Tuesday’s Truth is a free weekly devotional shared by Rev. Gary Mimbs
October 24, 2023
It Doesn’t Work That Way.
I went to the bank to make a deposit. As I made my deposit the cashier gave me a couple of small bags of peanuts as it was GA Peanut Week. I thought about that and wondered what would happen if I came back into the bank a few hours later with several large bags of peanuts and expected her to give me a pile of money. She would probably say, “It just doesn’t work that way”
There are many things like this scene above that people think should happen but life just doesn’t work that way. The same is true in the spiritual realm. I hear people say something like “I am a good person so I will go to Heaven” or “I act better and am a better person than that person who goes to church so I know that I will make Heaven before they do” It doesn’t work that way.
God doesn’t judge us in relation to how “good” we are because we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. So just because you sin less that anyone else doesn’t mean that you are going to Heaven. The standard is that one unconfessed sin is a sin against our Holy God and it disqualifies us from Heaven if it is left unconfessed.
Whether or not we make Heaven has nothing to do with the sin of anyone else. Jesus reminded the religious leaders who wanted to stone the woman caught in adultery that they were not qualified to stone her because they had sin in their own life. We will have to answer for our own sin – not anyone else’s. If our sins are confessed, they will be forgiven and never be remembered again.
Another example is when people say, “I am saved but I can keep on practicing this or that sin. God understands my situation and He won’t hold this against me” It doesn’t work that way. God is holy. He can’t look upon us when we are doing unholy things. He still loves us but our sin is creating a barrier between Him and us.
If a person is a real Christian, then they will not want to sin. They will do everything that they can to repent of their sin and NOT keep on doing it. They will ask God to forgive them and to give them the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome habitual sin.
They will realize the price that Jesus paid for their sin and do whatever it takes to not cheapen the sacrifice of His life to pay their sin debt. THAT is the way that it works and God is not going to change His plan just for us. He loves us and His mercy and grace are available but we have to do it HIS WAY – not ours.
There are many more examples of how it doesn’t work that way when it comes to spiritual matters. The core of the matter is that we find out God’s plan and obey His will and commandments. If we do things His way then at the end of our life we will hear, “Well done my good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your rest”. In other words – “That’s the way that it works” In love with Jesus – Gary Mimbs