Oh Where, Oh Where!

Many years ago, Wayne Cochran wrote a hit song called "Last Kiss". The song begins with the chorus that says,

"Oh where, oh where, can my baby be?
The Lord took her away from me
She's gone to heaven, so I got to be good
So I can see my baby when I leave this world."

Nice song, bad theology.

The speaker in this song believes that since his "baby" went to heaven and he wants to see her again, he's got to "be good". This seems to be most people's thinking today and they have it wrong. They actually believe that some kind of personal goodness is necessary to enter heaven. Something that they have done or can do will have some merit at least in opening the door to God's heaven.

If a person's goodness is an ingredient for entrance into heaven, the logical question is "How good must one be in order to get into God's heaven? "

The Law of God, expressed in the 10 commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai, is God's standard of perfect holiness, justice and goodness. It is the standard by which God will judge our "goodness". It is the mirror that God has given to let men know where they stand in relation to Him.

Let's take a brief test and see how you do?

Have you ever told a lie?

Have you ever stolen anything?

Have you ever coveted (lusted after)? Jesus said that if one looks on a woman (or man for that matter) to lust after her in his heart, he has committed adultery with her already in his heart. Have you ever looked with lust?

How did you do? And we've only looked at three of the commandments!

If you've answered these questions with a truthful conscience would you have to admit that you're guilty. If you've answered yes to these 3 questions, then by your own admission, you are a lying, thieving, adulterer at heart! How will you face God on judgment day? Will He find you innocent or guilty of having broken His holy law?

As a matter of fact, the Bible says that God's law is so perfect that to break just one point in the law is to be guilty of breaking it all. One act of rebellion against God, your Creator, makes you a rebel against His ultimate authority.

You see unless a person sees himself as God sees him when he's measured and judge by His holy law, man will always think himself better than he truly is in God's eyes; he will pride himself in believing that he's a "good" person and probably better than most, but he would be deceived in thinking that way because by God's standard he is guilty. He is guilty enough to be condemned to an eternity apart from God in hell and ultimately, the lake of fire.

For this reason, although you may consider yourself a very good person, you are not good enough ... sorry. Had we been good enough to be able to enter God's heaven, He never would have had to sacrifice His son on our behalf -- for our sins. Yet, Jesus died for us so that we could be given a right-standing with God, as a gift. The Bible refers to it as "the gift of righteousness." It's the only thing that makes you "good enough" to get into heaven because it's perfect righteousness -- the righteousness of Jesus Christ, God's Son!

Do you have that righteousness? ... the only one that can grant you entrance into God's Kingdom -- the righteousness that comes by faith in Jesus Christ?

So if I had to rephrase the words of Cochran's song it would be ...

"Oh where, oh where, can my baby be? [heaven or hell?]
The Lord took her away from me
She's gone to heaven, [that is, if she trusted Christ]
so I got to repent, and believe in Jesus Christ
before I leave this world."

It might not sing well, but its truth will bode well for anyone who will believe it.

"Whosoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Tell them the truth!

Joy in the journey,

Danny