How Do You Measure Up With God?

Use the “Previous” and “Next” buttons below to click through this message. If you are on a touchscreen device, you can swipe from one panel to the next. One day, Bob had a dream. He was standing before God, and needed to explain why he should be allowed into Heaven. All of his life, Bob figured that as long as his good deeds outweighed his bad ones, he would be just fine. So he gathered up all of his good deeds and bad deeds, and prepared for the weigh-in. “I’m ready!” Bob said. “Are you sure?” came the reply. “Yes, where should I put these?” asked Bob. “What are they?” said the voice from above. “These are all of the good things and bad things I have done. Now what?” “First, let’s take a closer look at what you have there. What are these ‘good deeds’ you were talking about?” “Well, I have always tried to be a good person, and to do the right thing. There’s some really good stuff in here.” “Remember that time I rescued my neighbor’s cat? Or when I gave the homeless guy twenty bucks?” “Yes, I remember those. What else do you have?” “Well, there are all those times I missed the pre-game show to go to church. And how about when I found that wallet and returned it, with the money still in it!” God asked, “What’s in the other box?” “Not much,” said Bob. “Just a few things I might have messed up over the years.” Bob asked impatiently, “Can we go ahead and do the weigh-in? I’d really like to get through those gates and start looking around.” “That’s not really how it works. But, if you insist ...” Bob was whisked away, excited for what was coming next. He found himself standing on one side of a large set of balance scales, holding his box of sins, with his box of good deeds on the other side. Suddenly, his box of sins started to grow. Before long, he could barely hold it. “What’s going on?” Bob asked. “Why is this getting so heavy?” God said, “I have taken the liberty of updating your inventory a bit. You forgot to include quite a few things.” Verses from the Bible flashed into view: with each verse, the weight of Bob’s sins grew heavier and heavier. “Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them” (James 4:17). “Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10). “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God … The wages of sin is death” (Romans 3:23; 6:23). Bob was getting very worried. He thought: “How could this be happening? Will my good deeds hold up?” “I’m glad you asked that, Bob.” Another Bible verse appeared: “All our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). “When your heart is not right, no amount of good deeds can earn favor with Me.” Bob cried as his box of good deeds flew away. Because there was nothing to support him, he felt the scales tip away from underneath his feet, and he began to fall. As he fell, it got hotter and hotter, and Bob could feel the flames approaching. He yelled out: “Wait a minute! I want a second chance!” “Okay. After all, it is your dream.” Bob was back on solid ground, but the flames were not forgotten. In fact, his hair was still smoking. “If my good deeds don’t do me any good, and my … ” God said “the word you’re looking for is sins.” “Yeah, if my sins are worse than I thought …” “How can I ever have any hope of making it to Heaven? Isn’t it impossible?” God said, “Nothing is impossible for Me.” God continued: “I have already made the way by which sinners like you … everyone … can be made clean in My sight.” “It’s not through anything you can do; it’s only because of what I have done.” “What did you do?” asked Bob. “I sent My Son, Jesus, to the world. He became a man, and for more than thirty years demonstrated His perfection and holiness.” “Then, after He had taught the people about Me and done many miracles, He went to the cross, where I judged Him for the sin of the world.” “Then, on the third day, I raised Him from the dead. Now, everyone who turns to Me and puts their trust in Him is cleared of their guilt and made holy in My sight.” “What do you think, Bob?” Bob thought for a second and said, “I think that’s the best news I have ever heard! Jesus paid the price I could never pay!” Bob awoke from his dream, dusted off his Bible, and found the following verses… “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24). “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8,9). Bob put his trust in Jesus Christ that day, and wants everyone he meets to know the good news about how their sins can be washed away, too. What about you? Are you hoping that things will “work out ok” when you stand before God? Take Bob’s advice: settle the question now before it’s too late.

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