By saying that all you must have is faith to be saved, does that mean that as long as a murderer has faith he will be saved? Christ asks us to follow him. I would have to say that Christ, while here on earth, gave us many examples of the importance of good works by his own actions. You must start by having faith and continue by living your life as Christ lived his . . . which takes A LOT of work!

If murderers can’t be saved, is there any hope for any of us? 1 John 3:15 tells us, “Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.” With those words doesn’t John unceremoniously dump us all into the eternal death row of murderers who by all rights have forfeited eternal life?

Of course, being lumped together with “real sinners” offends us. Our sinful nature loves to make lists of “big sins” (usually the sins of others) and “little sins” (usually ours). In this way we vainly attempt at least a partial “justification by comparison.”

But we’re making the wrong comparison. If someone wants to enter heaven because their obedience to God is better than others’, we make heaven a gift of works. God’s standard isn’t a comparison with other sinners but with his perfection reflected in his law!

Where does that lead? “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law” (Galatians 3:10). These words weren’t written about those who planned to banish the message of Christ crucified from the pulpit but about those who wanted to add works to the gospel message. Paul wrote about those who taught that faith in Christ was a good start towards heaven, but there were at least a few additional required acts of obedience. Paul lets them—and us—know that the “human-obedience-path” to heaven hopelessly puts us all under a curse.

The only way for any murderer to be saved is by God’s grace in Jesus. Jesus allowed the just judgment of hell for all our murders, and every other sin, to fall on him instead of us.

Didn’t gracious proof that heaven is a free gift for “big sinners” hang right next to Jesus on the cross? We don’t know exactly what capital offense the criminal on the cross committed, but he admits that his sentence was just (Luke 23:41). What we do know is that this criminal died with faith in Jesus; he entered heaven. That “three-seconds-to-midnight” rescue is powerful testimony that faith in Jesus is not just a start to receiving God’s gift of heaven. It is the beginning, middle, and end of the salvation “that is by faith from first to last” (Romans 1:17).