It’s really the age of moral and religious relativism, now, isn’t it? It’s more often said that it doesn’t matter what religion you practice as long as you’re a morally good person. Declaring one is a born-again Christian isn’t bigotry unless one preaches John 14:6. Nominal Christianity isn’t a crime. True Christianity is a crime to the world’s standards. I’m often told that I’m wrong in believing that only my religion is right. The issue isn’t my religion but Jesus said in John 14:6–He’s the only way to the Father. That’s a very hard-to-believe truth, especially in this age of moral and religious relativism.
Some say, “But surely he or she is such a good person. I’m sure he or she is going to Heaven!” Such people are right when they say that wicked people go to Hell. They are right when they say that people like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Karl Marx, Saddam Hussein, Pol Pot, Idi Ami Dada, and Mao Zedong are in Hell now. These people are obviously wicked but what’s often forgotten is unsaved. So, why is the morally good person unsaved going to go to Hell along with the obvious bad doers? Let’s check the Scriptures to find out.
There’s one problem–God is holy and you aren’t. Romans 3:10-19 declares the fallenness of man that none is righteous. It becomes the real problem that sin has affected everyone. They say all religions point to the same God. That’s terribly wrong when you compare religions. Compare Christian theology to Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Islam, etc. Islam denies the deity of Christ. Buddhism and Taoism simply treat Jesus as another god. Pagan religions have been long involved with many sick practices like human sacrifices and temple orgies. Worse, the gods of paganism are never perfect but prone to human error. I read some Indian mythological literature just to find out how their gods can err. The pagan view of God treats Him like he can err. Works salvation can only work if the gods of paganism ruled the Universe. People can only go to Heaven by their own efforts if someone like Hades and Yama were real ruling the afterlife. In pagan myths, we have gods who ruled the afterlife and judged people’s eternal destination by their efforts.
Galatians 2:21 negates the idea of salvation by works even more. If the good works of an unsaved person could save–what good was it that the Lord Jesus died on the cross? The law only teaches righteousness, not give it. All the law could do is show your fallen nature and point people to the cross. It’s an irony that people could embrace moral law but never the cross. The idea itself is very contradictory to the worldview. People are too used to believe that if they’re good enough then certainly God must accept them. They treat the God of the Bible like he’s Hades or any god of the underworld judging them.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says that by grace are you saved. Paul was writing to a pagan society. Ephesus was one of the Greek cities. The Greeks’ belief in Hades judging them by their works was common. Instead, the very idea that one is saved by grace and not by works is mind-shattering. What can be read is also, “Not of works so nobody could boast.” There’s the big point–none could boast! There would be no boasting. Instead, Ephesians 2:10 says that the good works of the believer are only for the believer. Good works were never meant for unsaved people. Good works weren’t meant for salvation. Instead, from salvation to sanctification, it’s by the grace of God.
Besides, even the best heathens are still unrighteous. True, they may not be adulterers (at least physically), murderers, drug dealers, or any person who’s obviously on their way to Hell in the eyes of both Christians and unsaved people. I see a very sinful person and I can tell the person is in danger of Hell. However, the best of heathens still fall sort of the glory of God. How often do pagans break the first two commandments? First, they don’t worship the God of the Bible. Second, there’s the use of graven images for worship. Worse, they have spun lies that they believe are true. If you get God wrong, you get everything wrong. It becomes so stupid in saying that lying isn’t okay but there’s no absolute truth in religion. Let’s stick to the facts yet facts aren’t facts when it comes to religion–according to the postmodern viewpoint.
As James 2:10-011 says–if you’ve broken even one of God’s commandments then you broke them all. Sure, someone hasn’t cheated on their spouse but they may have lusted after someone. Sure, they didn’t give into the lust and resisted temptation but the standard for adultery has been broken. Sure, they haven’t been lying about their taxes, they do business honestly. However, the moment they promote another god–they’re lying about Who God is. The moment they say Jesus isn’t the eternal Son of God–they’re lying about who Jesus is. An infinitely moral God isn’t like the pagan gods who can be interpreted in so many ways. God is absolute, the Truth is absolute, and religious truth is no different. People are fallen and need a Savior. There’s no middle ground at all.
That’s why God the Father sent His only Son. It’s because God the Father sees mankind’s plight and blindness. Jesus died on the cross for our sins because even the slightest sin blocks people from Heaven. Any true salvation results in a changed life. Only fake converts will think they have a license to sin. Truly saved people may still fall into sin but they’ll never fall indefinitely into sin. The big difference is that Christian good works is committed not for salvation but as an inevitable result of it.
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