Don't Be a Jerk!

10/28/18     
 Jonathan and Troy  (video)     
mid-20's

 “Don’t be a jerk!” the guy told me during a sidewalk gospel outreach conversation.

This surprised me.  No one had really put it like this to me before.  I laughed when he said this because I actually found it to be a very refreshingly simple way to explain what he was thinking.

Let me explain.

I was asking Troy and his friend Jonathan on the sidewalk about their beliefs.  Rather than responding with anger and calling me names, like I thought strangers on the street would often do before I started actually giving them a chance, they responded with interest and honesty.  And Troy’s honestly simple explanation of what he believes it takes to go to heaven was “Don’t be a jerk!”

What he meant was what many people believe about being a “good person”: to avoid any kind of ugly extremism – being too selfish, too rude, too negative, too unbelieving and yes, too religious.  In short, if you are a jerk, you are in danger of going to hell but if you are basically nice to others, you will go to heaven.

This might be a reasonable belief if one thinks the standard by which to measure our good behavior is other people.  There are plenty of jerky people in the world to compare ourselves to and we can always find someone who makes us look and feel better by comparison.

But other people will not be our standard of comparison.  On judgment day, we will be measured by God’s holy law.  Paul wrote to people like ourselves when we think we stack up pretty good when compared with others:  “…you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?”  (Romans 2)

Paul was echoing Jesus’ emphasis on the law when He taught the Sermon on the Mount: 

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them… For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore, anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

It's not as simple as “Don’t be a jerk”.  James 2:10 tells us God’s holiness requires perfection:  “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” 

Since we’ve already broken God’s laws, this holy standard is beyond out reach.  Perfect repentance (also impossible) can’t erase the sins we’ve already committed.  We don’t want justice, we want mercy on judgment day.  This is the merciful forgiveness available to us through faith in Jesus.

“Don’t be a jerk” might fall short as a summary of the Gospel, but it is nonetheless good advice.  Although simply trying to be a good person can’t save us, being a jerk who is selfish, rude, negative, unbelieving and religious in the legalistic sense will probably cause us to miss hearing the good news of salvation in Jesus.  Jonathan and Troy were good-natured and kind enough to talk to a stranger on the street, and I did my best to return the favor by sharing the greatest news I’ve ever heard.

PS - Our conversation can be seen HERE