Are you a good person?

If you ask anyone if they are a good person, you will almost always get the same answer which is of course, "yes". Everyone wants to feel good about themselves and it seems logical to think we are better than the murders, terrorists and rapist who make the news each night so we must be "good", right? The real question that needs to be asked is "who's definition of good are you using?". Even a murderer on death row can claim that the person they killed was a very bad person and killing them made the world a better place and that they are sorry but they are really a good person at heart. If you have an open mind and believe that you can identify and understand truth when you read it, then I challenge you to read whole article before deciding what you believe to be true.

Moses is revered by Muslims, Jews and Christians and he received from God the Law which starts with the Ten Commandments. While most people have heard of the Ten Commandments, many people are not familiar with what they actually say so let just go through a few of them and see if you are good, according to the Ten Commandments.

Ask yourself, have you have ever intentionally deceived or told even one lie? Have you ever stolen anything or cheated anyone? Have you ever taken God's name in vain? Have you ever dishonored your mother or father? Well you may say that everyone has committed at least one of those sins at sometime in their life and you would be "almost" correct as there has only been one who lived on this earth and never committed even one sin. Jesus modeled and explained the requirements for perfection into Heaven. He clarified that coveting, envy and lust in your thoughts are also sin. Have you ever envied another persons health, wealth, position or fame?

He showed us that the perfection that God requires is righteous and just and that our sins have separated us from God making us unholy and unfit to enter into His presence in Heaven. This is why God sent Jesus to bridge the gap between our pure and sinless Creator and rebellious mankind. At great cost, God has provided the only possible way to enter Heaven. You can repent and accept Jesus's offer, confessing your sins and turning from your selfishness, hatred, greed and pride. This allows His Holy Spirit to change you from the inside out. It is life changing and a lifelong commitment to following Jesus and His teachings. God showed His love for us by sending His only Son to die for our sins. If you think that your sins are "not that bad", then you may want to work on preparing your defense for judgment day. When you stand before the Almighty Creator, do you really think you will be able to convince Him that your way is right and His way is wrong and that Jesus suffered and died a torturous death for nothing? Jesus's offer of forgiveness, grace and mercy for those who will follow Him is a limited time offer. If you have rejected the light that God has offered, then God removes His Spirit of conviction and allows your heart to harden. If you say, "My god is a god of love and would never send anyone to Hell", then you have been deceived by the father of lies, making up your own false god. Clearly this is not what the God of the Bible teaches as you can see from the verses below...

Mathew 5:20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of Heaven.

Mathew 5:21 "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'You shall not murder,[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister[b][c] will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, 'Raca,'[d] is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

Mathew 5:27 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.'[e] 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Mathew 5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Mathew 7:13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Mathew 7:21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Luke 18:9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people-robbers, evildoers, adulterers-or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' 13 "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' 14 "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

Luke 18:18 A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 19 "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good-except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: 'You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.'[a]" 21 "All these I have kept since I was a boy," he said. 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." 23 When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. 24 Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." 26 Those who heard this asked, "Who then can be saved?" 27 Jesus replied, "What is impossible with man is possible with God."

Romans1:8 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator-who is forever praised. Amen. 26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. 28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Romans 2:2 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2 Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 God "will repay each person according to what they have done."

Hebrews 10:31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God

1 Cor 6:9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men[a] 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. New International Version (NIV)