Will moral goodness be enough to justify a person in the last day? Many think it will. Because Jehovah is a God of mercy, it is believed that He will save those who at least try to live a fairly good life. Surely only the most ungodly, evil person will be lost in hell. But what does the Bible teach? All religious issues must be determined by God’s word, not man’s opinion. We certainly commend anyone who observes a high moral standard in his daily life. The Bible declares that we must be morally good, and that we must treat our fellow man right. (Matt. 7:12; Titus 2:11,12) However, good moral people will be lost because there is more involved in being saved than morality.
The good moral person does not acknowledge a need for a Savior. He thinks he can get to heaven on his own merit, without the aid of Christ, the church and the gospel. But he does not realize that he cannot perform enough human works to assure his salvation. Being saved “is not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Eph. 2:9) “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight…” (Rom. 3:20) Neither does he realize that one sin committed makes him a sinner, and every sin committed deepens the guilt. “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.”(Ja. 2:10) An unbridled tongue makes one’s religion useless. (Ja. 1:26) Furthermore, when one has done all that is commanded, he is still an unprofitable servant. (Lk. 17:10) Man is in need of a Savior, and Jesus the Christ is his only Savior. (John 14:6)
If one is saved by good morals alone, then Christ died in vain. There would have been no reason for Christ’s coming and for his death on the cross. He came to seek and to save the lost. (Lk. 19:10); Jn. 1:29; I Tim. 1:15) What a waste that would have been! How foolish it would have been for the Father to send Him and for Jesus to endure the cruel death of Calvary if his death was not necessary in the first place. Yet the fact remains that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23) Jesus died for sinners. (Rom. 5:8) There were no sinless ones when He came, and it’s no different today.
One must be in Christ to be saved. All spiritual blessings are in Christ. Redemption and forgiveness can be found only in Him. (Eph. 1:3,7) The good moral person (in the context of this article) is not in Christ. He has never obeyed the Gospel. He is not in the church, which is the body of Christ. (Eph. 1:22,23) He is not saved because Christ is the Savior of the body. (Eph. 5:23,25) The only way to get into Christ is through an obedient faith, by which one repents and is baptized for the remission of sins. (Act 2:38) “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Gal. 3:26,27) Human goodness and merit have nothing to do with one getting into Christ. The door is open to the worst of sinners who will come in humble obedience. Then, and only then, does one’s personal goodness count in God’s sight, and furthermore, it is commanded and expected. (Rom. 12:2)
-Richard
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