Heaven By Default?

The question from the title is, is Heaven the place where people are set to go when the time comes and only “bad” people work themselves into Hell? My answer is, NO! It is actually the other way. We are defaulted to Hell.

“²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” — Romans 3:23 (ESV)

Looking at the above verse, the key phrase to back up the defaulted destination is Hell would be the underlined, “all have sinned”. Not, some have sinned or a few have sinned, but “all have sinned”. This was due to events that occurred in the beginning with Adam and Eve and their encounter with Satan and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. God had given man and woman only one restriction in the garden and Satan went right after it and enticed the first sin against God. From that point on, all that were and come after them are sinners.

In short, thanks to our ancestors, we are what we are, sinners in the eyes of God. That does not mean He does not love and want more for us though. And to get that more, just like with everything, there is a cost. The interesting thing is that the cost was paid by Jesus for us.

“⁸but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8 (ESV)

So, we are all sinners and our default destination is Hell. We needed a way out and God provided that in Jesus and His death in our place. The immediate thought is that well, I am good then, Jesus paid the debt and now my destination has been changed. Well, not exactly. Yes the way to get to Heaven has been provided, but we still have to travel that road to get to the destination. And that road is small.

“¹⁴For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” – Matthew 7:14 (ESV)

One might think well, I will just get on that narrow road and get to Heaven. Yes, that is the idea, but see that it is narrow and only a few find the road. There is only one way onto the road that leads to Heaven and that is through Jesus.

“⁶Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” – John 14:6 (ESV)

So, NO, Heaven is not the default destination for us all. We are defaulted to Hell and all of the anguish, punishment, and darkness that is there. But, we have a way to get to Heaven and that is through the loving sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He died so I did not have to. He endured the anguish, punishment, and darkness so that could avoid it. He provided the only way for me, a sinner, to change my final destination to Heaven.

What is your thought about your destination? So you believe that you are headed to Heaven by default? What if you were to realize that the default for all us sinners is Hell and that to get to Heaven we have to take the narrow road provided by Jesus Christ?

None are Righteous

Jesus was the only person born righteous. All others are not righteous and only have the opportunity to be declared righteous by God. We are born unrighteous and remain unrighteous until that time when God declares us righteous. And that is for all of us as no one is exempt.

“⁹What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, ¹⁰as it is written:

‘None is righteous, no, not one;

¹¹no one understands;

no one seeks for God.

¹²All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;

no one does good,

not even one.’”

— Romans 3:9-12 (ESV)

Paul writes that all are subject to the same. We are all sinners. Jews, Gentiles, Greeks, all of us. And nothing has changed throughout time, except that we have been given the chance to be declared righteous.

“²¹But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— ²²the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: ²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.” – Romans 3:21-25 (ESV)

All of us start the same and are unrighteous until that time that God declares us righteous. He will declare us righteous when we have given ourselves to Him fully. This is made possible through Jesus and His death on the cross as He took our sin upon Himself for our sake. We all have been given the same opportunity to receive the grace of God through the sacrifice of Jesus and it is up to us to receive and accept that gift.

Even as we have and take advantage of the opportunity to receive and accept the gift of salvation and grace, we are still sinners and not righteous until that time when God declares. We will always be sinners in this world and as such are not righteous. Our only approach should be thanksgiving for the gift of salvation and grace and work everyday to spread the gospel and demonstrating our thanks for and dedications to the repayment for the sacrifice (even as it cannot be repaid).

What are your thoughts on righteousness? Are you somehow righteous based on who you are or what you have done? What if you were to take on that no one, not even you are righteous and can only receive and accept the gift of salvation and grace and work daily to somehow be declared righteous through your actions for the LORD?

Jesus Took My Sin So I Could Be Counted Righteous

You heard me right, Jesus took my sin on himself so that I could be counted righteous.

“¹¹Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;

by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,

make many to be accounted righteous,

and he shall bear their iniquities.”

— Isaiah 53:11 (ESV)

“³⁸Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, ³⁹and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.” – Acts 13:38-39 (ESV)

I owe Jesus so much and yet will never be able to repay Him for the one act of dying for me. Yes, I said that right, He died for me. He did it so that I could be elevated to be called righteous.

