Many of you are probably scratching your heads at the title, but let me explain. First, we need to go over the traditional Christian doctrine of salvation:
1. All humans are sinners and deserve punishment in "Hell".
2. The triune God (Trinity: Father, Son, Holy Spirit) is all-loving but also all-just.
3. The Son became incarnate as a human being and lived a human life from birth. But did not commit a single sin his entire life.
4. The Son died on the cross for the whole world. Trading places with humanity. We get to go to heaven, and he suffers on the cross in our place.
5. However, to be "saved" (to trade places with Jesus) you must repent of your sins, and submit yourself to God completely.
6, You are permanently saved. No amount of sinning will jeopardize your entry into heaven. You are not seen with your life but with Jesus's life in front of the Father.
So essentially, you aren't saved by sinning less or doing good works. You are saved by God because you repented and gave your life to him. What I am calling "Salvation By Math" is the idea of "If I do more good than evil, I can earn my way to eternal life". This article is about why that (surprisingly common) idea is flawed...
1. All humans are sinners and deserve punishment in "Hell".
2. The triune God (Trinity: Father, Son, Holy Spirit) is all-loving but also all-just.
3. The Son became incarnate as a human being and lived a human life from birth. But did not commit a single sin his entire life.
4. The Son died on the cross for the whole world. Trading places with humanity. We get to go to heaven, and he suffers on the cross in our place.
5. However, to be "saved" (to trade places with Jesus) you must repent of your sins, and submit yourself to God completely.
6, You are permanently saved. No amount of sinning will jeopardize your entry into heaven. You are not seen with your life but with Jesus's life in front of the Father.
So essentially, you aren't saved by sinning less or doing good works. You are saved by God because you repented and gave your life to him. What I am calling "Salvation By Math" is the idea of "If I do more good than evil, I can earn my way to eternal life". This article is about why that (surprisingly common) idea is flawed...
The Nature Of Justice:
The fundamental flaw in this idea is the fact that good deeds do not negate sin. If you give $1500 to the homeless shelter, that doesn't excuse the fact that you stole $1500 from the local bank. Your sin still deserves punishment.
You may not like this, but who are you (or I for that matter) to question what God says is justice. We are flawed, sinful beings. Our separation from God for 50,000+ years has distorted our moral compass.
It really is this simple...your sins deserve punishment, period. There is no making up for them through good deeds.
You may not like this, but who are you (or I for that matter) to question what God says is justice. We are flawed, sinful beings. Our separation from God for 50,000+ years has distorted our moral compass.
It really is this simple...your sins deserve punishment, period. There is no making up for them through good deeds.
What If Salvation Through Math Worked?:
So, what if i'm wrong, what if good deeds really *did* negate the need for punishment of sins. Does this mean lots of people are still getting into heaven? What about me and you? Well...
I want you to think about this for a second - do you make a selfish, immoral choice everyday? Really think about it (honestly), and I think you will find that your answer is yes. In fact, I think most people probably commit at
least a dozen sins per day (probably more).
On the contrary, just how many good deeds do you average per day? I mean, how many actions to you perform that are motivated purely by selflessness and love, rather than self-serving.
If you find a $20 under the couch, what do you do with it? Use it to help someone, or use it to buy a snack?
If there is a car-wreck on the side of the road, are you more concerned with the accident or the traffic jam?
Do not think that I'm judging you, I'm not. I, just like all of you, am a sinner. All humans are sinners. That is the point. Humanity is rotten at it's core. If it weren't for both the crucifixion and carefully picked interventions in human history by God, all of humanity would have destroyed itself several times over by now.
All (or at least close to all) humans commit more sins than good deeds. There is no excuse. There is no wiggle-room. The only way out is the gift graciously given to us by God. You are in no place to question God's moral actions.
So please, tell people who use this line of logic to do a bit of self-reflection. If the world really were a "how many good deeds have you committed compared to evil deeds?" model, nobody would go to heaven. It just doesn't work.
Thanks for reading!
I want you to think about this for a second - do you make a selfish, immoral choice everyday? Really think about it (honestly), and I think you will find that your answer is yes. In fact, I think most people probably commit at
least a dozen sins per day (probably more).
On the contrary, just how many good deeds do you average per day? I mean, how many actions to you perform that are motivated purely by selflessness and love, rather than self-serving.
If you find a $20 under the couch, what do you do with it? Use it to help someone, or use it to buy a snack?
If there is a car-wreck on the side of the road, are you more concerned with the accident or the traffic jam?
Do not think that I'm judging you, I'm not. I, just like all of you, am a sinner. All humans are sinners. That is the point. Humanity is rotten at it's core. If it weren't for both the crucifixion and carefully picked interventions in human history by God, all of humanity would have destroyed itself several times over by now.
All (or at least close to all) humans commit more sins than good deeds. There is no excuse. There is no wiggle-room. The only way out is the gift graciously given to us by God. You are in no place to question God's moral actions.
So please, tell people who use this line of logic to do a bit of self-reflection. If the world really were a "how many good deeds have you committed compared to evil deeds?" model, nobody would go to heaven. It just doesn't work.
Thanks for reading!