GOOD WORKS NOT ACCEPTE

GOOD WORKS NOT ACCEPTED

I was sitting among a huge congregation listening to Rev Kanishka Raffel, Dean of Sydney Anglican Church who was preaching on Acts 10. Suddenly I realized that the story of Cornelius is acrucial warning to the world, and we need to be serious about it.  The story of Cornelius is the historical fact that proves that good works are not the legitimate pre-requisite spend eternal life with God.This is an exclusive story in The Bible where we find that good work only do not content God. Priya and I were attending 2016 CMS Summer School at Katoomba, NSW where Rev Raffle was the main speaker.His exposition on the Book of Acts is not to be missed.

We are in the post-modern era where man is glorified more over God. The clear evidence of this is ample around us. Look at the billboards, check the commercials on TV and the internet, watch the posters on the walls, all are deifying man and his works. Spirit of magnificence of man and his good work has crept into the churches too. The Old Testament has told us centuries ago that our good works are filthy rags. Isaiah 64:6 says, “But we are all like an unclean thing,And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags.” This verse doesn’t mean that we should stop doing good deeds to uplift and support people and care for them. The point here is that by our good works only, we cannot win an Admit One ticket to Heaven. How could Prophet Isaiah declare that “all our righteousnesses” are dirty linen? Yet he does so, because standard of God is higher than ours. HIS scale to measure our works is perfect.  We invent our own scale and weigh our works and always find it to be appraisable. If we do not invent our own scales and use others’, we can justify that we are do not self-praise and earn ourselves another ‘brownie point’.  Still using others’ scales, and even earning their praises and recommendations, we still do not qualify for a room in Paradise. I can invent my own standards to measure a good work; similarly 7 billion people invent their own scales and judge the good works. None of these billions of standards, not even one, not even the scale of the most righteous person on the earth, are acceptable to God, because HE has made us. We have not created HIM. HE is our Father; we are HIS children only and not HIS siblings. HE is our Teacher; we learn from HIM only and are not the co-author of wisdom.  HE is our Commander; we follow HIS orders only, and not plan out a strategy with HIM. HE is our Master, we are HIS slaves. Once we understand the vital hierarchy between God and man, it becomes easy to understand and accept what Isaiah alludes in chapter 64. We people end us messing their relationship with Godin the absence of such thoughtfulness about the order. Lucifer the leader of all angels in Heaven did not respect the hierarchy and got expelled from the Heaven. Even in our daily life when we do not respect the chain of command, the outputs turn out to be disastrous. Discerning reverence to the order in our relationship to God would also show us why our good works would not generate enough power to enter Heaven.

Cornelius, as per the information found in Acts 10, was a very righteous man. He was a Centurion in the Roman Army. A centurion would command one hundred soldiers. Cornelius was a devout man and he feared God. Though Cornelius was a Gentile and he had options to worship multiple gods, yet he worshipped one, making him a monotheist. It is reasonableto accept that being a centurion and being inan influential position in the society, he might have been in the company of Jews, and would have picked their traditions about veneratingGod. He and his whole family revered the fear of God. They were very devout in their worship. Cornelius would do things that God has commanded to the Jews. He was generous in giving alms to the less fortunate. He would pray to God regularly and look forward to enjoy a strong bond with HIM. Though we do not have much information about Cornelius, but looking at the evidences given in Acts 10, we can satisfactorily gather that he would not have done anything to displease God.

Cornelius’life presents a good model of righteousness. God was happy with him. When God is happy with you what else you would need in life? We all look forward to please God, which is good. Yet we need to be sure of the ways to please God. Cornelius had left nothing behind in earning a favour from God. Perhaps, this zeal for God would have made him fully satisfied in his heart that his prize in Heaven was confirmed. Yet God knew what Cornelius has not qualified for the prize. God senta message to him through an angel,with intent to inform him that he was wanting. Visit by the angel confirms that God is impartial and HE does care for people irrespective of their cosmetic differences, and HE cares for people of all races and tribes. The angel told Cornelius that God was happy with his devotion. The angel also told Cornelius to meet Simon Peter. God delivered a message to Peter through an angel about what he was to tell the centurion. God arranged to plug in the hole in Cornelius life. It is very reasonable to assume that Cornelius in his official position would have known about Jesus since the book of Acts was written within 25-30 years of after Jesus, yet but he did not know Jesus.

Since God has sent HIS only begotten Son Jesus Christ to the earth to die for the sins of all mankind, and to pave the way for all people on the earth to Heaven, all other ways do not reach the Heaven. This exclusive claim is based on the words of Jesus in two verses found in John’s Gospel. First is inJohn 14:6 where Jesus declares imperatively, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”. Another verse is in John 6:44, No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.According to these both verses there is no other way to meet God except accepting through Jesus Christ. Also these two verses open a door to the understanding to find who Jesus is in reality. Since The LORD had sent Jesus on the earth on a very special mission, therefore now God cannot accept anyone into Heaven who does not accept Jesus as his Saviour. Knowing about Jesus does not cut. Under this provision, Cornelius was not to attain the eternal life with God till he had accepted Jesus as his Lord. Hence, God organized for Peter, who was with Jesus while HE was on the earth, to go and preach Cornelius about Jesus.

It is evident from the story of Cornelius that any type of good work ranging from helping people and animals, to fighting to preserve nature,to give up own possessions for others, to sacrifice own life to benefit others would earn an entry into Heaven till a person accepts Jesus Christ as his Saviour. If accepting Jesus as the Lord in life was not the only pre-requisite for Heaven, God would not have let Cornelius hear about Jesus Christ.

It is not worth missing the bus, since there is only life. Hence, heed the small voice of God in the hearts and respond appropriately.