I read this week about a survey conducted by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University. The results sadly did not surprise me but they are disappointing. the 3 main results from the survey found that 72% of American Christians believe that "people are basically good". 71% "consider feelings, experience or the input of friends and family as their most trusted source of moral guidance. And finally, 58% believe that a person can earn his or her way into heaven by being good enough or if he or she does enough good things on a regular basis. The problem as I see it is 2 fold. First I blame Pastors for this. It is our job literally to shepherd the flock. We are to teach the Biblical truths, every word of it. Not just the easy parts. But the tough parts as well. It is not easy to teach that people are evil and their sin is taking them straight to hell, but that is what they need to hear. Obviously, just look at the results of this report/survey. We will get to the 2nd problem in a moment but first, what does God say about it?

The Bible is full of verses that tell us that none of us are good. And none of us do good apart from Jesus. The Bible also tells us that our hearts are wicked and who can know it. And that our hearts are deceitful. So trusting in your own feelings or the world to be your moral judge is against the Bible as well. 

Luke 18:19 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.

Romans 3:12 They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one.

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 3:10-18

10“There is none righteous, no, not one;
¹¹ There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
¹² They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one.”
¹³ “Their throat is an open tomb;
With their tongues they have practiced deceit”;
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
¹⁴ “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”
¹⁵ “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
¹⁶ Destruction and misery are in their ways;
¹⁷ And the way of peace they have not known.”
¹⁸ “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

So Pastors are part of the problem but as someone who firmly believes that each of us is responsible for our own actions and decisions, the majority of this falls on each person who claims to be a Christian but follows the world and not God's word. The fix is simple, stop following man's evil ways and start right now today following God's way. After all, if you truly are a Christian then you promised Jesus when you repented and gave your life to Him that you would do what He wants you to do.

But how do I do that Pastor? Simple, spend time each day in prayer, studying your Bible, and let the Holy Spirit guide you. If you truly are a born-again Christian then you will want to spend time with God and you will want to know His word and His ways. Jesus said I am the way, the truth, and the life no one gets to the Father but by Him. So if you are one of the 58% that believes you can get to heaven by some other way than Jesus or you can earn it or work for it then you are not following Him and I would question if you are really saved yourself. Jesus said in John 14:15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments".

If you are attending a church that doesn't teach these truths then leave that church and find one that does. If you have walked away from God and believed Satan's lies that there are many ways to God and you are a good person and you can earn your way to heaven, then turn back to God today. Read your Bible every day. God is waiting for you. 

Being a Christians means you have a personal relationship with God the Father and His Son Jesus. Being a Christian is not about being a good person or trying to earn your way to heaven, It is the complete opposite of that. It is humbling yourself and being heartbroken over your sin to the point that you repent of that sin and you admit that you aren't a good person and you arent' good enough and never will be. It is admitting that you need Jesus. The only thing you have to do is believe by faith that Jesus is the only way and He alone is the savior of the world.

The prescription to cure a worldly view is more time with God and His word and less time with the news and all the otherworldly distractions.  

I recommend you start with the gospel of John, then read Romans and then Ephesians. And once you have those truths down read through the entire New Testament until you have a good understanding of it. Then read the Old Testament. 

We are currently doing an in-depth study of the book of Romans. You can find all of our verse-by-verse studies on our  Bible teaching page under the TEACHING tab or Click the button below to go to our teaching videos.

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God bless you. We love you and God loves you!

In Love,

Pastor Brian

Bible Teaching