Golfstat Weekend Devotional
In this video, CGF East Region Director, Korky Kemp, continues our Sunday devotional series answering the top 10 questions students ask our staff. Check out Korky’s responses to the next set of 3.
Partial Transcript
As the 9 College Golf Fellowship staff members around the country travel around, college students will ask similar questions. So we’ve compiled the top ten questions that people ask. Last week, we covered: “Is there a God?” “Is the Bible reliable?” And “What is my purpose in life?”
This week, we’re going to be covering: “How good do you have to be to go to heaven?” “What about other religions?” and thirdly, “What about those who have never heard?” Now, obviously there are huge questions…What’s we’re going to present here is just a brief conversational answer, as if we’re sitting at a coffee shop and the topic comes up.
I encourage you all who are listening, to maybe look further into these questions. I’ll provide some resources, where you could do that–whether it’s books or videos. And always, we have the CGF staff. You can find our contact information (here). We’d love to follow up with you. That’s what we’re here for…
1. How good do you have to be to get to Heaven?
[Partial Transcript] Even though Mother Theresa was a phenomenal lady–definitely a woman of God–she wasn’t perfect… “Well, do we have to be 51% good? Just a little better good than bad, and we’ll go to heaven?” or it is like passing a test, (where) you have to make a 70; minimum of 70% good and you go to heaven?”
When I was sitting in college, and I heard that question, the gentleman who asked it went through that question and pretty much dissected it. And so, Biblically, the standard is not 50%. It’s not 70%. It’s not 90%. Biblically, the standard is perfection. God says, “Be perfect, as I am perfect.”
The gentleman, in college, he stared walking us through these verses. He walked us through what’s called the Romans Road. Romans 3:23 (says) “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Nobody’s perfect. We’re all sinful.
The next verse, was Romans 6:23, which says ”the wages of sin is death.” So not only are we all sinful, and fall short, but there’s a penalty to pay. And that penalty, being death–separation from God…
Since Nobody’s Perfect, How Good is Good Enough? (By Andy Stanley)
Did God leave us in that situation? That’s where Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this, while we were still sinners, he sent his son to die for us.” While each of us has said, “Forget you, God. I want to live my life…” God sent his son to die for us…
Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with you mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” So not only did God do that, but the decision, ultimately, people have to individually believe. You don’t inherit faith… because your parents believed…
A great book that dives into this question a little deeper, is by an author named Andy Stanley. And the book is titled Since Nobody’s Perfect, How Good is Good Enough?
And so, lot of times, when people think about religion, they just think, “It’s just a bunch of rules, and if you follow the rules well, you get rewarded.” But Biblical Christianity is all about: God’s standard is perfection. We fall short. We can’t save ourselves. And so we have to come to faith in somebody who was perfect to forgive our sin…
2. What about other religions?
[Partial Transcript] That’s a great question. It’s a question I’ve had. And it’s a question I’ve looked into… just because someone fully believes something, and acts accordingly–(That) doesn’t make it true…
You name the religion, and there is some performance-based standard where you can earn your way to whatever the “Heaven” is like…The only one that is not a works (or) performance-based religion is Biblical Christianity.
Biblical Christianity says, God’s perfect. We’re sinful. We cannot earn our way…all these religions are going to differ on who God is, what the afterlife is like…either they’re all wrong, or one’s right and the rest are wrong. I think that’s a great topic to look into.
There’s a good video on YouTube called, “Lord, Liar or Lunatic.” And in this video, he presents the thought that all these other world religions–they’ll look at Jesus and says he’s a great preacher; he’s a great prophet; he’s a very enlightened person.
But C.S. Lewis says, Jesus’ life–what he said, what he did, disqualifies that statement… Jesus said he is God…
…God’s heart is for all people to come to faith. Which leads us to our last question.
3. What about those who have never heard?
[Partial Transcript] Everyone who’s ever lived sees nature, see (the) sun, moon and stars and knows there’s God and is held accountable for that… God also gives an internal revelation. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says:
God has set eternity in the hearts of men.
Another one (is) Romans 2:15:
Since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their heart.
So God gives each of us a moral compass—whether we grow up in Africa, America, New Guinea, you name it… If we were to record every statement that we make about what’s right and wrong in our lifetime, if the African tribesmen were to do the same, even we don;t live up to our own standard. There are things that I say are wrong, that I don’t like about other people, that I do…
Everyone who’s ever lived has this knowledge of God through creation, through nature. And they have this knowledge of this moral code written on their hearts–that even they don’t meet… Over and over, God says, “For those who seek me, they will find me if they seek me with all their heart.”
We see this God who knows every person on this earth…desires to be in relationship with them, made a way for them to be in relationship with him…if somebody seeks God–100% guaranteed–God’s gonna find a way to get that message to that person, that they might find God…
People need to hear. And God uses us to accomplish his plan. And so it’s a privilege to go and to share, basically the greatest news that I’ve ever heard.
Book Recommendations
There are some great books: Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ, is a phenomenal book that answers a lot of these questions. He’s also got a book called The Case for Faith. Lee’s a sharp guy. He went to Yale Law School, worked for the Chicago Tribune. He tried to disprove Christianity, and ultimately ended up coming to faith.
