Michael Jackson

I saw a sign today that said, "Ask me why Michael Jackson deserves hell."

The thought of this sign doesn't SURPRISE me, but no matter how many things I see like this, it never stops making me irritated, sad, and well..disgusted.

My first thought was that her sign should say, "Ask me why I deserve hell." Now, before I look like a hypocrite, let me explain. I don't think that this woman deserves hell because she was holding a rude (to put it lightly) sign. The reason I say this, is because of this:

"We have ALL sinned and ALL fall short of the glory of God." -Romans 3:23

Who has sinned? We all have. There isn't a measuring stick for how good or bad you are. We have all sinned. God has not given any of us the right to judge others. He has given us the right to LOVE others. Speaking of love...my next point:

"While we were sinning, God died for the ungodly." -Romans 5:6

While WE were sinning. That means all of us. And apparently we actually HAVE sinned, otherwise Christ wouldn't have had to die for us, right?

"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and BELIEVE in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" -Romans 10:9

"For whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." -Romans 10:13

"It is by GRACE that you have been saved, through FAITH. IT IS NOT OF YOURSELF, IT IS A GIFT FROM GOD, SO NO ONE CAN BOAST." -Ephesians 2:8-9

Now, where does it say that we can get to Heaven by being "good enough". No where. All I see is that I am not a perfect person, and that Christ died for ME, and that I need to believe in what He did for ME on the cross. And be forgiven.

THAT is why statements like, "Michael Jackson deserves hell" irritates me SO much. Because I am not better than you, you are not better than me, and neither of us are better than anyone. Not Michael Jackson, not Obama, not the pope, and not anyone. We are all the same. We have all sinned. Am I better than the lady with the sign? Absolutely note. Am I a bigger sinner than my pastor? Absolutely note. We are all in the exact same boat. Christ died to forgive us.

I would like to point out, on a side note, that these are not "my views". The only reason I believe any of this is because it's what is in the Bible. Not because of my church or my family or how I was raised or anything. I believe it because I believe the Bible is the truth.