Rushwavefrom the book Why I Love God
22: What God Does Not Require
Knowing the bad news, you can now hear the good news.
Friend, it is because you are liable to God’s judgment that He sent His only begotten Son into the world. It was so that through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross, He may freely grant those who trust Him for salvation. Jesus taught:
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16
There is one and only one condition God requires to be spared from perishing. It is to “believe” in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son whom God gave to die for the sins of the world. But it is exceedingly important to understand what God is requiring when it is said to “believe” in Jesus Christ. In seeking to bring clarity on this subject, I will repeat much of what I have said in other parts of my testimony, but it all bears repeating. And I will use words like “we” and “us” because everything applies not only to you, but to I myself, and every person in this fallen world.
God is not asking us for our good works; we have none to give, and as scripture says all our righteous deeds are as disgusting as a decaying corpse or a filthy menstrual rag. God is not asking us to make a solemn vow or adopt some new resolutions to be a good person; we have broken promises before, and cannot be trusted. God is not even asking us to try and be good people; we would not faithfully fulfill such a high moral obligation, and our notions of right and wrong are all distorted anyway. He is also not asking us to vow, resolve or commit to live a life of obedience and submission to His Son Jesus Christ as Lord; it does not lie within us to keep such a promise.
But there are many other things God is not asking from us, at least not as a condition for being forgiven and saved. He is not asking us to be baptized. Baptism is very important, and it is something God commands a new believer to do as an outward profession of faith, but it does not save us. God is also not asking us to resolve to regularly attend church, help the poor, love our enemies, live holy lives, or anything else. All these things are important, and God Himself does indeed command believers to do them. God even commands believers to be careful to engage in and maintain good works, but not as a basis or condition for being forgiven. God knows we are completely and utterly morally bankrupt. And if His saving us was conditioned on our resolutions, commitments, vows, good intentions, or willingness to follow through and be obedient, we would all be lost.
from the book Why I Love God
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