Initial contact was made between us after both John and his wife Rebecca viewed a thought-provoking, thirty-second television message which asked questions about life after physical death. John phoned the church the morning after its presentation and asked if someone would come and visit with them for further discussions. The day he phoned was Anzac Day and he mentioned that, “life after death is a constant thought for us at the moment.”
I called mid-morning a couple of days later. John and Rebecca were a retired couple in their late sixties and although John appeared to be a healthy man, I could see that Rebecca was a very sickly lady. It wasn’t too long before she shared that she was in a constant state of sickness due to the after effects of breast cancer. She said she had one breast removed eleven years earlier and the other one removed seven years after that. The medicine, whilst it was achieving it’s purpose for the cancerous part of her body, it brought discomfort to other parts.
No sooner had I taken a seat when I was given a cup of coffee and a piece of cake and then asked by Rebecca, “What can you tell us about life after death? What happens? Where do we go?” There was an urgent appeal written in her eyes and across her face, with similar expressions from John. Experience of almost three years as a public messenger of Jesus Christ told me that this was no meeting to discuss philosophical curiosities and the sharing of opinions and the like. Whatever those might have been for this couple before their adversities clearly meant nothing to them now. The Spirit of God was upon them both and they wanted to get real.
I responded to the question by asking them if they were aware of the true message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Rebecca spoke first, telling me that as a child she was a practitioner of Roman Catholicism, “and I always had a fear of going to hell.” She said, “I can still see the priest banging his fist down warning us to be good or we’ll die and go to hell, and I don’t want to go there.” Although partial truth was expressed here, with such a reply, it was easily discernible that Rebecca was not aware of the true gospel.
John told me his background was with the Church of England, “not that I attended very much, but I’ve always remembered the advice mum gave me and lately, I’ve had a lot of time to think on these things.” The advice John’s dear mother gave him had certainly raised his God-consciousness but from what he told me, he too had not been informed correctly of the true message. Essentially his mother’s advice was to live a good life, be kind to others and count your blessings every day and give thanks to God, taking nothing for granted.
One of the greatest deceptive messages expressed by priests and ministers, is their admonition given in churches for all people to, “be good.” A child soon learns that he or she must be “good” in church, at home, at school, and in society in general and when they develop and mature into adulthood that admonition stays with them. I mentioned this to John and Rebecca and then asked them to interpret “good” for me.
I also asked them to tell me what standard or yardstick they were using to measure this “goodness.” The standard they used was the Ten Commandments, both saying that they believed they, “had not broken too many of them.” As a result, they saw themselves as good people. And no doubt they were good people.
But I challenged them by asking them, if it were really true that they saw themselves as “good” people, “why are you both so concerned about where you will go when you die?” Clearly, John and Rebecca could then see the flaws of their belief system. The word “subjective” was not used, but both saw their interpretation of “good” as exactly that – all based on opinions, experiences and the common practices of life. The beliefs of this couple of course, were no different than what my own had formerly been, or those of multitudes of others in every generation since the beginning of humanity.
Whether people believe in God or don’t believe in God, most of them only think in terms of morality. Which means for them, if they don’t violate moral laws they don’t see themselves as anything but good – at least, “better than others who do violate those laws.” Therefore, not only do they become judge and juror of others, but of themselves as well – the only difference being that of the “sentence” they impose upon themselves. A careful study of biblical Christianity versus man’s religious teachings and practice, shows us that “good” rather than “bad” is the greatest problem God has with human beings.
God interprets our “goodness” as “self-righteousness.” Self-righteousness breeds pride. I explained to John and Rebecca that if being “good” got us to heaven, then Jesus Christ would not have needed to come to earth to show us the nature and character of God and His required standard for us all, nor would He have put Himself on a cross to die in our place for our “goodness.” Therefore, it is not “goodness” that God seeks from us – it is “righteousness.”
Next, John and Rebecca needed to hear that as far as God is concerned, only He is truly righteous and only in Jesus Christ can we stand before God as righteous people. That is part of the gospel proclamation religious man fails to preach and teach.
In substitution for this failure however, religious man has burdened his people with the call to be “good” – go to church, pray, read the Bible, do good works, don’t do that, don’t say that, don’t go there etc, etc, etc. Jesus called such religious men hypocrites. They controlled the people, whether the people were practitioners or non-practitioners. They filled them with religious slavery, guilt and fear and would not lift a finger to help them get released from such. Most were not in a position to bring release anyhow, because they were trapped themselves and didn’t know it – or didn’t want to know it. It was a religious sham and it still goes on today in far too many churches and religious institutions.
John and Rebecca were blessed to hear what was said, they readily identified with me. I then explained that biblical righteousness is not simply doing what God says either, but actually being like Him – and – there was no way we could be like God without receiving the inner righteousness of Christ Himself – which means each of us must humble ourselves, turn away from ourselves and turn to the Lord and ask Him to come into our life and transform that life according to God’s righteousness.
Both were told that God has a very high standard, but the good news of the gospel is, that God Himself is the one who works out this standard within us, through the ministry of the indwelling Holy Spirit. That’s not being religious, that’s experiencing reality.
After that explanation in answer to their questions on life after death, God’s plan of redemption in Jesus Christ became much more meaningful to them. They now were beginning to get a grasp of the true meaning of repentance, plus the true meaning of biblical faith and trust – all of which was to be in a Person, Jesus Christ alone – not in any man, woman or angel – dead or alive, or any religious system or institution. The burdens that I observed God lifting from their shoulders were amazing to witness.
The truth of Jesus’ promises of freedom from religious slavery were coming alive in them before my eyes. It was then that both John and Rebecca wanted to pray and surrender their lives to Christ, in exchange for eternal life – God’s quality of life, the abundant life.
There were many disruptions in the five hours I was with them. The phone rang four times, their niece called and stayed an hour, (enabling her to hear some of God’s word) and in between all this, Rebecca had to use the toilet every twenty minutes or so. I had all the time in the world, as did that dear couple. I saw them numerous times over the next few months.
Religious ways are not easily cast out from any of us and Rebecca was no different. A couple of times I prayed for her and God touched her immediately. Each time she said to me, “That’s because of you.” I had to remind her it was because of Jesus Christ and that I was simply a messenger – or as Billy Graham would say about himself, “messenger boy.”
It was a blessing to witness the miraculous God in the midst of us on each visit. After one such visit Rebecca excitedly phoned me at home to tell me she did not have to go for any further cancer tests for the next twelve months. It was also a blessing to take home to my family the wonderful freshly baked pies that Rebecca and John cooked for me. One time John phoned to tell me to call and pick them up, for they were, “not long out of the oven.”
We stayed in touch for some months, and they told me God was also blessing them in, “mighty ways” through listening to the radio program I present on Sunday mornings. “For He (God) made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we may become the righteousness of God in Him (Christ).” 2 Corinthians 5:21.