No, I do not see myself as righteous, as I have said, only God can declare as righteous. But I can and will perform righteous acts. These acts are in obedience to the LORD and to say thank you for being there for me. Thanks for comforting and guiding me. Thanks for the forgiveness of my sins. Thanks for dying for me. Even as I know that I will not be able to repay His act of love for me, I still must continue offering myself to Him in obedience.

Jesus died for me, intentionally. Yes, He did it on purpose and it was righteous. He only asked if there was another way for the Father’s will to be done. What a show of love to me. Jesus said if there was another way to fulfill the LORD’s plan that would be preferred, yet if death is the only way, He was willing to do whatever the LORD had for Him to provide salvation for me. This is the example for me and my service to the LORD. I should ask if there is another way, but be willing to do whatever is asked, knowing that those actions are righteous in the eyes of the LORD.

Jesus was counted as righteous so that I could be counted as righteous. Notice the word “could” used as I write. I am intentional with the word as I am not righteous just because of Jesus’ death. I am only given the opportunity to be counted as righteous. I have work to do and that work is for the LORD. I have accepted the free gift of salvation and am doing the work for the LORD, and thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus and His grace, I am hopeful that I will be counted as righteous. But, I do not see myself as there yet, I still have work to do. As long as I am here in this world, I have work to do for the LORD and I will learn of my righteous status when I meet the LORD in heaven.

What are your thoughts on your becoming righteous? Do you see yourself having arrived there already? What if you looked as I do in that you have been given the opportunity to be counted as righteous thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus, yet you have work to do?

Honor Marriage

I certainly did not expect to read up on marriage this morning and especially in the realm of sex and marriage.

“⁴Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” – Hebrews 13:4 (ESV)

Lori and I have been married for over 27 years. I love her dearly and only want to please her. Has our marriage been all sunshine and rainbows, that would be a resounding NO. There have been some really difficult times to deal with in our household and our relationship, as I expected and know is the same for all marriages. But, we made a promise to each other and to God, in front of a good number of witnesses that we would be in it for the long haul, and through the good and the bad. We are devoted to one another and to the sanctity of our marriage and that promise made years ago.

I believe that our relationship has lasted as long as it has and will continue to last is due to promises made. Not just the one made for our marriage, but the promise made to follow God in our marriage. The promise made to God in our individual life. The promise God made of salvation. All of these and many more are the reasons for our relationship success.

As I have mentioned before, my study of God’s Word is just following the topic led to from the concordance. I am currently in a study of the word “honor” and allow God to lead my learning for the day on that topic. This morning I was led to Hebrews 13 and the passage titled “Sacrifices Pleasing to God”. The verse above is where the word “honor” is, and I am led this morning to dive into this verse.

The title of the passage in Hebrews is a window into where I am going this morning. One of the things that are challenging with promises, is the keeping of them. There are sacrifices that may be required. And sometimes those sacrifices may not be easy to make.

I want to be clear here. I am not a proponent of sexual promiscuity. I will not promote the societal way of thinking that multiple partners is okay. What I will say is that it is clear in God’s Word that the promise of marriage is one that includes devotion to one another in the bedroom as well as everywhere else.

In reference to verse 4 above, it is the promise of sexual dedication to one another where there is sacrifice. I know, there is sacrifice in being dedicated sexually to your spouse? Yes, especially when you think of the openness of today’s societal thinking. It is acceptable in today’s world to see sex as a carnal instinct and that devotion to one other person as counter to that instinct. Well, it may be acceptable in this world, but it is not acceptable in God’s world. A promise was made and in order to uphold that promise, there needs to be sacrifice in this world.

Marriage is to be honored by all. Those outside of the relationship should hold marriage in high regard and pay the honor that is due to those in that relationship. Those who are married should honor the marriage with their sacrifice to give up those things of the societal world and devote to one another. All should sacrifice to ensure that they are doing those things that are pleasing to God as those promises are to be kept most of all.

What promises were made in your marriage? Are you still looking for ways to have it all without sacrifice? What if you took your marriage and honored it as you would honor your relationship with God?