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It is inevitable. We will all go to a funeral at some point in our life. We pay our respects to the grieving family and share our sorrow with friends of the deceased. As we reminisce about the individual who has passed away, people will often make a comment similar to this: “He was such a good man. He loved his family and would do anything for his friends. I just know God welcomed him into Heaven with open arms.” I feel a deep sense of sadness when I hear comments like this. Unless this person accepted Jesus Christ as his savior, good is just not enough.
I know. This sounds harsh and cruel. How could someone who spent their life doing only good for their friends and family be sentenced to eternal separation from God? There is an account in Luke which might help us to understand this. In Luke 7:1-10 we read the account of Jesus and the Centurion. The Centurion was a Gentile, a soldier in the army of Herod Antipas, who lived in Capernaum. As a Centurion he was at the top of society. He was wealthy, literate and a model citizen. Several of the disciples—Peter, Andrew, James, and John--were from Capernaum and probably knew about this man. This Centurion had financed the building of a synagogue for the Jews in Capernaum. The synagogue was beautiful, situated by the Sea of Galilee, and built so it faced the holy city of Jerusalem. He was well respected and loved by the Jewish population in Capernaum.
We also know, from the text in Luke, he was a kind man who cared about his servants. One of the Centurion’s servants, whom he highly valued, was sick and about to die (Luke 7:2). We can assume, because of his position and financial means, the Centurion perhaps consulted with the best physicians in Capernaum in an attempt to heal his servant. They had been unable to cure him and now the servant was near death. The Centurion knew Jesus was in Capernaum and in desperation he asked some Jewish elders to approach Jesus and request him to come heal his servant. The elders did not hesitate to go to Jesus because of their respect for this man.
The elders approached Jesus and it says they “pleaded earnestly with him, ‘This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue’.” (Luke 7:4-5 NIV) Basically, they were telling Jesus, “This Centurion is a good man and he deserves your help.” There is no doubt this military officer was an upright man evidenced by his many acts of kindness but being good was not enough. The Jewish elders did not recognize this but the Centurion did. Jesus was on his way to the Centurion’s home when he was met by some friends of the officer. They relayed a message to Jesus from the Centurion. “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.” (Luke 7:6-7 NIV)
The Centurion recognized Jesus was operating under a higher, spiritual authority. As an officer he understood the hierarchy of power. He commanded between 50-100 men and was responsible for their training and discipline. He told his soldiers what to do and where to go and expected complete obedience from them. He knew they would do what he told him. Because of his military background, and recognizing Jesus’ authority, the Centurion had faith and was convinced one word from the Lord would heal his servant.
Luke 7:9 tells us Jesus was amazed at the Centurion’s faith. Here was a Gentile, not part of the nation of Israel, who had faith in the power and person of Christ. The Jews, who should have recognized him, would not accept him as their Messiah. (John 1:11) They continued to live in a mindset of believing their obedience to the law, and being moral people, would save them. Their own words prove this in verse 5 when they tell Jesus the Centurion deserves help because of his good works. However, it was the Centurion’s recognition of his unworthiness and his faith in Jesus which ultimately resulted in the healing of his beloved servant.
People spend their lives doing wonderful deeds for others. We all know individuals who sacrifice their time and money to help all manner of charitable causes. We also know people who are devoted to their families and love and take care of them. They are admired and respected because of their good works but this is not enough. As moral as we can try to be, we are still sinful and it is sin which makes us unworthy and separates us from God. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV) Our noble deeds can’t save us. It is only by having faith in Jesus, and believing in him, which guarantees our entrance in God’s presence. (John 1:12)
We want to believe God would not allow a good person to be separated from the glory of heaven but our attempts at goodness are outweighed by the burden of sin we carry. The only way to alleviate the stigma of sin is by believing in the sacrifice Jesus Christ made in bearing the punishment for our sins. Our faith and not our works is the criteria for being acceptable to God. We need to share the truth with a world which does not understand being an upright person is not good enough. It is vital so they can have confidence their faith in Jesus Christ, and not their virtuous works, will enable them to spend eternity in God’s presence.
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