Entering the Kingdom

Do we have a chance to make it into heaven?

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. - Matt. 5:17-20

If Jesus is saying that any transgression can knock us out of the running, we don't have a chance at all.

It is a rare person who can make it through life without breaking some law.  And even if the laws we are talking about are the Ten Commandments, we may still have difficulty keeping those.

But wait!

Didn't Jesus tell the man being crucified with him that he would enter the kingdom of heaven?

So, there must be a way to redeem ourselves.  We can make amends and be set right again, with all our flaws and failures set aside.

That is the Good News Jesus came to share with us.  We can repent and be forgiven.

That doesn't mean we can do as we wish and ignore the laws.

That would show intent, and that would be bad.

Instead, we should try to keep the commandments and not want to fail.  If we do fail, we can make our way back, but why not just try to be good?

It is so much easier that way.

More to come...