Last night during our mock conversation between an unbeliever and a believer there was an interesting question that Greg raised about doing good things. He wondered if he could just not have to deal with believing in Jesus and simply do good things and he would make it to heaven. I'd like to take that question a little further and hear how you guys would respond to such a question if it were raised to you because it is such a common question and it demands a good answer. First off, let's just be clear that getting to heaven is not the goal of our Christian faith and practice. Getting people to heaven is not God's goal and therefore it cannot be our goal either. It seems that I have to repeat this fact over and over again because it has been so entrenched in our thinking to believe that entrance into heaven is the goal that it is hard to believe otherwise. The goal is redemption of a messed up creation and created order. Heaven is merely a short stop on the long journey towards the final result of that redemption. So, let me restate the question (assuming that going to heaven is not the goal of being a Christian): if we spent the majority of our time and energy loving others around us and doing good works then why would we need Jesus in any way to experience salvation?
Your thoughts?
