Ask yourself, “Am I a good person?”

How do you answer that question?

Most people answer in a very similar fashion. Often times they’ll say, “I am pretty good. I mean I haven’t killed anybody or anything like that.” Is this your answer as well?

People today think of their sinful nature as human nature; and that is how they comfort themselves when confronted with their sins. They will just state, “Well, everybody does it!” So, they mollify their conscience by redrawing the line of good character at a lower standard. Thus, they now can feel good about their sinful nature by comparing it to OTHER sinners.

We are not compared to OTHER people when God judges us after this life. We are compared to the Lord’s standard.

Romans 3:23-24, “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Psalms 37:38-40, “But all sinners will be destroyed; the future of the wicked will be cut off. The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; He is their stronghold in time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in Him.”

Another problem is the idea that people believe they are basically good. That is a major problem in today’s society. If they sin, it is not their fault! It is always someone else’s fault that they sinned or did something bad. They are given a false notion about the nature of people.

This passing of the blame is Satan’s lie that people today have swallowed whole so that they do not seek forgiveness for their sins. If it is someone else’s fault, then they have done nothing wrong themselves. Either by justifying their guilt or searing their conscience so that they can sin without interruption, people today do not fear God and the consequences of their sinful ways. Sadly, this false sense of security in one’s own character makes people blind to the cliff that leads ultimately to eternal hell.

You will be held responsible for your own actions!

Each person has a choice, and they must make a choice. Jesus Christ wants you to choose that side of the fence that He is on. Either you will go to heaven and be with the Lord evermore or you will plummet into the lake of fire. There is no other choice. You cannot sit on the fence, because the fence is owned by Satan. By not recognizing your need for a Savior and choosing the Lord, you have, in effect, made your choice!

Galatians 6:8,

“The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”

God has given us the standard by which we will be judged. From Exodus 20 that standard is stated.

So let’s see if you are a good person in the eyes of the Lord!

Commandment #1 :::> You shall have no other gods before Me. This means real or imagined forms of  

deity. Your personal relationship with the Lord is of utmost importance. Life can be cluttered with so many things that God can be pushed aside in your mind and in your heart. This pre-occupation with other things WITHOUT God involved is, in fact, a violation of this very commandment! Do you push God aside in your mind and in your heart with the passions of your life?

This is called IDOLATRY! If you are guilty of this sin, then you would be called an idolater.

Commandment #2 :::> You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven or on

the earth beneath or in the waters below. Because God has no visible form, an idol intended to represent Him would be a sin. It states that the Lord our God is a jealous God who demands exclusive devotion to Him. This means that one should devote himself in prayer and acts of worship to the Lord our God ONLY. It says what it says, means what it means, and is what it is. To justify anything else, is man just fulfilling his own needs. Idols of ANY kind, or graven images, are still idols, and are a violation of this commandment!

Do you kneel in prayer and supplication before a statue of ANY kind? a graven image? maybe a statue of a saint, perhaps? If you have at any time, then you are guilty of this sin.  

Commandment #3 :::> You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. When you speak the 

Lord’s name without reverence, or state God’s name without actually talking to Him in prayer, you are, in fact, using His name in vain. ALL will be held accountable to this lack of respect towards Him. A person that speaks His name without reverence is spitting on Him and mocking His Lordship, the same way the soldiers spat on our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember your words are a mirror into your heart. What you say does matter!

Have you ever used the Lord’s name as a curse word or in an act of disgust over some circumstance? That would be called BLASPHEMY!

Commandment #4 :::> Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. For in six days the Lord made

the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. It is to be a Sabbath TO the Lord our God. It is a day to worship the Lord; rest, and recharge our batteries so to speak. We are to celebrate and be thankful for what the Lord has done for us. To enjoy the life that God has given us, and more importantly, to enjoy that life WITH HIM!

Work is to be put aside for one day every week. Today, we are often so busy that we feel we cannot afford to stop. However, this puts undo stress on our bodies physically, mentally, and most of all spiritually. Remember stress is a killer; and God knows this! God made this day FOR us!

Have you ever committed this sin?

So, let’s take a moment to review where you stand.

The first 4 Commandments are about your relationship with God. Are you guilty of breaking these commandments?

And these are just the first 4! Remember James 2:10,

“For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”

If you stand before God, will you be found innocent or guilty?

