Tuesday, January 31

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Tuesday

For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.  “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.  I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself.  And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.     – John 5:21-30

Jesus said, “All who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth.” No exceptions!  What a staggering claim! Of all the billions who have ever lived, Jesus says that all will come out of the grave at the sound of His voice.  This includes everyone who lived before Christ and those who have lived since.  It includes all Asians, Europeans, Africans, Australians, Scandanavians, North and South Americans, everyone! None will be missing at this great roll call.  There is not a Muslim judgment day, or a Buddhist judgment day, there will be one judgment day for the whole world and Jesus will be the Judge!  You and I could go into cemeteries and shout at the top of our voices until they hauled us away to the mental hospital, and not one body would arise. But Jesus will one day speak and all the dead will be raised from the tombs!

Jesus also says that both the wicked and the righteous will be raised on judgment day.  Jesus describes these categories as, “those who did the good deeds,” and “those who committed the evil deeds.” Most of us would be more comfortable if Jesus had said, “Those who were pretty good” and “those who weren’t so good.” I could then compare myself with murderers, thieves, child molesters, and other wicked people and conclude, “I’m in the pretty good group, because I’ve never done those evil things!”  But Jesus didn’t say that. He divided everyone into two opposite groups: those who did the good deeds, and those who did evil deeds. There is no group for those who were pretty good, with an occasional slip up; or, those who were pretty bad, although once in a while, they did good things.

The only deeds that are truly good in God’s sight are those that come from Him. The Bible testifies concerning the human race apart from Jesus Christ, “There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one” (Rom. 3:10- 12). Even the good deeds of the believer are tainted by sin, because who can say, “I love God with all my heart, and I love my neighbor as much as I love myself”? So there has never been an entirely pure and perfect deed.

Therefore, in order for our works to be counted as good in God’s sight, we must come as sinners to the Light and allow Him to expose the evil in our hearts. We must trust in Jesus, who bore our sin on the cross, and be clothed with His perfect righteousness. We must trust His blood to cleanse our consciences from dead works so that we can serve the living God (Heb. 9:14).  The only good deeds in God’s sight are those done from a heart that has been cleansed through faith in Christ. Those who believe in Christ are quick to acknowledge that He is the source of any good deeds that they may do.  God gets all the glory for our salvation, including any good deeds, because He prepared them for us beforehand (Eph. 2:10).  There are only two sides; good and evil.   There is only one who is god - Jesus Christ.  The only way for us to be considered good is to be found In Him!

Jeff Frazier