This ushered in my final question. “How many good things do you have to do to be accepted?” Only one man was paying attention now, and he indicated he didn’t know. “How many bad things can someone do before they get thrown into the lake of fire?” Again, he didn’t know. He mentioned that he was about to go smoke a cigarette, and as he was about to stand up, he turned to me and said, “Wait…do you have an answer to that question?”
“I believe so,” I said. He sank back down into the chair as I explained to him God taking on flesh and paying the just penalty for our sins. He understood the idea of sin being passed down from Adam, but now he was faced with a new idea – getting to spend eternity with God has nothing to do with our works, but it has everything to do with Christ’s work. Pray for this man and others like him as they ponder on questions of such vital importance.