Body
THE GOOD NEWS. Just how good does a person need to be to get into heaven? Well, a person would have to be utterly, sinlessly good. That means none of us qualify! In writing to new believers in Rome, Paul clearly informs them that, 'all have sinned' (Rom. 3:23). In other words, we're all sinners because we all have chosen to sin. Even Solomon, about 3,000 years ago, understood this truth when he wrote, 'For there is not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin' (Eccl. 7:20). The obvious truth is that we all choose to sin, though the sin varies. However, we've all broken most of the 10 Commandments in that we've all lied, stolen, taken God's name in vain, coveted the things of others, thought lustful thoughts, etc. The reason we sin, though, is because of the sin nature we're born with. Paul pegged the sin nature on Adam, saying, 'For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners' (Rom. 5:19). The verb 'made' is passive indicating that it was Adam's sin that made or constituted his offspring to be sinners. So, the bottom line is this - sinners cannot get into heaven. That's the bad news. But the good news is that God had a grand plan to deal with the sin nature that renders us all helpless and hopeless. It was Paul who told Timothy, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15)! The whole 'Christmas Story' is that God the Son came to deliver people from the power of Satan and their sin nature. That's also why the sinless Son of God willingly died on Calvary. So we're all sinners by birth and we're also all sinners by choice. But through trusting the Lord Jesus Christ, He radically transforms our very nature so that we hate sin and desire obedience to God and His Word. In other words, we are then born-again. That truly is Good News! And that's why Paul could say, 'For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes' (Rom. 1:16).
