Baking cakes and eternal life

I like cake. And I like to bake cakes. I have to admit a couple of things right at the beginning: I have never made a cake from scratch and I have a history of cake-baking problems, usually frosting the cake, but not always as I shall relate. Recently, I made a cake and somehow misread the instructions. I only used 1/3 cup water instead of 1 and 1/3. How did it come out? Awful! So bad I threw the whole thing away.

When you follow the directions and use the proper ingredients you get good cake. Is this how eternal life works? Is it just a matter of following the directions?

I’ve been thinking about this lately, about good works and salvation. We know the Bible speaks forcefully against certain behavior. And there are even lists of behaviors, which, if you do, you will not inherit the kingdom. For example, Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. Which means, those who do those things cannot expect to go to heaven. Furthermore, we are urged to repent and turn away from this kind of living.

So, does this mean that if I am a fornicator and idolater and drunkard and I give up these wicked ways I will go to heaven?

What if, after I quit the bad things, I make a concerted effort to replace them with good behavior – I live a chaste, sober and honest life? Can I expect heaven now? You know, since I’m following the directions and using all the proper ingredients, my cake will turn out good, right?

This is classic ‘works righteousness’ – “I’m a good person, I don’t do bad things and I live right. I should go to heaven.” All people are naturally drawn to this and Christians are also tempted to fall into this kind of thinking. We look around at our neighbors and think, ‘They need to change their ways.’ And this is true. The drunk needs to quit drinking, the thief needs to give up stealing, the immoral needs to stop immoraling. But when they do, are they now heaven bound?

What is a Christian? He is a follower of Jesus Christ, someone who, believing Jesus is the Son of God, purposely sets out to live like He teaches, to obey Him. Is that what makes me fit for heaven?

The answer is, No. Even though the Bible speaks against bad works, our problem is not simply that we do bad things. Our fundamental problem can be summed up in three statements:
+ I have sinned – how do I atone for this?
+ I am separated from God – how can I be reconciled?
+ I am dead in sin – how can I be made alive?

The last one is the kicker. I need life.

When I make a cake, all I have to do is follow the directions: put in the right ingredients, mix it for the right amount of time, pour it into my baking dish, put into the pre-heated oven and bake it for 30 minutes; then take it out, let it cool, and frost it. Then voila! I have a good cake! I take some with me every night to work. Right now it is Devil’s Food Chocolate with Classic Chocolate Frosting. So good even Mary is eating it. And it is true in the spiritual realm as well. God has given us some directions: there are things we need to not do and if we are doing them we need to stop; there are things we need to do and if we are not doing them we need to start. Further, it is definitely true, He rewards (blesses) us when we obey and penalizes us (withholds blessing) when we disobey. And a Christian is a person who is purposely seeking to follow Jesus by obeying His teaching and thus have the blessing or favor of God.

But there is one ingredient that needs to be added that I cannot add. I can follow the directions all my life and still not come out with a good spiritual cake. That one ingredient is life. God has to grant me life, His life, or I remain dead in my sins, in my separation from Him. What does the Bible say about that? 1 John 5:11-12:

And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 
He that hath the Son hath life; he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

Works are important. Everyone will agree with this. But my good works cannot give me life. I need Jesus. God by His grace gives me life when I believe in Jesus. I am a Christian because I am a follower of Jesus, but my hope of eternal life is not in my obedience, it is only Him.

Isn’t neat when you like cake and have time to think about things during the night?