How Good Is Good Enough?

How Good Is Good Enough?

By Andy Stanley

I finished this book on October 13, 2017. I recently gave a copy of this book to all the guys at Bible Study. Andy Stanley has a way to take what could otherwise be such a complicated question and make it very practical and easy to understand. This book only takes about 60-90 minutes to read and does a remarkable job at tackling the question of how good is good enough to get to heaven. The answer might surprise you, but it's simple, and more importantly answered using the written, authoritative Word of God, leaving no room for doubt or misinterpretation. I recommend this book for anyone.

"Everybody is preoccupied with making a living, falling in love, having kids, and whatever else they are doing. Nobody's got time to think about heaven. So they don't."
― Andy Stanley - How Good Is Good Enough?
"Nobody can tell you how good you have to be to go to heaven."
― Andy Stanley - How Good Is Good Enough?
"Another problem with trusting in our internal sense of right and wrong to act as a divine compass is that our perception of right and wrong changes as time passes."
― Andy Stanley - How Good Is Good Enough?
If there is an internal sense of right and wrong that is divinely instilled in each of us, and it is complete enough to get us to heaven, why does it change through the years? We change. And as we change, our values, morals, and ethics change. So which standard does God use? Our adolescent standard? Our single-and-free standard? Our married-with-children standard? Our too-old-to-care standard? Or does he have his own set of rules that he just hasn't bothered to share with us?"
― Andy Stanley - How Good Is Good Enough?
"There is no connection between the Ten Commandments and heaven. None. Nada. Zero. It doesn't exist. You don't have to take my word for it; you can pick up a Bible and check it out for yourself."
― Andy Stanley - How Good Is Good Enough?
"The New Testament comes right out and says what the Old Testament implies: No one will reach God by being good."
― Andy Stanley - How Good Is Good Enough?
"It is comforting to imagine a God who values our strengths and pretty much ignores our weaknesses. But that is the God of our imaginations, not necessarily the God who exists."
― Andy Stanley - How Good Is Good Enough?
"Jesus taught that good people don't go to heaven. Furthermore, he taught that God was intent on not giving people what they deserved. Jesus claimed that God desires to give men and women exactly what they do not deserve."
― Andy Stanley - How Good Is Good Enough?
"Forgiven people go to heaven. And forgiveness is made possible by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ."
― Andy Stanley - How Good Is Good Enough?
"For more than a thousand years, Jews had been sacrificing animals so that God might overlook their sins. The Old Testament was clear: Sin required death. God had allowed the prescribed death of an animal to temporarily substitute for the death of a sinner. But the death of a lamb did not permanently erase the guilt associated with sin; it merely atoned for, or covered over the sin."
― Andy Stanley - How Good Is Good Enough?
"The law didn't create sin, but it sure revealed sin."
― Andy Stanley - How Good Is Good Enough?
"Christianity is based on the premise that God laid aside fairness and opted for mercy and grace instead."
― Andy Stanley - How Good Is Good Enough?
"We rarely expend much emotion demanding fairness when we get more than we deserve."
― Andy Stanley - How Good Is Good Enough?
"The God of Christianity never claims to be fair. He goes beyond fair. The Bible teaches that he decided not to give us what we deserve — that's mercy. In addition, God decided to give us exactly what we don't deserve — we call that grace. Is Christianity fair? Absolutely not. But if you take the Bible seriously, the last thing you would want is for God to be fair. He tried being fair once. Things didn't work out very well."
― Andy Stanley - How Good Is Good Enough?
"When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, they — not God — introduced sin and all its consequences into their fair, just, and perfect world. In that moment, the possibility for fairness came to an end. From that day forward, men, women, and children have treated one another unfairly. God had two choices: Start over, or resort to mercy and grace."
― Andy Stanley - How Good Is Good Enough?
"Is Christianity fair? It is certainly not fair to God. Christians believe that God sent his son to die for your sins and mine. Fairness would demand that we die for our own sins. But the good news is that God opted for grace and mercy over fairness."
― Andy Stanley - How Good Is Good Enough?
"Christianity teaches that when man sinned, God opted for forgiveness rather than fairness. He opted for grace and mercy rather than justice. What he offers you is more than fair."
― Andy Stanley - How Good Is Good Enough?
"The reason good people don't go to heaven is that there aren't any good people. There are only sinners."
― Andy Stanley - How Good Is Good Enough?
"Good people don't go to heave. Forgiven people go to heaven."
― Andy Stanley - How Good Is Good Enough?
"Everybody is welcome. Everybody gets in the same way. Everybody can meet the requirement. Believing in him is the only requirement."
― Andy Stanley - How Good Is Good Enough?
"Saying a prayer won't make you a Christian. Placing your faith in Christ as your savior makes you a Christian. Prayer is just a way of expressing to God that you have come to the conclusion that Jesus is in fact his son and your savior."
― Andy Stanley - How Good Is Good Enough?
"Heavenly Father, thank You for not being fair. Thank You for instead being merciful. I believe true fairness would have separated me from You forever, because that's what I deserve. Thank You for sending Jesus to die for my sins. I now place my faith in him as my savior. Thank You for sending him to die in my place."
― Andy Stanley - How Good Is Good Enough?
"The word gospel means “good news”. The good news is that good people don't go to heaven — forgiven people do. And if you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ as your savior, you are one of those forgiven people."
― Andy Stanley - How Good Is Good Enough?

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