“I’m as good as any Christian!”
A Christian, by himself, isn’t good. Jesus said that God alone is good. The only “goodness,” or righteousness, that the believer has comes from Jesus Christ
(2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:9). The Bible tells us that, without Christ, man is corrupt and filthy; “there is none that does good, no not one” (Psalm 14:3).
“I’m doing fine. I don’t need God.”
Many people feel this way because of the modern church message. It says that Jesus will help their marriage, remove their drug problem, fill the emptiness of their heart, then give them peace and joy, etc. In doing so, it restricts the church’s scope of influence. If the message of the cross is only for people who have bad marriages, are lonely, and have problems, then those who are happy won’t see their need for the Savior.
In truth, the forgiveness of God in Jesus Christ is for people with bad marriages and people with good marriages. It is for the happy and the sad. It is for those who are miserable in their sins, as well as those who are enjoying the pleasures of sin for a season. Those who think they are doing fine need to be saved from sinful attitudes as much as those who are obviously living a sinful life. We need to see ourselves through the eyes of a Holy God, the judge of the universe and run into the arms of the Savior.
“I’m doing the best I can and I’m sincere.”
Even if you could do far better than you are doing right now, you still can’t do well enough because you don’t please God by being good (Galatians 2:21), but by trust Jesus (John 1:12).
Also, sincerity is not the way to heaven. What if you are sincerely wrong? (Remember John 14:6)
If you are relying on your sincerity, then you are saying that because you are sincere, you are good enough on your own to be with God. To appeal to your sincerity is to appeal to pride, because you are appealing to something that is in you, and not to God, for your reason to go to heaven. You must have faith in Jesus.
“The first of the ten commandments says, ‘you shall have no other gods before Me.’ That proves He isn’t the only God!”
That’s true. Man has always made false gods. An old saying goes like this, “God created man in His own image, and man has been returning the favor ever since.” Hindus have millions of gods. Sometimes gods are made of wood or stone; other times man makes up a god in his mind. Whatever the case, making a god to suit yourself is called “idolatry,” and idolatry breaks both the First and Second Commandments.
“I believe I will go to heaven because I live by the Golden Rule.”
Much of the world knows the Golden Rule simply as “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (see Luke 6:31). According to this verse, if we live by this rule and love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves, we fulfill the Law. Those who claim to do this should be asked if they have ever lied, stolen, hated someone, or looked at another person with lust. If they have broken any of those Commandments, then they haven’t loved those they lied to, stolen from etc. An honest response to such a question should show someone that they have after all violated the Golden Rule. They are headed for God’s wrath (John 3:36), and desperately need the Savior’s cleansing blood.
“God made me to be a homosexual, so He doesn’t want me to change.”
Homosexuals argue that they did not make a conscious decision to be that way, so it must be natural. They are born that way–just as all us are born with a sinful nature and sinful desires (Ephesians 2:1-3).
It is in fact natural for all of us to be tempted to do things that God says are wrong. In the same way, pedophiles, adulterers, alcoholics, drug addicts, etc. don’t make a conscious decision to “choose” that self-destructive lifestyle; they simply give in to their sinful desires. However, although sin is natural for unbelievers, that doesn’t mean God wants them to remain that way. God can set them free from their sinful nature (Romans 7:23-8:2), give them new desires (Ephesians 4:22-24), and help them withstand temptations (1 Corinthians 10:13).
“I have broken the Ten Commandments, but I do good things for people.”
Many people do similar things. They may steal from their employer or cheat on their taxes, then give to a charity or spend Thanksgiving helping at a soup kitchen. They think they are balancing the scales: they’ve done bad, and now they are doing good. However, the Bible reveals that the motive of guilty sinners is one of guilt (see Hebrews 9:14). They are attempting to bribe the Judge of the Universe. The Judge in this case will not be corrupted. He must punish all sinners. Good works cannot earn mercy it comes purely by the grace of God. He will dismiss our sins only on the grounds of repentance and faith in Jesus.
“You shouldn’t talk about sin because Jesus didn’t condemn anyone. He was always loving and kind.”
Jesus is loving, and that’s why He had harsh words of warning for sinners. In Matthew 23, Jesus called the religious leaders “hypocrites” seven times. He told them they were “blind fools,” children of hell, full of hypocrisy and sin. He ended His sermon by saying, “You serpents, you generation of vipers, how shall you escape the damnation of hell?” He then warned that He would say to the wicked, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).
“I was once a born-again Christian. Now I believe it was all a waste!”
When a person maintains that he once was a Christian, but came to his senses, he is saying that he once knew the Lord (see John 17:3). If he were asked, “Did you know the Lord?” and he answered, yes, you could question such a person with this question, “So you admit that He is real and that you are in rebellion to His will.” If he didn’t know the Lord, he was therefore never a Christian (1 John 5:11-13,20). The Bible speaks about false conversions, in which a “stony ground” hearer receives the Word of God with Joy and gladness. Then in a time of tribulation, temptation, and persecution falls away.
“Why does the Old Testament show a God of wrath and the New Testament a God of mercy?”
The God of the New Testament is the same God of the Old Testament. The Bible says that He never changes. He is just as merciful in the Old Testament as He is in the New Testament. Read Nehemiah chapter 9 for a summary of how God mercifully forgave Israel, again and again, after they repeatedly sinned and turned their backs on Him. The psalms often speak of God’s mercy poured out on sinners.
He is also just as wrath-filled in the New Testament as He is in the Old. The Book of Acts records that He killed a husband and wife simply because they told one lie. Jesus warned that He was to be feared because He has the power to cast the body and soul into Hell. The apostle Paul said that he persuaded men to come to the Savior because he knew the “terror of the Lord.” Read the dreadful judgments of the New Testament’s Book of Revelation. That will put the “fear of God” in you, which incidentally, the Bible says is “the beginning of wisdom.”
Perhaps the most fearful display of God’s wrath is seen in the cross of Jesus Christ as God judged Jesus in our place for the sins of mankind. Whether we like it or not, our God is a consuming fire of holiness (Hebrews 12:29). He isn’t going to change, so we had better seek his mercy and grace before the Day of Judgment. If we repent (forsake our sinful ways) God, in His mercy, will forgive us and grant us eternal life in heaven with Him.
“Jesus didn’t condemn the woman caught in the act of adultery, but condemned those who judged her. Therefore you shouldn’t judge others.”
The Christian is not “judging others” but simply telling the world of God’s judgment–that God (not the Christian) has judged all the world as being guilty before Him (Romans 3:19,23). Jesus was able to offer that woman forgiveness for her sin, because He was on His way to die on the cross for her. She acknowledged Him as “Lord,” but still He told her, “Go and sin no more.” If she didn’t repent, she would perish.
“I’ll take my chances.”
With what, eternity? Eternity is a long time to be wrong. Why would you want to take a gamble on something as important as your eternal destiny? It takes only a moment to trust Christ for your salvation. There will be an eternity of pain and regret if you don’t.
You don’t take chances with guns, do you? You don’t take chances and run red lights, do you? Why would you take a chance on something that is far more important than these? Don’t take a chance on something eternal. It isn’t worth it.
Jesus said He was the only way to God. He forgave sins, walked on water, calmed a storm with a command, raised people from the dead, and rose from the dead Himself. No one else in all of history has done that. If He can do all that, don’t you think you should listen to Him?