Christians have a message which we believe the whole world needs to hear. It tells us that God made us to live one way, we've chosen to live a different way, and the outcome of that rebellion against our creator has been ruin and misery. As a result there will be a judgement day when God will destroy this world and then make a perfect world where God himself will live. And with God, in that new world, will live many people from this world.
But who will these people be? Well on judgement day God will examine every person who has ever lived. Those who have remained rebels will have no part in that future world. But many others will have been rescued from their guilty rebellion. These are the people who follow Jesus Christ.
Now that message is a very black and white one. You are either on one side or the other. Those with Christ are safe; those without Christ are lost. But when Christians say this to other people then one of the responses we hear is this one: "But what about all the good people who aren't Christians? Won't God invite them to live with Him forever?" And that's our topic.
To begin with, let's understand what is being said. This response is saying that God's judgement ought to be about how people have behaved not simply whether they are Christians or not. In other words, there is a standard of goodness with which we must all be compared and our future happiness ought to depend upon how we measure up to it. But what is the standard? Well I think that when people look at their fellow human beings, they often put them into one of four categories.
Category number one is the 'especially good people'. These are the people who are particularly admired by others. This category includes people who selflessly devote their lives to the direct care of others, like Mother Theresa. It also includes those who are admired for fighting to improve things for humanity, like Martin Luther-King Junior. And it also includes those who are admired for giving 'good ideas' to the human race, like the Dali Lama.
Now I'm not being overly precise but hopefully you get the general idea. 'Especially good people' are those whose lives, in some way, bring about great good to others. Of course, I've named some of the famous ones but there are plenty more who are not famous.
Category number two is the 'ordinary good people' and most people would probably put themselves into this group. These are people who have lived in ordinary ways: been good members of society, cared for their families and so on.
Category number three is the 'wayward people'. I guess this category includes those individuals who are prone to criminal activity, although not of the nastiest sort. Often it includes careless people who live lives which are troublesome and upsetting to others. People who could do with some improving.
Category number four is the 'evil people'. These are the people who have fallen right outside of any definition of good. In fact the definition of good may well be not to be like these people. In this category are dictators like Adolf Hitler, Pol Pot and Joseph Stalin, along with murderers like Thomas Hamilton, Peter Sutcliffe, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.
So I've given you four categories to slot people's behaviour into: especially good people; ordinary good people; wayward people; and evil people. I'm not saying that this is the way that I think of others. All I'm doing is trying to describe what other people mean when they talk about our standard of behaviour.
Now what is clear from these categories is this: people tend to think there is a spectrum of goodness in the human race. We range from one extreme to the other, and anywhere in between. And so people ask if it's fair for God simply to come along and deal with this whole scale of people, as though they are all the same. Why should only people who have put their faith in Jesus be those who are given eternal life?
However, there is one major problem with this view. We've made up these categories for ourselves. We've defined the standard by which everyone should be judged; to which everyone should be compared. But who says we've got the standard right?
And if we're honest, don't we in fact know that we've got the standard wrong? If you ask anyone about their life, whatever category they fall into, virtually all people will admit to not being perfect. Even the most selfless person can look back on failings in their lives. People they have mistreated. Things they should never have said. Brothers/sisters they've argued with. Thoughts and actions they are ashamed of. You can find people who seem heroic in one part of their lives and yet if you examine another area, such as the relationship with their wife, you find somebody who is incapable of showing the same kindness and selflessness to someone they claim to love. We know we're not what we should be.
And don't we see that even more clearly when we look at how our race has lived over the centuries? The wars we have fought with one another. The hatreds and jealousies which have existed between different communities. The bitternesses and cruelties which have been inflicted behind the closed doors of family homes. When you start actually to look at the way we behave, you know that something isn't right. The human race is falling short of a standard, not meeting one.
You see the real standard for goodness is God's standard, and it is much higher than our own and we know it. That's why we live with this sense of falling short, of failing. That's why we demand behaviour of other people, which we ourselves then fail to keep in our own lives. One moment telling our children off for selfishness before then acting thoroughly selfishly towards our husband or wife. There is a higher standard which we know everyone should keep. It is God's standard. And our consciences nag us about that.
We know that God's standard is real and it is the one which matters in the end, because he is the one who has made all things. And He has the right to judge others in the light of it. But when we are compared with his standard then we shall all fail: we shall be unfit to live in the world he is making new.
But isn't it still going a bit far to say that God will bring eternal judgement upon people for falling a little short? Fair enough that He might really go for those people on the evil end of the scale. But shouldn't He be a bit less harsh with those further up?
But if everyone on the scale is unfit for God's purposes, then what else can He do? The Bible tells us that God intends on creating a world which is perfect, where everything and everyone does act just as they should do. A world of genuine happiness, peace, satisfaction and delight. But if you can't meet that standard, then you would spoil that world. God couldn't have you there.
Imagine I run a coach company and I advertise for a new coach driver. A chap comes to me who during interview explains that he suffers from a physical problem which makes him black out - go completely unconscious - for around two minutes every so often. And this can happen at any time although there is normally quite a few weeks in between attacks. Well I can't employ him as a driver can I? Even though most of the time he's fine. Even though he explains to me that his condition is much better than other patients at the hospital where he is seen. Still this problem ultimately means he's unfit for the job.
Well that is God's problem with us. When he looks at us, he finds a serious problem. The Bible calls it sin. It is this problem within us which leads us astray, which leads us to do wrong things, things which spoil the world. Our symptoms may be different from one another: you've not killed people the way Dennis Nilsen did. But the problem of sin remains leaving you unfit for the perfect world which God will make one day. You are part of the problem with this world, just like I am. Neither of us can be trusted by God.
But can't God just redefine His standard and realise that human beings will never be perfect? Isn't it just a bit extreme of God to insist on this absolute standard. No it isn't. That would be like my imaginary coach driving applicant saying "Look I don't see why I should be penalised when most of the time I'll be alright." But the point is not how often he is dangerous, but just the fact that he is a danger on the roads.
Well can't God see that all my good points make up for my bad points? But again, that's like the coach driver saying "But look, when I'm not blacking out I'm one of the best drivers out there. I've passed many advanced driving tests." It doesn't help, does it, because the man remains a danger.
Well can't God just put some safety measures in to make sure any problems I cause are made good afterwards? Like the coach driving applicant saying "Well can't you put another driver alongside me? So that if I black out, he can grab the wheel!" But the answer is "no". That would still be too dangerous.
There is no alternative solution. The man is unfit for the job. There are only two options with this man. He either cannot be a coach driver or his problem must be cured.
It's the same for us. Without a cure our sin will always ruin whatever world we live in. Even the best of the people spoils this world in some way. Which is why it is only those who have faith in Jesus Christ who will live in God's new world one day. It's not because we think we're better than other people. You can find Christians who have been in every one of the categories that I used earlier. Rather we can only live there because Jesus Christ has brought the cure for sin to us.
So what will you do? Will you spend your life arguing with your maker about the standard of goodness he ought to use? Or will you see the real problem and come to Jesus Christ for the cure? Today your sin can de dealt with and you can be promised eternal life. As the Bible says: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.