But He's a Good Person...

I hear a lot of that, in many different ways. Sometimes it's used as an excuse why someone should be saved, sometimes as an excuse not to do something.

Apostle Paul wrote about the difference between being good and being righteous in Romans chapter 5. He talks about Jesus dying for the sins of the world, but then he says that 'scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.' Some of us were 'good' people before Jesus got into our lives, but we were not 'righteous.' Most of us didn't even know the difference (some of us may still not get it). If we could be righteous without Jesus, then He wouldn't have had to die on the cross for us. Isaiah wrote that our righteousness is as filthy rags. The very best that we can do is nowhere near good enough.

In the parable of the wedding feast, in Matthew chapter 22, Jesus taught a parable about a king that hosted a wedding for his son, but many that were invited made excuses, and one of the people that did come, didn't come dressed properly. The king got very upset, and ordered that the man be bound and thrown into outer darkness... I think most people can see that the king is God, that the son is Jesus, that the wedding represents the final judgment. I think the problem that people sometimes have with this parable is, why was it such a big deal that this man, who was invited to the wedding at the last minute, came wearing the best he had available, but not really the right garment for a wedding. After all, he didn't know ahead of time that he needed to rent a tux, right? Here's the thing, though, the custom of the time was that the person hosting the wedding provided wedding garments to the guests. Why do you think all the other guests had on the right garment? So what does the garment represent? In Revelation chapter 6 it talks about white robes being given to the martyrs, and in Revelations 7 it tells us that these robes are white because they have been washed with the blood of the Lamb (Jesus). Clearly, then, the wedding garments represent robes of righteousness, but the one guest tried to get into Heaven based on his own righteousness ("Oh, I think I'm good enough to get into Heaven on my own"), without accepting the gift of salvation; without applying the blood of Jesus to His life. The point of the parable, really, is that we can't do anything of any real, lasting value unless we let God work through us, and even the best of us don't do that nearly often enough.

Theocracy

I have heard a lot of talk in the past six years about how the current administration is trying to turn this country into a theocracy. I would have to say that, if that is their intent, they are doing a very poor job of bringing that to pass. Of course, I don't believe that it could ever happen anyway, because God didn't intend for this country to be a theocracy.

To a certain extent, this country is an experiment; one that is still ongoing. Our founding fathers were, for the most part, deeply religious men. They believed that they had a right to believe what they believed, and that the government should not dictate to them what to believe. The best religious choices are the ones made by the individual.

It has been said that you cannot legislate morality. I have heard a great deal of discussion on this issue. I started to say that I have heard a lot of discussion on both sides of this issue, but, really, I haven't; most of the discussion that I have heard skirts the issue completely. I think a lot of it stems from the fact that people will sit and discuss the phrase without defining the words used in the phrase. Morality is a character trait, to legislate means to make law; all the laws in the world cannot force a change in a person's character. The Bible never uses the word morality, but it does use the word 'righteousness,' which is the first entry in the thesaurus for 'morality,' and the Bible says that righteousness cannot come from the law.

The bottom line is, if I do what I do simply because there are laws that require me to live like that, and I don't have the courage or ingenuity to find ways around the law, then I am still a reprehensible person. The world would be a much nicer place to live, but to what purpose? I should do what I do because I have a legitimate desire to please my Creator; and because I have faith that He wants what is best for me. He has a plan, and I am part of His plan; if I allow myself to be used of Him, then I can fulfil my part in His plan. If I get stubborn and do only what I want to do, then I frustrate His grace and subvert His plan, and I can be replaced. Every one is expendable to God; to borrow a phrase from Bill Cosby (even though Dr. Cosby wasn't talking about God), He can strike me down, and make another one that looks just like me. But, again, I shouldn't do what I do out of fear, but out of desire. God loves a cheerful giver, even when what you're giving is your time and effort (not to neglect tithes and offerings).