📌 QUESTION OF THE WEEK — AUGUST 23, 2026

❓ I TRY TO TREAT PEOPLE RIGHT. I DO MY BEST TO LIVE AS A LAW-ABIDING CITIZEN. WHAT DOES IT MATTER IF I DO NOT SAY “YES” TO JESUS CHRIST’S SALVATION PLAN?

Jonah (35) from Saginaw, Michigan, writes:

“Pastor James, I was so overjoyed when you text’d me that my question would be featured. ‘At last,’ I thought, ‘I’ll get some real answers.’ I know you’ll probably rehash words that I’ve already heard, but that’s okay. Repetition, as they say, is the mother of all teachings. So, here I sit, pen and paper in hand. Fire away.”

Jonah, an appropriate name for this Question of the Week, thank you for asking a question many people wrestle with.

You asked me to “fire away,” so I will—but with love, because what you are asking is far too important for me to soften the answer.

Being a good person is admirable. But being a good person cannot save us.

Treating people right matters. Obeying the law matters. Being honest, compassionate, generous, responsible, and trustworthy matters. The world certainly needs more people who live that way.

But, Jonah, none of those things answers the fundamental problem between humanity and God: sin.

The Bible says:

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” — Romans 3:23

Notice that Scripture does not divide humanity into “good people” and “bad people.” Before a holy God, all of us have sinned. That includes pastors, missionaries, church members, respectable citizens, philanthropists—and people who may have spent their entire lives trying to do what is right.

Our problem is not merely that we occasionally do bad things. Our problem is that sin has separated us from God.

GOOD WORKS CANNOT CANCEL SIN

Suppose someone stood before a judge and said, “Yes, Your Honor, I broke the law, but look at all the laws I didn't break.”

The laws he obeyed would not erase the one he violated.

Spiritually, we sometimes reason similarly: I treat people well. I pay my bills. I don't steal. I haven't murdered anybody. Surely God will consider me good enough.

But salvation has never been about becoming “good enough.”

Scripture says:

“For by grace are ye saved through faith... Not of works, lest any man should boast.” — Ephesians 2:8–9

If human goodness could save us, Jonah, Calvary would have been unnecessary.

Jesus would not have needed to suffer.

There would have been no need for the Cross.

But Christ went to that Cross precisely because humanity could not save itself.

SO WHAT DOES SAYING “YES” TO JESUS MATTER?

Everything.

Jesus did not present Himself as merely one religious option among many. He said:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” — John 14:6

Those words are uncompromising because Jesus Himself was uncompromising about the matter.

Salvation is not God asking you to become religious. It is not an invitation to join a denomination, imitate a preacher, or pretend that you suddenly have every answer.

It is God's invitation to be reconciled to Him through His Son.

Jesus told Nicodemus—a respectable, religious man:

“Ye must be born again.” — John 3:7

Nicodemus wasn't an outlaw. He wasn't living on society's margins. He was religious and respected.

Yet Jesus still told him: You must be born again.

That tells us something important.

Morality cannot substitute for salvation.

“BUT PASTOR, SURELY GOD SEES THAT I'M TRYING.”

Yes, Jonah. God sees everything.

He sees your kindness.

He sees every person you have helped.

He sees the times you chose honesty when dishonesty would have been easier.

But He also sees something you and I cannot completely see: the human heart.

And Scripture tells us that none of us can make ourselves righteous enough to stand before Him on our own merit.

That is why Jesus came.

Christianity's message is not, “You are terrible, so try harder.”

The Gospel says, “You cannot save yourself, so Christ came to save you.”

Romans 5:8 declares:

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Think about those words.

Christ died for us.

Not after we fixed ourselves.

Not after we earned His approval.

Not after we accumulated enough good deeds.

While we were yet sinners.

JONAH, HERE IS WHERE I CANNOT COMPROMISE

You asked what it matters if you never say “yes” to Jesus Christ's plan of salvation.

According to Scripture, the consequence is eternal.

Jesus said:

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life...” — John 3:36

I would be doing you a terrible disservice if I told you that being decent, law-abiding, charitable, or sincere was enough.

It isn't.

And I don't say that to frighten you into Christianity. I say it because you asked me for a real answer, and I owe you the truth Scripture gives.

The question is ultimately not:

“Jonah, are you better than some other people?”

You probably are.

Neither is it:

“Have you done more good than bad?”

Perhaps you have.

The question is:

“What have you done with Jesus Christ?”

That is the question none of us can avoid forever.

THERE IS WONDERFUL NEWS

The same Bible that tells us we have sinned also tells us:

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” — Romans 10:13

Whosoever.

That includes Jonah in Saginaw, Michigan.

It includes the person reading this from America, the Philippines, Africa, Europe, Asia, or anywhere else in the world.

God is not asking you to purchase salvation.

He isn't asking you to earn it.

He isn't asking you to become perfect first.

He is calling you to repent, believe, and receive Jesus Christ.

Jonah, you said you were sitting there with pen and paper and told me to “fire away.”

So let me leave you with something worth writing down:

Being good may make you a better neighbor.
Being law-abiding may make you a better citizen.
Being compassionate may make you a better friend.
But only Jesus Christ can make you a new creation and reconcile you to God.

Don't merely admire Jesus.

Don't simply agree that Christianity has some good teachings.

Don't depend upon your morality.

Say yes to Christ.

Today.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” — John 3:16

Jonah, I hope your pen has been busy.

But even more than that, I pray your heart has been listening.

The invitation is still open.

And Jesus is still calling.

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