Yesterday, during a call-in radio program, I overheard a conversation between a pastor and a caller regarding whether or not mankind was evil. The conversation centered around the topic of lying and if a person who lies is evil in the sight of God, as opposed to someone, say, guilty of murder. The pastor did an excellent job of deconstructing the argument of the caller to try and show that all people are considered evil and in need of salvation. The caller did not appear to be convinced despite not using any scriptural evidence to support their argument. Their argument was based totally on personal experience and feelings. We have all called an individual a “good” person based on whatever criteria we deem sufficient to pronounce a person to be good. Normally, it is based on how they treat us, if they treat others well, or if they are a law-abiding, taxpaying citizen. Given that criteria, the vast majority of the world would fall into the category of a good person. I am left to wonder if this type of ideology is behind the belief that all religions lead to Heaven or questions like “Why would a loving God send a person to Hell?” It is this form of leaning on our own understanding which leads to making judgments about the eternal destination of other individuals. Nearly everybody will agree that the Adolf Hitler’s, Saddam Hussein’s and Ted Bundy’s of the world are evil and go to Hell. But, anybody who hasn’t gone as far off the deep end as they have, are deemed good enough to enter Heaven. It is like saying, “If I were God, I would send _____________ to Heaven and ___________ to Hell.” But, the next person will come along and set their own set of criteria that may or may not line up with our own. Thus, you never have an agreed upon standard in which to judge anybody by.
"Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. "Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.' "But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. "Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.' So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. "But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless. "Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' "For many are invited, but few are chosen." Matthew 22:1-14
We have all thrown parties or been invited to parties. And there are times when we wished we could attend a party, but were not invited. The reason invitations are sent out is because there are only a certain amount, or type, of people we want around us. Most of us wouldn’t invite the aforementioned Hitler, Hussein or Bundy to a party. We don’t share their values or beliefs and we want to protect ourselves, and those we invited to the party, from their form of anti-social and criminal behavior. This is normal and is to be expected. Then why are we surprised if God is just as discriminatory when it comes to who He invites to be in Heaven with Him? The parable of the Wedding Banquet gives us insight into God's thinking. God brought salvation to the Jews in the Person of Jesus Christ. However, they rejected the offer to the point where they persecuted those who were trying to tell them of God's offer. Therefore, God sent salvation to the Gentiles. The invitation God sent out was predicated on belief in Jesus Christ. Yet, there are those who will insist on entering the Kingdom of God based on their own merits, and not on those of the Lord. These are the people who will be thrown out and into the darkness, weeping and gnashing their teeth. God desires all mankind to be saved, but there is the one condition of faith in Jesus Christ.
"Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD... "Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man's design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead." Acts 17: 22-23, 29-31
Those individuals that are trying to get into heaven without "wedding clothes," are those that are very relgious and worship things made by man's design and skill. We look in awe at ancient cultures like the Egyptians of Africa and the Mayan and Aztec cultures of Mexico and South America. Their design and skill, to this day, baffle the brightest minds the world has to offer. Artifacts like the pyramids, the Sphinx, the Colossal Heads and giant obolisques, to name just a few, are a testimony of the great lengths man goes to in order to develop their objects of worship. Yet, with all their dedication to these idols they still didn't know the one true God of the Bible. It is no different today. Are our cathedrals, temples and shrines any less significant to us than the structures built by previous civilizations? Of course not! Like those civilizations, we believe our objects of worship are substituting for what only can be achieved through faith in Jesus Christ. Just like the UNKNOWN GOD Paul talked about in Athens, most of mankind today doesn't know God either, despite all their great efforts to impress Him. Unless, they repent of their unbelief and accept Jesus Christ by faith, they will be cast from the wedding because they were clothed in their own righteousness and not that of Jesus Christ.
"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen." Romans 1: 18-25
To answer those who ask how God can send someone to Hell, I would ask them to consider, "Why should a just God allow people into His Kingdom who turned their backs on Him?" The reason man is considered evil by God is because they suppress the truth about Him, don't glorify Him or give Him thanks in order to chase after the desires of their darkened hearts. Actually, this is an act of love because God will not force anybody to love Him and will grant them their wish to live their lives apart from Him. However, don't expect that grace to last any longer than the individual has breath in their lungs or blood coursing through their veins. Remember, He is God and He sets the rules. It is His "wedding banquet" for "His Son" and if we don't want to do what is necessary to enter the banquet, we won't get in. It doesn't matter what we believe should be the criteria for determining who is good and who is evil. God's standard is the only standard that matters. And He leveled the playing field by saying we are all evil. But, thanks be to God that nobody is bad enough to miss out on Heaven or good enough to earn it. God calls all of us, "good and bad" alike, to His banquet. All He asks is that we have been "clothed in Christ." Amen.
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