THE GOD THING VS THE GOOD THING

In the book of Genesis, Adam and Eve were instructed at the Garden of Eden not to eat from a certain tree.
However Lucifer tempted the woman to eat the fruit. In Genesis 3: 6; " the woman saw that the fruit was good to eat and pleasant in the eyes". It may look nice but it is poison, a Christian should search for the purity of God's words not the physical appearance of a material thing. God words has been tested and it produces the best because God's word is pure and can be trusted. The Bible says trust in the Lord with all of your heart and not on your own understanding. I do not know how much things in life you understand but it can not be compared to what the KING OF GLORY knows.

Another instance can be found in Matthew 19, a certain rich man came to Jesus, he asked Jesus Christ "What good things must I do to have eternal life?" (Matthew 19:16). The Lord told him about adherence to the Ten Commandments and the man said he obeyed them all. But what the LORD said next, came as a shocker to him, when Christ said sell all you have and follow me. This passage in the Scripture opened our eyes to understand that eternal life is not achieved by doing certain good things. Eternal life is not earned by good behaviour.

The key word here is 'FOLLOW ME'. Therefore no matter how nice a person is, without JESUS CHRIST in you, that good is not good enough for God. The self- righteousness man did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God; he only believed Jesus was a good teacher (see Mark 10:17). Self-righteousness is “confidence in one’s own righteousness". The man failed to understand that the key to the KINGDOM OF GOD is not confidence in your self- righteous attitude but in CHRIST JESUS. Eternal life is for those who believe in Jesus, and if he believed in Jesus, he will follow and obey Him. From all implication money was the rich man's god. The man didn't believe in Jesus, so he didn't obey Jesus. Martyred missionary Jim Elliot once said, "He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." No matter the length of years a man lives on earth, he cannot take money along when he is dead.

The costly freedom of grace, bought for us by the blood of Jesus with no contribution from us, is difficult for our prideful hearts to understand or appreciate. No one can measure up to the standards of a holy God. However, in Christ we can know true righteousness.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), a priest and a Levi pass by the accident victim. One can assume maybe the Priest had to deliver a sermon by 6am and did not want to be late, maybe the Levi had to pick his son from School and did not want to arrive late so his son does not get worried. But the Samaritan stopped to help the accident victim regardless of his appointment probably with his business partners. The Priest and Levi had good reasons not to stop by but Christ condemned this because sometimes 'BEING GOOD IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR GOD'.

A co-worker may have stolen the company's money to pay his children's school fees, because the company is owing him 2 months salary. So he steals with the intention to pay back when he receives his monthly salary. Its good to educate your child but you will lose your integrity when caught. If your major goal is to please the world and gain complements chances are you will be blind to some home truths. "Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." James 4:4.

Christianity is not a religion, it is a relationship with our one and only creator. Another word that Christians sometimes confuse with works is obedience.Obedience is a sign of our love for God and our willingness to render Him true worship.We cannot go to Heaven in our own terms.We must live upright lives, but not for the sake to be righteous before God; but rather because we love God and his Son, Jesus Christ. We are to serve as a tutor until the time of Christ (Galatians 3:24). No one is a “good” person; there is only one who is good, and that is God Himself. The Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The Bible also says that the wages of our sin is death (Romans 6:23a). Christ alone was good enough to earn heaven, and He gives  His righteousness to those who believe in His name (Romans 1:17).

Shalom!