Let us continue with the commandments that cover your relationship with others.

Commandment #5 :::> Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land, the

Lord your God has given you. This is the only commandment that God offers a promise if you follow it. Honor means to prize highly or to show respect for. The opposite of this would be to show disrespect for your father and mother, to argue with in an argumentative fashion. To not value their experience and wisdom for sake of one’s own pride and opinion, is often times the culprit. This commandment is a guide to wisdom and long life, for if followed one can use the experience of those that have learned before them. You should heed the Lord’s warning here! Either bask in the Lord’s provision or violate God’s command.

Have you ever dishonored or disrespected your parents?

Commandment #6 :::> You shall not murder. This is often confused with thou shall not kill. There is a

difference between the words, murder and kill. In the act of self-defense or in the line of duty, killing is not a violation of this command. However, murder is a malicious act done with the intent to harm or kill another. Murder IS a violation of this command. With this understanding alone, most people might think that he or she is innocent of this sin. But, they would be WRONG!

1 John 3:15, “Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer,”

Matthew 5:22, “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother (another) will be subject to judgement.”

Have you ever been angry with another unjustly or not? Then, in the eyes of God you are guilty of this sin as well.

Commandment #7 :::> You shall not commit adultery. Adultery is not just a sin against your spouse.

It is a sin against God, Himself. The body is the temple of the Lord, for it is what houses the Holy Spirit. To defile the body is to defile the temple. Your body is not your own which is contrary to the teachings of man today.

Hebrews 13:4, “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”

God sees all things! And this INCLUDES your thought life as well.

Matthew 5:28, “I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

You must guard your thoughts at all times. Keep your eyes on the Lord and be aware of your thought life.

Have you ever looked at another in a lustful way? That would make you an ADULTERER!

Commandment #8 :::> You shall not steal. To steal means to take the property of another without right

or permission.

Ephesians 4:28, “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but work doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.”

Have you ever stolen something or taken something that is not yours? A pencil or a diamond ring, it does not matter to God, for it is the willing act of a person to violate what they know is wrong and what is against God. To not trust in God’s provision for oneself is ultimately what you are saying when you take another’s possession. Remember God sees ALL things!

This sin would make you a THIEF!

Commandment #9 :::> You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

Psalm 52:3, “You who practice deceit. You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth…Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin,”

Lying and the practice of deceit are not only wrong and evil, but also has a promise by God that it will not go unpunished. As a person finds out, an act of deceit only brings about more hardship, stress, and guilt.

Have you ever lied before? That would make you a LIAR!

Commandment #10 :::> You shall not covet. To covet is to want or desire enviously another person’s

 possessions. This commandment is broken in the thoughts of man. Envy is the deadly sin here. It is again the acknowledgement of dissatisfaction with God’s provision for oneself. To question the Lord’s omnipotent power over our lives is blasphemy!

Matthew 15:18 explains that which comes out of the heart is what makes a man “unclean”. Your trust in God and the decisions He makes for your life are the essence of this command. Hard work and the fruit of that labor are GOOD! Contentment for what you do have will bring peace to your life. To be thankful to God for what you do have is pleasing to God. Again remember to guard your thoughts at all times for it is there that sin enters!

Have you ever been envious of another?

So, how have you done when comparing yourself to God’s standard?

We are ALL extremely guilty in the eyes of the Lord! The wages for sin is death. We all deserve death. We should be so thankful that God’s has such patience and mercy to an ungrateful creation. His love for us is such a gift.

When people question God’s existence by looking at the evil in the world; Or ask the question, “why do bad things happen to good people? They have a false idea of “good” people. There are NO “good” people in this world! We are ALL sinners who deserve death. The real question is why does God allow any of us to live?  

God says that if we break one of the Laws of God, we have broken them all and shall not see the glory of heaven. Only repentance thru the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ shall save us from the wrath of God.

Each one of us is going to reach the threshold that is death. That much is certain; we all die!

Are you going to be joyful on that day or fearful?

Our transgressions against the Lord have been paid for thru the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. We must humbly cover those sins before the Lord thru repentance and the shed blood of Jesus Christ, or have them uncovered by the Lord in the next life.

• Accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior
• Seek a relationship with Him
• Learn His Word so that you can know the sins and find wisdom
• And lastly, repent for your transgressions

Do not wait, for life can change in an instant and this could be your last day!