Skip to content

Good Enough Isn’t Good Enough

Good Enough Isn’t Good Enough
By Dennis Huebshman

All my life, I have heard people say, “I will be going to Heaven, because I’ve been good.” It would almost bring a laugh, except it’s really not a joking matter. There will be no laughter in that long line at the Great White Throne.

Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (all emphasis mine)

Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.”

Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you are saved, and this is not from yourselves; it is the gift of God; (9) it is not from works, so that no man can boast.” (We are saved by the Grace of Jesus and the Mercy of God.)

For those who say they don’t really have to accept Jesus to go to heaven, consider Philippians 2:9-11, “As a result, God exalted Him, and gave Him the name above every name; (10) so that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth; (11) and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord to the glory of the Father.” And for those who don’t think so, this will include satan and all his demons (fallen angels), just before they’re thrown into the Lake of Fire that was made just for them. (Matthew 25:41)

For those who think their “works” gets them a free pass, consider Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

Nothing we can ever do is “good enough” to cover our sin nature without an “acceptable” sacrifice to the Father. Matthew 5:48 tells us, “so then be as perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Anyone who thinks they are perfect in the eyes of the Lord on their own merits are the ultimate picture of foolishness.

However, 2 Corinthians 5:21 gives us our answer, “God made the One (Jesus) who did not know sin, to be sin for us; so that in Him, we would become the righteousness of God.” When Jesus was on the cross and cried out, “My God, My God! Why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46 and also Psalm 22:1); we have to know and acknowledge Jesus did not sin even once, while on this earth. Otherwise, His sacrifice would not have been perfect, and we would still be hopelessly lost even today.

When He cried out to the Father on the Cross, it was at that moment that all the sins of this earth – from the very beginning to the end of the millennium – were placed on Him. His sacrifice totally covered all sins of those who have accepted and will accept Him as their Lord and Savior. It makes total sense that anyone who has rejected Him, or will reject Him, will have to answer for their own sins – All Of Them!

Any time I catch myself committing a sin, I have to realize as King David said in Psalm 51:4, that any sin we commit is against God and God alone. That is why we confess to Him, and He is righteous and just to forgive us (1 John 1:8-10); if we have first accepted His Son. That’s an unbendable condition.

“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven, given among people, by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12) “They replied, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31) Note: all the household must accept Jesus individually to receive salvation. John 6:47, “I tell you the solemn truth, the one who believes has eternal life.”

A song by the Florida Boys, “When He was on the Cross”, has a line that hits me personally; “Though His eyes were on the crowd that day, He looked ahead in time; for when He was on the Cross, I was on His mind.” He had the ability to look into what we call the future. I say “we” because God is not bound by time as we are.

He made time for us. And being that He is all-knowing, it was possible that Jesus could see every sin at once. Can you just imagine what that would be like? We’re sickened by just the events of today, but think what it would be like to see every sin from the Garden of Eden all through the Millennium! This is what Jesus died for, and why God is so adamant that we accept this wonderful sacrificial gift.

Our God has to be a Loving Father to not have destroyed this earth long ago. However, He loves us so completely (John 3:16; Romans 5:8) that He wants as many as possible to be with Him forever. (2 Peter 3:9) The time is rapidly approaching that His wrath will be taken out on this earth in the form of a 7-year tribulation. Before that happens, He has promised He will take all believers in His Son, out of this world to keep us from that wrath. We will hear a trumpet/shofar, and a shout from the Arc Angel, and rise up to meet Jesus in the air. It will happen in the twinkling/blinking of an eye (1 Corinthians 15:52), so that the secular world will only realize we’re gone – after it actually happens.

For those who believe they can call out to Jesus as the horn and shout takes place, the twinkling/blinking has been estimated to take about 1/60th of a second or less. No one could possibly accept Jesus in that time. The best-case scenario would be to accept Him now; before it’s too late. God is patient, and will forgive any and all who call out; but He is also righteous and just to allow anyone who rejects Him and His Son to take their place in the Lake of Fire. All will know it was their own choice to be there.

Prophecy experts, who have much more knowledge than I, say that everything leading to the 7-year Tribulation is in place. Before that can get started, when the 7-year peace plan is signed between Israel and the world, there will be an event where all believers in Jesus will be “caught up” or “Raptured” to meet Him in the air. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17) After that, people will still be able to accept Jesus as there will be many during the tribulation that will do so; however, many will be martyred for that decision.

Jesus is waiting for all who will, to call on Him to be saved. He knows the majority of this world won’t do so, (Matthew 7:13-14) but will turn no one away who truly wants Him as their Savior.

No works, rituals, special speech other than something like, “Jesus I need you as my Savior; please forgive my sins and accept me as one of Your own. I believe You died for me to take away my sins, and give me a permanent home with You, Thank you Jesus for saving me.” This is just an example. If you call on Him from the heart, and ask Him to save you, and most important believe He can do so and place your faith in Him, you will be saved. (Acts 2:21 – Romans 10:9-13)

Call today. He could be coming for all His believers to take us Home at just about any minute. God knows the timing, and has promised it will happen. He cannot lie (Titus 1:2). Just as all the other prophecies in the Bible have been fulfilled totally, this one will be also.

Maranatha!

[email protected]

Back To Top