"Right Motive? Wrong Method!"

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"The road to heaven - Turn right and go straight." These are the words exactly as they appear on a sign in front of a car lot in Inman, South Carolina. Now, I mention that they are exactly as they appear because it is so very important to be exact in that this sign as it is written has the potential of leading many souls to an eternal damnation in the lake of fire. The one reason that this sign has so bothered me since it was put up is that I know that this road leads not to heaven, but to hell. You see, I once was on that road and it was but by the grace of God that I learned the truth before it was eternally too late.

You will notice that the title of this little article is a two statement title with a question mark after the first statement and an exclamation mark after the second. The first statement with its question mark is to give the owner and author of this sign the benefit of doubt. I don't know and cannot say what were the motives of this man as he chose to display his sign. There are many so-called Christians who display so-called religious statements in their advertisements just to promote their business and to take advantage of those who would support other Christians. I do hope that this is not the motive of this man. Whatever the motive though, the method is definitely wrong. It is dead wrong.

Now, some may say that it is good for this man to encourage people to clean up their lives and this is a true statement, but if that is what he is trying to do, he should have left off the first line which says, "The road to heaven". Jesus Christ Himself said, "...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6. I don't know how the Lord could have made it any plainer than that. He said that He is the way. He is the only way. Straightening up our lives, "turning right and going straight" will never even help. Sure, it may help those around us to tolerate us, but when this life is over there will be no help. It is a known fact that there are many men who the world would consider to be very good men in hell right now. They are in the very same hell as the worst of them. The sad thing is that someone may read that sign and later feel convicted of their lost condition and decide to just straighten up and do the best they can. The result of this will either be that this person will start to do pretty good and begin to depend upon this success as a means to get him to heaven, or he will see that no matter how hard he tries, he cannot be good and he will just give up. Either of these will lead to the same end.

Would this sign be better had the owner mentioned Jesus along with his call to straighten up? Well, it may have been some better in that he did mention Jesus, but that would only be mixing grace with works. This is known as a divided heart. Man is to trust in Jesus Christ and Him alone for salvation. Listen to what God has to say about a divided heart, "Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images. Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: He shall break down their altar, he shall spoil their images." Hosea 10:1-2. No, Jesus Christ and the sacrifice that He made upon the cross should never ever be watered down with any works that any man can do.

The gospel of Christ has nothing whatsoever to do with any mans ability to do good works and yet there are many out there in the world and shamefully so in the pulpits who are not called to preach, who are preaching something other than Christ and His gospel. Listen to what the apostle Paul had to say under the leadership of the Holy Spirit about such people. "I marvel that ye are soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ." Galatians 1:6-7. In these two verses, Paul speaks to the Galatians concerning men who had after hearing the true gospel and being called to salvation, listened to a false gospel. Now Paul took this gospel very seriously as we too should. He went on to say, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." Galatians 1:8. What Paul was telling them was that it didn't matter who it was, (He even included himself and even an angel from heaven), if someone tried to pass off some other way of getting to heaven, that man was to be accursed. How serious was Paul about this point he was getting across? Very serious as he went on to say again, "As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel than that ye have received, let him be accursed." Galatians 1:9.

The gospel in a nutshell: "Grace be to you and peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: Galatians 1:3-4. Friends, the pure and precious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ could be explained and exclaimed in many ways and in many words, but the above two verses of scripture say it all with nothing lacking nor with nothing added. The very first word is grace, which is the only way that we are saved and the peace spoken of here is the peace with God that we will never know until we receive that free gift of grace. Notice where this grace and peace come from. From God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ, who are one, for if you will notice it say, Who gave Himself for our sins. Whose sins? Our sins. Yours and mine and those of every man, woman, boy, or girl. Now, where is the road to heaven? That He might deliver us from this present evil world. You probably noticed that Paul said might deliver us. Does this mean that Paul meant that he had doubts about Christ's ability to deliver us. No, it simply means that this grace, though available to all only belongs to those who receive it. Who are those who receive it? Is it those who turn right and go straight? No, it is to those who are the called as Paul says, according to the will of God and our Father.

Friends, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is not plural. There is but one and you have just had it explained to you. I sincerely hope and pray that you have accepted this gospel and that you have come to a saving knowledge of Him that died and rose again, but whether you have or you have not, you have been shown the truth and I beg of you not to listen to any other. All others lead to hell and those that proclaim them are accursed. God bless you.