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20th September 2011 by Amy Peterson

“To be a Christian, I just have to be a good person!”

Ever heard this before? Many people have the wrong idea about what it is to be a Christian. Even some Christians think that all they have to do to be saved is be a “good” person. But what does God say about this?

It’s not your debt to pay

If we are to live our lives like this we are ultimately saying that the blood Jesus shed for us was not good enough for our salvation. We are saying “Sorry God, but your son’s death wasn’t good enough for me so I’m going to work my way to heaven by my good works!” Wow! That’s pretty offensive, don’t you think?

Jesus gives you salvation freely! He has payed the debt for you. You don’t have to try to gain your salvation. There is no amount of good works, no matter how great, that can get you into heaven! It doesn’t matter how many Bible studies you attend, how many charities you give to, how many groups you are involved in or how many worship teams you are apart of ... they wont get you there!

But that’s what Christians do

So now you hear someone say, “But that’s what Christians do. They are just a bunch of nice people that do good things and are always happy!”  Take the verse Luke 6:46 for example: "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?”

One way we could interpret this verse is: “If I just obey God’s commands then that means God is Lord over my life. So if I just keep doing what is good then that means I’m a Christian, right?”

I’d like to look at this a little deeper. There is something quite lovely hidden in this verse.

When you are born again and have accepted Christ, you are filled with his Spirit. This Spirit is also the very nature of God. If we have received a new nature because we have accepted Christ into our lives and asked him to be Lord of our lives and we choose to walk in this new nature, then wouldn’t it come naturally to do what he says?

When I think that I have to do what he says, I freak out a little, knowing that in my own strength and nature I can’t do it. But if I have a nature in me that is divine, then to do what God says is simply natural and parallel with that nature.

So rather than doing what God says so he will be Lord over my life, doing what God says becomes the natural fruit of having God be Lord over my life.

How much more does seeing someone who does what God says glorify God?! It is not mere human strength doing this, but instead it is the very nature of God!!

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