be saved it’s going to be extremely tough and you better follow God’s laws completely! Most trying to be saved through Good works, however, are not even completely following God’s Law this seriously. Most of the time Good works means charity and helping those in need this is NOT what the Bible says qualifies as saving works: Following Gods law totally is!
However even if you attempted to be this strict and obedient to be saved it would be impossible to achieve: This was a trick statement: because NO ONE could have a more work-based salvation than a Pharisee: they were the top of trying to make their works into salvation from Gods wrath, therefore this is really saying it’s basically impossible to be saved with only works!
In fact, a prophet tells what God thinks of humanities “righteous” works to be saved:
Isaiah 64:6
“All of us are like a filthy man(sinners) and all our righteous acts(To be saved) are like filthy rags we all shrivel up like a leaf(die still) and like the wind our sins all sweep us away(We still get punished).”
Your heard what God said? All our righteous works, we try to do to save us, all amounts just to DIRTY RAGS IN THE END! I don’t know about you but if some dirty person slapped me or stole something from me and wanted to make amends for what they did by offering me dirty rags, I would not see it as a sufficient apology, I WOULD SEE IT AS OFFENSIVE!! And be twice angry than I was before!!!
So NO, GOD DOES NOT FORGIVE JUST BECAUSE YOU DO GOOD WORKS!
The price of forgiveness is too high for anything you could do to repay sin, nothing you ever could do would NEVER be enough! Even if you were to die for someone else’s sin it would still not be enough!
Psalm 49:7-8
"No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them—the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough—"
Therefore, Good works or nothing else you could do or give will never make amends for the sin that was and is still there!!!
So, we are left with the same hopeless situation as before:
You have a wage you cannot afford to pay
You have a check you cannot afford to give
Because you can’t repay you are going to PAY THE PRICE (and are now paying)
So if there is no way to repay God what can you or any human do?
Is there no hope?
NO, it’s not completely hopeless! Because The Bible says ……God has a plan!
Sources
[1]
“Saving.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster,
Website:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/saving
[2]
[A] Merriam-Webster dictionary “Sinner”
Website:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sinner
[B] The Bible: Examples of sinners in the Bible