Have you ever wondered, Will God forgive me?
To have acceptance with God, we must always depend not on trying to be good enough for God, but rather on Jesus Christ and his atoning death on the cross.
God forgive me
Recently on a ride-share I asked my driver, “May I ask you a question about your faith?” and he said, “Sure.”
I then asked him a question that I often ask: “If you were suddenly to die and stand before God, and God asked you, ‘Why should I let you into heaven?’ what would you answer?”
His response was to describe to me several of his religious activities. He said he went to mass daily. He showed me a prayer card that he keeps with him always. And he said he tries to treat people well. But he said no one can be good enough for God.
Clearly he was sincere about his religion, but what stood out to me was what he did not say. Although he is Roman Catholic, he never said anything about Jesus Christ. He has faith in God, but when asked what will make him acceptable to God and give him access to heaven, his default answer was not to mention Jesus Christ.
My driver is not alone. In all the times I have asked people that question, I don’t remember a single time that the clear, immediate answer was, “I am trusting in Jesus Christ as my Savior.” Ninety percent of the time, people do not mention him at all (even those who say they believe in him).
That’s a critical problem.
On what basis God accepts us
This is the sixth in a series of articles on the subject of what God requires of those who want to know him and walk in his ways. We need to know something all-important: God does not accept everybody. He does not accept everybody into heaven, and he does not accept everybody into a relationship with him. In fact, on our own merits, God does not accept anybody!
The Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). That means we fall short of God’s holy, perfect standard.
That’s a critical problem because God does not grade on a curve. He is perfectly holy and just and does not lower his standards or requirements. Just as a dead fly in a bowl of soup spoils the whole bowl, so the presence of any sin in us pollutes us morally and spiritually and makes us unacceptable to him.
His highest requirement is expressed in these two commandments: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Mark 12:30–31).
Who has perfectly obeyed either of those commandments for even one day? By nature human beings are simply not capable of that. We have a fallen nature. We are broken. That’s why we are basically selfish and must try so hard to be loving. That’s why relationships are so difficult. It’s why we resist centering our lives in God rather than in ourselves.
If we are to be accepted by God, it won’t be because we are good enough for him. No one comes close. No one can jump a mile high, and no one can meet God’s requirements.
God’s solution
Because God is loving and merciful, he decided to offer a solution to our critical problem. This is why he sent his unique Son to the world to become a man. Because Jesus is God, he was able to live a perfect life and then die a death on the cross for our sins that had divine, infinite capability to satisfy God’s just and holy requirements.
The death of Jesus atones for our failures. The death of Jesus on the cross is the only thing that enables God to forgive us without compromising his justice. He won’t ever compromise his holy justice, but he will in mercy forgive us because of what Jesus has done.
But God still does not forgive everyone or accept everyone.
The requirement of faith in Jesus Christ
The Bible says, “16 God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:16–18).
Notice in this verse the necessity of believing in Jesus Christ.
Returning to my opening story, this is why there is something deeply unsatisfactory about my driver’s answer. Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. His default confidence was not in Jesus Christ, even though he believed in him.
God’s way and our way
God’s way: We find acceptance with him only through faith in Jesus Christ.
Our way: We rely on our own efforts to be good and religious to make us acceptable to God. We try to accumulate merit in God’s sight. We want some other way than to rely fully on Jesus Christ as our only way to find approval with God.
Next week: More on the crucial role of Jesus Christ for those who want to know God.