It's Not About Being Good

One day Samson went to the Philistine town of Gaza and spent the night with a prostitute. [Judges 16.1] 

Christians, can you imagine if we had been taught this verse when we were children in Sunday School?

"Mommy, what does it mean that Samson spent the night with a prostitute??"

The thing is, Samson was not a perfect person. In fact, Samson might have been a bit of a womanizer.

Fast forward to the New Testament:

How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets. By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight. [Hebrews 11.32-34]

Even though Samson killed a lot of Philistines, we really don't have anything that leads us to believe he was a very religious person. And yet, his name is included in the Hebrews 11 list of people of noteworthy faith. There is obviously some kind of disconnect!

What if the disconnect is not something contemporary to Samson or even contemporary to the writer of Hebrews? What if the disconnect has everything to do with our contemporary understanding of faith? Now, we are getting somewhere.

Faith that pleases God (knowing that without faith it is impossible to please God) has nothing to do with moral character. Samson 'made the cut' of famous faith people in Hebrews 11 - Samson, who patronized a prostitute (had sex with a whore).

Everything in most of us at this point wants desperately to cry out, "Yeah, but..." followed by something "Jesus said" justifying our disgust with Samson's actions. But, in all fairness, Jesus Himself, on the Cross, welcomed a known criminal to join Him in Paradise that very day. 

One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!” But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.” [Luke 23.39-43]

The difference between one criminal entering eternal damnation and the other entering eternity with Jesus was the difference between arrogant doubt and repentant faith. Both were 'criminal-enough' to deserve crucifixion and yet one accompanied Jesus in heaven before the day was over. In Jesus' final moments on earth (as if highlighting His entire life in one event), the most vivid and revealing illustration of grace is on display for all to see: the raw truth that faith is NOT about being good.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. [Ephesians 2.8-9]

The least we can do when Jesus saves us is to try to look and act like Him, and certainly, many of us will be required to give an answer for not doing so. But faith is ultimately what we will stand accountable for when we appear before God because, again, without it, there is no way to please God.

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. [Hebrews 11.6]

So, when we look in the mirror, what we should be looking for is faith, not good deeds. Sure, Jesus-like actions are indeed generated by faith, but Jesus-like actions do not generate faith! Jesus had much to say about this in Matthew 7.13-27; and it will require faith to understand all that is said there...

Being saved is not about being good. Being saved is about believing in Jesus Christ with a repentant heart for not being good! He will take care of the rest (if indeed, He is truly "believed").

Father, help us review what we "believe" every day. May we not slip off into thinking we can be saved because we do good. Likewise, may we not think we are not saved because we don't do good. May we be found humbly trusting Jesus, giving Him full control of our lives so that He might do what He pleases in and through us. So be it.