By NiteOwlDave
niteowldave@gmail.com
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves [it is] the gift of God not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Perhaps the idea that one can earn his way to eternal damnation in a literal, horrifying Hell sounds totally nuts.
We've all heard of the biblical truth that no one can earn his way to Heaven. Admittance to Heaven is by grace and not by works. But here is how a person can earn his way to Hell.
1. Be born a robust, blonde-haired, blue-eyed baby into a fine, upstanding family.
2. Grow up healthy and turn out to be a model kid.
3. Earn straight "A's" throughout high school and college.
4. Avoid drugs and the other pitfalls of youth.
5. Captain the football teams; excel in chess.
6. Be voted "Most Liked" and rack up a trunk load of scholastic and sports' honors.
7. Spend an hour a day reading for the blind.
8. Be loyal to the homecoming queen and other lookers you date. Marry Miss Perfect upon completing college, debt-free.
9. Quickly march up the corporate business ladder without trampling on anyone.
10. Correctly raise your 2.5 children, and assist them with their schoolwork. Serve as an encouraging assistant coach.
11. Attend your community church every Sunday. Become an active deacon and applaud your wife's work in all her activities.
12. Become active on numerous community-betterment committees.
13. Be named "Man of the Year" in your community by a landslide vote.
14. Be kind, gentle, forgiving, and a friend to all.
15. At age 85, die quietly in your sleep.
16. Over 3,000 people attend your funeral, and a statue is erected in the park in your memory.
You wind up in Heaven, right? Wrong. Dead wrong. You pushed all the right buttons in life and assumed it was good enough for God.
A major oversight. You failed to acknowledge that you were a sinner before God.
Your life was quite sterling, but you were born a sinner and you did rack up a few sins by your own choice.
The Bible points out -
"All our good works are as filthy rags... that all have sinned."
The only sinless man was Jesus Christ who took on our sins when He died for us and rose again.
We each must admit we are a lost sinner, and ask Christ for His forgiveness, which He freely offers to all who will ask.
Romans 10:13 says, "Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved."
