Is my mother in heaven? S30e188

Most people have a high favorability rating for their own mothers.  Will they all go to heaven? Will their wonderfulness be enough to earn a spot next to Jesus?

Psalm 53 clarifies the criteria.  It is a little shocking, especially as we throw our dear mothers into the mix. 

Join me for 7 minutes to assess Mom by the heavenly criteria.  Yikes!

https://youtu.be/o4VxzYdElLs

Transcript

 Is my mother in heaven? S30e188

It is my late mother’s birthday today, so I have Mother on the mind as I approach Psalm 53.

There are 2 kinds of people described in this psalm. Big little fool

First, there is the big fool:

1  The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; 

there is none who does good.

: The fool in this psalm isn’t stupid.  This doesn’t mean low IQ.

The fool here is one who, dispite all the evidence, comes to the erroneousunderstanding that there is no GOD

          Either He doesn’t exist, doesn’t care, doesn’t touch our world

Here the fool has the assessment of one’ posture toward God

          It is an assessed conclusion.  After committed thought this is where I end up on

Don’t be this big fool: bold, wrong.

Many have made this conclusion, so that their behaviors can go. Uncheckedby a heavenly hand.

          If God exists, and has created, then He has a right to say a few things about right and wrong and personal moral codes

So, if I do not want a check on my behavior, I will want to deny that God exists.  This is the fool that the Psalm first talks about.

Back to your mother. If your mother was such a person, then all scriptural evidence would be that she is nOT IN heaven.

If she chose to live AWAY from the presence of God in this life, then it would follow that she is living away from the presence of God in the next life.

If your mother was a BIG fool, she probably isn’t in heaven.

But wait there is more!:

2    God looks down from heaven 

on the children of man

       to see if there are any who understand,

who seek after God. 

3    They have all fallen away; 

together they have become corrupt; 

       there is none who does good, 

not even one.

There is another warning here in psalm 53.

This one is more unpalatable, certainly more insidious than the big bold fool we just described.

THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD 53:3

          Compared to God; using godly judgment; using heavenly criteria

          There is none who does good. Certainly not good enough

          No one will go before the judgment seat of Christ and independently say, I’ve got this; I’m OK; I’ve earned heaven.

No one will say: I have lived a perfect life…and yes, that is the criteria.

It is NOT: do my good deed balance out my bad deeds or…

Was I a pretty good person compared to… always pick hitler and Jeff Dahlmer rather than billy graham and mother Theresa.

No, we will go cowering and remembering and regretting before God, worthy of wrath, punishment, banishment…UNLESS WE HAVE HELP.

If your mother tries to make it to be with the permanent presence of God on her own merits, accomplishments, and Goodness she wont be able to do it.

Perfect holiness is required.

Is your mother good enough to make it to heaven on her own merits? By her”goodness:”? sadly, NO.

Now whenever we modernists make this comparison, we always choose someone down the righteousness ladder. We never pick a comparison of a higher righteousness. The standard is PERFEXCT rightesousnsess. 

This, ladies and gentlemen, mothers and daughters, mothers and sons is the criteria.  This is exactly by Jesus had to come

The “goodness “ of your mother will not count in God’s economy

The FAITH of your mother, in the goodness of Jesus is what will count

The book of Hebrews talks the most excellent savior, better than angels, better than moses and Jesus is the high priest.

4:16 let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy

 And find grace to help in time of need.  How? By the merits of Jesus, not by the pretty good, grading on a curve that we do with ourselves.

Back to the fool: the big fool is one who flat out declares NO GOD

The Little fool is one who says: I’m pretty good. I’m better than a terrorist.

Both are outside of the kingdom without the mercy of God

The heavenly gates are accessed by faith.

Our favorite theif on the cross proved this doctrine:

Here’s a guy who had no time for good works.

Heres a guy who only had a moment for faith. And afterword, Jesus uses His precious final breaths to say to him and all of us:

Today you will be with me in paradise.

       IMHO this is all you lneed to know about heaven.

       It is paradise. It is today. It is accessed not by works. It is accessed only by faith. Heaven is BE WITH ME.

So I s your mother in heaven? Will she go to heaven if she is still here?

       Not if she is a big fool : one who spits in God’s face

       Not if she is a little fool: one who thinks pretty good behavior earns heaven.

But YES she will be in heaven if she says: I cannot make it any which way except by faith in the perfect Jesus. By the substitution of His payment of the penalty which He did for me. If so, then YES heaven!