Do you know people who arrogantly insist that if their good works outweigh their bad works, God is somehow obligated to accept them? That is the wrong idea, entirely. God has and never was obligated to accept any of us. He isn’t ever obligated to accept anyone, either. We all have one thing in common, we are all sinners in need of God’s rescue. If we continue to act as if we are somehow above God’s love and we demand He accept us into Heaven, just because we do something nice for our boss, our friends or our family, without being asked, we need a serious reality check.

God doesn’t have to even look towards us because of our good works. We are all wrong in some aspect of our lives and we sin every day. We need to embrace the fact that if we don’t change our ways, and repent of our sin, then there is no way we will ever get to heaven. Sure, that thought scares people, but it should also scare people into realizing that they too are in need of a savior and that they don’t make it to Heaven based on the works they do.

As you look around, what “fruit” do you see others bringing to the place of sacrifice instead of humbly approaching God through the blood of His Son? Some may state that they think they are better than others because of the work they do at their job, or the work they do in their home environment. Some people may think they need a pay raise because of how many hours and how much work they put in at their job, while they think others may deserve less. The truth is, we all deserve less than what God gives to us by His daily goodness and mercy, but he did the opposite of what He could have done. He showed his great love for us.

So many people think that they can only get to Heaven by doing good works. That really isn’t the case. People are saved by grace through faith. Not by the works they do. It says so in the Bible in Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not by works, so that no one can boast.”  Many people do not want to come to the place of sacrifice, which is the cross of Jesus Christ. They do not want to be in front of the cross confessing their sins, because it intensifies the conviction of their soul about their sin and judgment. Their sin is also a reminder that Heaven’s gate is closed to sinners. They don’t want to try and get near to God because they have the wrong idea about God. They think because of their sinful nature, God will strike them down and leave them for dead.

The beautiful truth is that, if they repent of their sins, He will forgive them and give them salvation freely. Then they will have a home in Heaven and a place in eternity waiting for them. So, instead of being afraid to admit that they are wrong and that they sin, and that they are too proud to come to God in forgiveness, they should admit it to Him before it is too late. Hello, we are all wrong and we all sin. Not one of us is perfect. But the good news is, God sees us in our brokenness and He still wants to get to know us and to have a personal relationship with us.

People are afraid of what others might see with them if they approach God, because many people in the world, are so judgmental about who God is, and what He does or can do to them because of their sins. They may never actually take the time to get to know God because they are afraid of Him. They have only heard horror stories about Him. Of course, some of the stories in the Bible are scary and even downright terrifying if you look in the book of Revelation, but anything can be scary if you don’t understand it personally. However, if you take the time to study God’s word, you will get to know who He is and how much He actually loves you.

So many people don’t think God will forgive their sins. God warns that “a man is not justified by observing the law,” Galatians 2:16. “Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin” Hebrews 9:22. Humble yourself, come to the cross, and thank God for the blood of Jesus that is sufficient to forgive any and all sin.

Look at everything and everyone Jesus forgave in the Bible. He forgave the tax collectors, the cheaters and adulterers, and the Israelites who worshiped the golden calf in the middle of the desert. Look how He forgave Jonah for running away from his tasks of telling the Ninevites to repent or they would be destroyed. Look how He changed Abraham’s wife Sarah and her unbelief about being pregnant with her firstborn.

Look at how He even changed Mary’s and Joseph’s mind when they both were told that Mary was pregnant out of immaculate conception. If God can forgive all of them, He can forgive all of us for our sins.  Remember, salvation is the way to Heaven, not by our good works. God sees what we do and He sees the things that we should do which we sometimes choose not to do. Don’t be too proud or arrogant to admit that you need God, because the truth is, we all are in need of Him and we wouldn’t be here without Him.