Getting the Gospel Wrong...

I was at a social concerns conference for faith, government, and community groups.  It was held at a local church.  

The featured speaker for the afternoon was a former professional athlete and a Christian, who now gives motivational talks. He was dynamic,  his speech was inspiring, and he told a moving story about overcoming adversity.

And then the finale came...it went something like this:

When you're standing at the gates of heaven, and your life is in the balance...if you've done just one more good thing than the bad that's happened...and you have faith in Him...then you're in.

Nooooo!!! 

I was in the back of the room and looked around at all those people of faith, including several ministers.  No one seemed to bat an eye.  Didn't they hear what he said?

Here's my response to anyone who's been told to weigh good deeds against personal sins, or anyone who feels a burden to do so:

1.  There are no scales of justice regarding salvation.  God requires perfection.

For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven…You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.  Matthew 5:20, 48

2.  No one is perfect or comes close.  If we're looking to our performance to save us, we're all doomed.

...no one does good, not even one.  Romans 3:12 

3.  God looks on us as righteous and perfect because of what Jesus did.  Jesus took the punishment, the wrath, the death that we deserve.

…but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Romans 5:8

4.  It's through faith in Jesus and what Jesus did that make a person right with God.  And even faith is a gift.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  Ephesians 2:8-9 

5.  If I forget, and I don't recognize my sinful condition, and if I start to take pride in my own works...then, what I'm missing is the necessity, the significance, and the sweetness of the cross. 

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.                 1 Corinthians 1:18 

6.  Finally, leaders have influence and power.  They can harm and even destroy people's faith.  By getting the gospel wrong, they place heavy burdens on people. 

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.  James 3:1

The open gate to heaven is not gained by our own efforts or goodness.  Salvation and eternal life come through another, through a savior who died on a cross. 

No matter how inspiring the speaker or preacher is, or how good his speech or sermon sounds...if he gets the gospel wrong, it would have been better if he had never spoken.