There is no question about it that God is a good King. Many people fancy the idea that there is no justice in his kingdom and no penalty for wickedness. On the contrary, love and justice go hand in hand. Proverbs 11:4 says…

Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.

Righteousness simply means right standing with God. This is what Jesus gave his life for. He gave his life so that imperfect people could stand blameless before a holy God. When you receive Jesus into your life, that is exactly what happens. God sees you in the same way that he sees his perfect Son.

This is what it means to say that righteousness delivers from death. This can’t refer to physical death because even the righteous die. This is referring to spiritual death. Those who have right standing with God inherit eternal life. Those who do not have right standing with God do not inherit eternal life. The only people who will go to heaven are those who are righteous through the gift they have received in Jesus. No one who relies on his own merit and goodness will go to heaven. God is too holy and our sin is too great for us to earn acceptance into God’s kingdom. This is difficult for a lot of people to accept but it is infinitely important for us to know.

“Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath…” This is pretty simple but this just means that wealth and material possessions cannot earn us entrance into God’s family. It is a complete and total gift. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that we are saved completely by God’s grace and not our own efforts. The most important decision that each of us will make in this life is to receive Jesus into our lives. He loves you dearly and wants to have a relationship with you. Have you made that decision?

Those who are righteous are not one bit better than those who are not. It is simply a matter of whether or not they trust in themselves or in Jesus for their righteousness. It is THE issue. We all get to decide what we do with it.