The law of God is essential in helping people understand how desperately they need the Savior (Rom. 3:19; Gal. 3:23). Let me tell you about the different responses I received to the law of God from two men at the courthouse, Ray and Ivan. One sad but typical response. And one exciting response.
Ray thought he would go to heaven because he was "living right." I asked Ray how "right" a person has to live to know they will go to heaven. "You just have to live right," Ray added. To help Ray understand that he could never live "right enough" to get to God, I asked him if he had ever told a lie in violation of the 9th Commandment. "Yes," he readily admitted without any offense being taken (because I didn't ask him in a critical or confrontational way; I asked him gently). "How many lies do you think you've told, Ray?" "Too many to count," he answered without hesitating. "The truth is that we've all told countless lies, Ray," I replied. "But did you know the bible says in Revelation 21 that all liars will be cast into the lake of fire?" Ray didn't know that. I then explained to Ray that when judged by God's moral law, summarized in the 10 Commandments, we all stand guilty before God and in desperate need of a savior. Ray admitted that if judged by God's standard he would rightly be destined to hell. I asked Ray if he knew what the bible said about how he could know that his destiny would be heaven though he deserved hell, like the rest of us. "Repent?" He guessed. That's part of it, I answered. I explained what God did to save Ray from the just consequences for his countless sins against God (in order to help Ray see how awesome and loving God really is). I asked Ray if he believed Jesus died for his sins and if he had repented. Ray quickly shut the conversation down. He had to leave, he said, ran off like the Rich Young Man in Luke 18 who wasn't ready to turn (i.e., repent) to follow Jesus. I've been praying today that the seeds of the gospel sown in Ray's life will bear fruit and that he will repent and trust Christ for salvation and begin to follow him with his life.
Then there was Ivan. Ivan responded differently than Ray. Like Ray, Ivan honestly thought he was good enough to go to heaven, because he went to church regularly (a well known "mainline" denomination I might add) and said he tried to live a good life. I asked him how good a person must be to go to heaven. Ivan wasn't sure. (In Matthew 5 and Luke 18, Jesus said you must be perfect as God in heaven is perfect, telling the Rich Young Man you must keep all of the law (see also James 2:10). I asked him if he knew what Jesus said one must do in order to go to heaven. Ivan wasn't sure. I'm surprised how many "church-goers" don't know what Jesus said to do in order to be born again and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. In Matthew 17, he told Peter and his brother, Andrew, to "repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." In Mark 1:14-15, it Jesus went throughout Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God--"The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."
I told Ivan the good news is that the bible teaches we can know with certainty what our eternal destiny would be (1 John 5:11-13; Luke 19:9--"Today, Salvation has come to this house ...."; Tit. 3:5). I asked Ivan if he would like to know whether his destiny will in fact be heaven. Yes, he said.
I explained that we all have sinned and have fallen short of God's perfect moral standard and that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins so we don't have to and that he rose again the third day, proving he is God. I asked Ivan if he believed Jesus is God's son who died for him and rose again. Ivan said he believed. I then asked him if he had taken the next step--repent. I explained to Ivan what repentance means--to cry out to God for forgiveness of all his sins, past, present, and future, and to turn to follow Jesus with his life (not earning it through works, but turning to the Savior--Luke 24:47--Jesus said "repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations"). Ivan said he had never repented. I asked Ivan when he was going to repent, because he doesn't know when his last day will be--the Kingdom of Heaven could be at hand for him. I praised the Lord when Ivan said he was going to repent right now--"I've been doing it in my heart right now," he said! That's awesome, I exclaimed! I asked him if he knew what Jesus said to do in order to follow him? What, Ivan asked. John 8:31, says that Jesus' true followers are those who continue in his word, seeking to do what it says. It's that simple. Just ask God to help you understand and obey what you read, I encouraged him. That's how you follow Jesus. Ivan appreciated the encounter, and it blessed me, too.
In Luke 15, Jesus said all of heaven erupts for joy and rejoices when one sinner repents! I pray Ivan will be good ground who bears fruit 30, 60, and 100 fold! There's nothing more exciting in the Christian life than seeing the Lord Jesus touch a heart with the truth of his word to bring salvation!
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