Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised) Hebrews 10:23
Have you ever said, “well, that’s good enough”? I certainly have on a number of occasions. In many of life’s pursuits, being good enough is sufficient. However, that is not the case in religious matters. God requires total repentance (Acts 17:30) and complete commitment (Matt 24:13). In this article I want to share a few ideas that fall under this “good enough” mindset and equip us with some scripture to show the error and hopefully direct someone in the way they should go.
It is not good enough to be religious. We must be religiously correct. In Galatians 1:13-14, Paul talks about his devotion to Judaism. He was committed, convicted, and devout. These same attributes could be said of many of the Jews during Paul’s time (Romans 10:1-3). However, it was simply not enough for him as he needed to obey the gospel (Acts 22:16) and those other Jews were indeed ignoring God’s plan and attempting to be religious on their own terms (Romans 10:4).
Many feel being a good person or morally upstanding will surely suffice. Again this is not consistent with our Bibles. I know of no other man being introduced to us in scripture as being more morally upright than Cornelius (Romans 10:1-6). He was a wonderful man. Was this goodness of his enough? No, he needed more and that specific need was to be baptized into Christ (Romans 10:48).
It is not enough just to believe (James 2: 19-26). Belief is great but it can not stand alone. Scripture plainly teaches that belief must accompany acts of obedience. James 2:17 points this out, “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone”.
It’s not enough to be almost persuaded (Acts 26:27-29). Many will study, come to services, think about obeying or being restored only to stop short of doing what they really should. Like the words of the hymn we sometimes sing, they find themselves almost, but lost.
Daily let us be found totally committed and dedicated to our profession of faith and never having the “good enough” attitude when it comes to our souls’ well being.
By Jason Barger