The Cross Closes The Gap - 1 Timothy 2:5

  
 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus . . .
- 1 Timothy 2:5

    Perhaps the greatest misunderstanding about salvation that most “good people” have is the notion that they can somehow be “good enough” to merit eternity in heaven based upon their basic “goodness.” I can’t tell you how many times I have heard folks say that they think they are basically good people and do not think that a good God would punish them for eternity. But how about a “holy God?”  “And one cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!’” - Isaiah 6:3.
    So what of our basic human goodness? Aren’t there at least some people who truly are, by design, “good people?” “As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one.’” - Romans 3:10-12.
    So, on one hand we have a holy God, a God who cannot be cajoled or fooled by our overestimation of our inherent goodness, a God whose sheer holiness demands justice and on the other hand we have a demographic of people who are erroneously convinced of their innate goodness. Who is right?
    The fact of the matter is as clear as the guilt in our hearts. There isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t sin, transgress God’s holy law. In some cases the transgression lies in the minutia; in others, our sinfulness is as darkly deep and cold as the tomb. That tomb represents a chasm, an unbridgeable gap “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” - Genesis 6:5. With the gap between our sinfulness and God’s holiness, how can we ever possibly be justified enough in the eyes of our holy God to merit eternal salvation? How do we close the gap? The simple answer is that we can’t. It is impossible for us to ever cross from our sinfulness to the level of righteousness that God demands of us. Yet the Bible promises us salvation, does it not? “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” - John 10:27-28.  Christ speaks to us of “My (His) “sheep.” So if we consider ourselves His sheep and we are as good as we can possibly be, doesn’t that provide us with a gate-pass to salvation?
    “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:9. Clearly, Scripture tells us that we must confess our sins to be forgiven; it never suggests that some of us may be just “good enough” to merit salvation. But there simply must be more - “But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.’” - Romans 10:8-9. So if we confess our sins and confess Christ raised from the dead we will be saved. Why? Why can’t we simply work our way to salvation? “But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” - Isaiah 64:6.
    But why Christ? “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” (- John 14:6) “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” - Acts 4:12.
    One final word of caution to those good people who remain convinced that their “good enough lives” will be “good enough” to merit salvation - “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” - John 3:36.
    Let us remain devoted to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ whose death on the Cross closes the gap between man and God.