The Standard

The story is told of two brothers, Bill and Bob, who were know to be liars, drunks, cheaters and thieves.  They were just the worst sort of people.  But one day,  Bill dies and his brother Bob goes to the local preacher asking him to officiate Bill's funeral.  The preacher reluctantly agrees.

Bob says, there is one thing: I want you to say my brother was a saint.  The preacher objected strongly saying, there is no way.  Your brother was one of the worst men I ever met!  Bob then said, "I'll pay you $10,000 to which the preacher replied, "Well, maybe there is a way.

At the funeral, the preacher says, "You all know that Bill was just the worst sort of person.  He was a liar, a drunk, a cheater and a thief.  But, compared to his brother, Bob, Bill was a saint."

If your standard is low enough, anyone can feel pretty good about his/her conduct.  Paul warns those who set the bar low instead of raising the standard, "When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise" (2 Cor 10:12).  In other words, when we look around for others like ourselves to judge our conduct, we are only fooling ourselves.

When someone says, "I'm just as good as those hypocrites who attend church every Sunday," you are probably right, but so what?  How does it benefit you to be equal to people who are failing to live up to their profession of faith?  That's like saying, "My dog doesn't have any more fleas than my neighbor's dog; and calling it good."  Really?

How about comparing your life to the faithful church attender who is striving to be godly in every way?  How do you come off then?  Better yet, how about using the Standard God raised for us to judge ourselves: Jesus Christ?  How are you looking now?

The apostle Paul didn't just say, "Imitate me," rather he challenges us to "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ" (1 Cor 11:1).  That is the Standard, the life of Christ.  When you judge yours against his, you will see that, like the hypocrite, you fall short of his glory (Rom 3:23) and stand in need of his grace.  Churches are filled who are perfect, there aren't any (Rom 3:10).  Church is a gathering of those saved by grace, those approaching grace and some who are just posing.

The  point isn't whether you are as good as some who attend church, the point is, are you good enough to make it to heaven on your own.  The short answer is no.  We need a Savior and we need a company of saints to support and encourage us along the way.  Jus' Say'n.