When
asked if they believe they will go to heaven, many people respond by saying
“Well, I haven’t killed anybody!” What
they are assuming is that, although they know they aren’t perfect, they really
aren’t that bad, either. Dillon, the
young man I talk to in this video, is a great example of that. He says that he hasn’t committed any major
sins, and believes his chances of going to heaven are pretty good. He has attended a protestant church his whole
life, but like many he believes in the Catholic notion of “mortal sins” as
opposed to “venial sins” – much like the criminal idea of a “felony” as opposed
to a “misdemeanor”. In this way of
thinking, sin is categorized according to its severity, and a mortal sin will
very likely result in condemnation while a venial sin just a slap on the
wrist. This is based on a
misinterpretation of John 5, which reads “There is a sin that leads to death. I
am not saying that you should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there
is sin that does not lead to death.” What
sins lead to death and hell? Off the top
of his head, Dillon listed murder and adultery as examples. But if that is the case, as Jesus taught in
Matthew 5, anyone who has spoken in anger or had lustful thoughts would be
guilty. The fact is, the only sin that
leads to death is unforgiven sin, which means all sins potentially qualify -
should we refuse to receive that forgiveness – and all sins are potentially
disqualified since there is no sin that is so bad that Jesus’ sacrifice is not
worthy to pay the high cost of that forgiveness. Jesus speaks of this in Matthew 12:31: “And so I tell you, every kind of sin and
slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.” This “blasphemy against the Spirit” is the
rejection of the prompting of the Spirit that leads us to receive the
forgiveness found only in Jesus. Dillon
wrongly assumes this forgiveness can be bought through good behavior, so I took
him through a few of the Ten Commandments to help him see his guilt and need
for the Savior. In the end, I don’t
believe I did a very good job of impressing on Dillon, or, after we turned off
the camera, on his girlfriend Cindy, their need for repentance and faith in
Jesus, but I do think they will rethink their idea that they are good people
simply because they “haven’t murdered anybody”!
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