The Doomsday Scales of Goodness

“By God’s goodness, not ours,

can we be forgiven.”

How do you generally view yourself? A good person? I think most people would. We see that in autobiographies. They typically feature the good things people want to write about themselves. One wants to share their successes, not their failures. It is seen in obituaries too. At the end of life, they are usually written to cover the positive things about a person. (Photo from Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash)

How would you determine if you are good? Most likely you would do a scan over your life to find the good things you have done. Then afterwards, you would see if you found enough to call yourself good.

How does God determine this? Does He use the same method we would? If so, that would presume the existence of the “doomsday scales of goodness.” Meaning, after we die, we would be taken before God’s throne for our life to be examined. Next to Him would be sitting a large set of intimidating scales. Then after doing a thorough review of our life, He would place on one side, the good things we have done. Then on the other side, the bad we have done. All the while, we would be watching in fear and trembling. As God would place every good and bad thing we have done on the scales, it would tip one way, then the other. Back and forth it would go. Our eternal fate would be determined by the last thing He places on the scales. Would there be enough good to outweigh the bad?

Fortunately, there are no doomsday moral scales, so such a scenario would never happen. However, do we live as if there were?

Jesus had opponents to His message, who lived this way. They solely focused on the outward things of life, hoping in the end, it would be enough. They were Israel’s religious leaders who were careful to meticulously keep all their religion’s rules. After years of their continual attacks, Jesus publicly confronted them with the truth, “For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.” (Matthew 23:25-26)

These were tough words, but accurate. What was Jesus saying? The leaders were so focused on keeping their religious rules (the outside of the cup), that they neglected the condition of their heart (the inside of the cup). This revealed a dangerous misunderstanding. The leaders presumed their outward efforts would be enough. They assumed God would take to account all the good they have done, and it would be sufficient. They believed He would forgive all the bad things they had done, and overlook the condition of their heart, simply based on the amount of good they did.   

This reveals a common human problem. All of us tend to view ourselves this way. A Proverb says, “There are those who are clean in their own eyes but are not washed of their filth.” (Proverbs 30:12) And Jesus said, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts.” (Luke 16:15)

God’s view of our lives is completely different. Before God we are unclean, dirty, sinful, having a lawless and wicked heart. There is no good in any of us. There is nothing we can do to forgive our sins. We are lost and without hope – but for Jesus.

This is why He came to die on a cross and rise again. Because there is no good in us, but there is in Him! He is the Perfect One! The Holy One! The Marvelous One! We cannot save ourselves because we are dirty inside. But Jesus, the Son of God, is without sin and can save us. By His goodness, not ours, can we be forgiven. Do not trust in yourself anymore, but trust fully in Christ alone.    

A prayer for you – Lord God, open our eyes to the true condition of our soul. Let us see that we are not good enough. Let us not be deceived, but acknowledge that only you can save us. You, the Sinless One, can deliver us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.