See That Sinner Over There?
“Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Luke 13:2-3……///…..“Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.” Luke 18:19
See that sinner over there? You know the one? Over there. Yeah, look in that direction. You know the one. Doing you know what. Shhh. Don’t say it aloud. It’s disgusting. Talk about sin. Talk about despicable sin. Wickedness. Awful. An abomination. Now that’s sin if you’ve ever seen it, isn’t it? Good thing you’ve got your life together. That you don’t do what that person’s doing. Talk about a reality check that you’ve got your life in order. That you’re not a sinner. Okay, so you mess up once in a while. Okay, maybe a little more than a once in a while. But still. Nothing like that person. And in the grand scheme of things, your mess-ups, your mistakes, your little shortfalls, your shortcomings, well, yeah, well, they can hardly count. In comparison anyway. After all, you’re a good person, aren’t you? It’s all relative. And considering what that person over there is doing, harrumph, hell is going to be too busy with someone like that person to give the time of day to let alone have an open spot for someone like you. Of your good standing. Yeah. Aha.
If you think this is some far-fetched little story of fiction, think again. I spoke to a woman once who said she considers herself a good person, a non-sinner essentially, based on the fact that other people do a heck of a lot worse than she does. Just take a look at the front page news, or the evening news, or one good look at the world around us. This, I understood from our conversation, was her justification for why she didn’t need God, His forgiveness, and the promise of eternal life. Not to mention she didn’t believe in heaven and hell. Or God. Yet. For I do pray continually she will come to see and believe. But this isn’t about her anyway. It’s about you – and me. The truth is none of us is good (Rom. 3:10). No matter how we think we compare to those people over there and their sins, we all need God and His forgiveness which we can only have when we repent and believe in Christ as Lord and turn our lives over to God and His ways. We all will spend eternity apart from Him in hell and the lake of fire unless we believe in and devote our lives to Christ. It has nothing to do with what those other people are doing over there. Even Jesus said He wasn’t good, and that the only one who is good is God. In the verses above, Jesus makes clear if the people thought those other people were worse sinners, they needed to wake up and realize they themselves needed repentance just like the rest of us. Or they also would perish. Hell has plenty of room for all of us. Unless we humble ourselves, repent, and turn to Christ forever. Ready?