I didn't know mere mortals can "hurt" God.
The sinful acts of man do break God's heart.
Welp, I've definitely disappointed God quite a bit over the past year.
None of us can possibly live up to God's standards for us, which is why none of us can earn salvation by works. It's only because of penal substitution- because Christ died for us on the cross- that those who put their faith in Him can go to Heaven.
While my church does not teach PSA, I totally agree with the thrust of your post here. Too many people in the world today think that their acts will carry them and that if they are just generally nice people then they are assured a ticket into Heaven. We are saved by the sacrifice of the Son of God, and not by our own deeds.
To be honest, while I don't really consider myself a Christian (so maybe I should not be commenting but oh well), I am always very surprised by this kind of take.
It always feels "off" to me that your actions in this world don't really matter and that you will be saved exclusively by your faith in God.
Too many unambiguously bad actions have been performed in the name of God for me to truly believe in something like that. I definitely think your actions should also weigh on whether you get a ticket ot heaven or not? (Faith should obviously be a pre-requisite, but is should not be the only requisite). You should indeed represent your faith by doing good deeds.
And the counter argument to this, while I get where it is coming from, always feels like a "No true Scotman" type fallacy at worst; or like "putting the cart before the horse" in some way at best.
Faith is actualized in a turning away from sin and a turning towards God. We must wish to fulfill God's will and live our lives in a way that is pleasing to Him. Good acts are not salvific, and it is impossible that they could be since our actions always fall short of the glory of God. But the intention to do good is paramount to having a true living faith in God.
You are right that Christians in the past have done much evil. Everyone has done evil in their lives and everyone has earned condemnation. Yet we are not all condemned. If we feel sorrow for our evil deeds, ask God for forgiveness, and pick ourselves up again, we will be forgiven. But the key is to feel sorrow, to understand that what we have done is wrong, and understand that redemption is a grace of God and not of our own acts.
If you keep living your life in faith and repentance, always rejecting and confessing bad acts when you commit them, you should find that you begin doing fewer bad things and more good things. At that point you are closer to God, not because of the good deeds you perform, but because of the life that produces those good deeds, which is being transformed by the glory of God.
Does that help explain my point of view?
Poll
