Radically Gross

John 17:3 (NLT) — 3 And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.

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When all is said and done, people are basically good. You know, people make mistakes but they're really trying to do the right thing. I think God will see that people are trying to do right and He'll have mercy on them and let them into heaven. You know God does look at the heart, not the external actions.

Wrong...

God doesn't look at the deeds of your life and weigh them on a scale to determine if you were good enough to pass the exam. Saul/Paul talks about this later after he's become a Christ follower. This is him reflecting back on his "good works."

Philippians 3:5–6 (NLT) — 5 I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. 6 I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.

Paul's saying, "You think you are good? I was much better!" Paul was a Pharisee, these guys were all-stars at keeping the law. They tithed everything, even down to their spice rack! They had memorized the entire Hebrew Bible (our Old Testament). He was zealous that he even tracked down the heretics (Christians) that were profaning the tradition of his fathers. For all of these things he felt he was "good enough." He goes on...

Philippians 3:7–9 (NLT) — 7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.

Check this one out...

Isaiah 64:6 (NLT) — 6 We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags...

The book of Isaiah is from our Old Testament which was originally written in Hebrew and translated to other languages. In english the phrase is translated "filthy rags" but the original Hebrew is much more vulgar and jarring. The original Hebrew says, "your righteous deeds are nothing but dirty tampons...not a joke, I'm not exaggerating either.

Paul looks back at his life on his good deeds and sees that the things he once thought would earn him some brownie points in heaven, were actually worth nothing. The only thing that mattered was knowing Jesus.

Imagine a court room, you're on trial and God say, "Why do you think you should get in to heaven?" You open up a portfolio and show pictures and papers that detail all of the good things that you've done. Then the prosecuting attorney begins to show evidence on why you shouldn't get into heaven. He opens up his portfolio and it has all of the same things, it has all of your "good deeds" in it. The very same thing that you thought would vindicate is actually nothing more than evidence against your case. "You thought that would grant you admittance into heaven? That's garbage.

If we can't earn our way into heaven, how does anyone get in?

Acts 16:30–31 (NLT) — 30 Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved...

Acts 15:11 (NLT) — 11 We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.”

Galatians 2:21 (NLT) — 21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.

Romans 3:20 (NLT) — 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.

Romans 3:23–25 (NLT) — 23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood...

John 6:35 (NLT) — 35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

John 6:47 (NLT) — 47 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life.

Revelation 1:17–18 (NLT) — 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.