Now this is really frightening

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” H. P. Lovecraft

 Recently, something very odd yet noteworthy came out of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Unless you’re a student of world religions, you’re probably not familiar with the name – Patriarch Kirill. As the Pope is the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Patriarch Kirill, is the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. 

  Archbishop Kirill is a very close friend of Vladimir Putin and his close political ally. This relationship has had serious theological ramifications.

  Recently, Patriarch Kirill said: “The church realizes that if somebody, driven by a sense of duty and the need to fulfill their oath, goes to do what their duty calls of them, and if a person dies in the performance of this duty, then they have undoubtedly committed an act equivalent to sacrifice. They will have sacrificed themselves for others and, therefore, we believe that this sacrifice washes away all the sins that a person has committed.”

  Wow! The head of the Russian Church said that. Basically, he promises the total forgiveness of sins for any soldier if the soldier dies on the battlefield in support of Mother Russia. According to Patriarch Kirill, if a soldier dies for Russia, he’s forgiven all of his sins and goes to heaven. It’s not just a frightening promise. It’s a life and absolutely unbiblical!

  We need to be very clear on this. There is no such message of salvation found anywhere in the Bible. It’s not the gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, it’s a repudiation of the gospel. It’s actually a perverse form of work’s righteousness, suggesting that these soldiers can earn salvation by the way they die on the battlefield. In other words, dying for Russia is a “good deed” and guarantees heaven for the one who died fighting for Russia.

  Tragically, this isn’t far from what many believe about going to heaven. They believe that you go to heaven because you’re a good person or that you obeyed the Ten Commandments or that you’re moral.

  But is being good a guarantee of heaven? It’s not what the Bible teaches. The Bible clearly says that it’s God’s grace because of Jesus' death and payment for sin on the cross that guarantees entry into heaven. It’s not anything we have done or can do. You can’t “do” anything to merit heaven.

  In spite of the obvious evidence to the contrary, most of us want to believe man is basically good. That’s hauntingly illustrated in the words of Anne Frank that she penned in her diary in 1944: “It's really a wonder I haven't dropped all my ideals because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.” While young Anne wanted to believe people were basically good, she and her family were hiding from the Nazis, who ultimately discovered them, sentencing them to the Death Camps. Being good enough to go to heaven has some major problems.

  Good deeds are arbitrary. First, who determines what the standard of goodness is? Me, you, the Dali Llama, the Pope? Is it the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule, or the Five Pillars of Islam we must adhere to? What’s good enough for God to let us into heaven?

  Then, how many really keep them? In one religious discussion group, someone asked, “What’s good enough to get someone into heaven?" Some responded, "You have to keep the Ten Commandments and follow the Golden Rule." That was followed up by another question, "So how many keep those two things (the Ten Commandments & the Golden Rule)?" The answer: "Even though we don't keep them perfectly, we should all do our best." A third question followed: "Do any of you do your best all the time?"

  No one could respond with anything near a resounding "Yes," so the group lowered the standard again. They felt if you tried to do your best most of the time, you’d make it. But what does most of the time mean? Does it mean 51% or 90%? In the end, they admitted they were unable to determine the level of commitment that was necessary for salvation.   

  Good deeds offer no assurance of salvation. Those who believe being good gets you into heaven live in the realm of “I hope so.” If you talk to someone trusting in their goodness to get them into heaven and ask them, "Are you going to go to heaven?" They’ll nearly always say, "I hope so."

  A standard of good deeds ultimately asks God to approve of evil. Any system which demands less than perfection must allow some evil, and then must also ask God to approve of this evil. But if God allowed imperfect people into heaven, heaven would no longer be perfect. Heaven is a place without any suffering or sin, not just a place where there is minimal suffering and sin (Rev. 21-22). If you had a pitcher of 100% pure water and added just a little bit of poison, would you still want to drink it?

  The Bible teaches the impossibility of being good. Going to Heaven is only possible through Jesus Christ. We’ll never be good enough. It’s why Jesus died on the cross for our sins.

  God in His justice demands payment for our sins and God in His love offers the substitute. Jesus Christ is our substitute. He paid our debt on the cross of Calvary. “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Jesus Christ, God's perfect Son, died and paid the total price for our sins so that we could be forgiven and go to heaven to live for all eternity. It’s what John 3:16 is all about. Salvation is a free gift from God.

  When someone gives you a gift, they paid for it. Your responsibility is to simply accept it. Patriarch Kirill is wrong and so is anyone else who believes “good deeds” can earn heaven. Only trusting that Jesus died for your sins brings God’s forgiveness and the promise of eternal life.

  Wonderfully, this means there is hope for everyone. Anyone can be saved no matter how good or bad they’ve been. Becoming a Christian means trusting in Christ so much that you risk your eternity on what the Bible says and what the Lord Jesus did for you in His life and in His death.

  My friend, are you a Christian? First, you must admit that you’re not a good person. Then, come to Jesus, run to the Cross, and ask Him to be your Lord and Savior? Will you do that? That’s what the Bible says. That’s true forgiveness and it’s how we know that we’re going to heaven.   

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