Jonathan Enns

Lightning Strikes Largest statue of Christ

// February 12th, 2008 // bible, salvation

Lightning hit the world’s largest statue of Christ during last Sunday’s storm in Rio.
The statue is 130ft tall, is made of 700 tons of reinforced concrete and stands atop the 2,296ft Corcovado mountain overlooking the city, and is one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.

Brazil, being a very Catholic country has statues of Christ, Mary, and the Saints in most towns and cities. 95% of people you ask will tell you they are a Christian and believe in Salvation through faith in Christ’s work on the cross, but the vast majority are counting on Works (Good deeds, going to church, or having statues of Jesus & Mary, praying to God, Mary, or the saints) to get them to heaven.

This concept of a “works based” salvation is found no where in the Bible. The Bible teaches that salvation is a free gift, unable to be earned by anything we do. All we must do is admit that we are sinners (deserving punishment in what the Bible calls Hell), and believe that God came down to earth as a man (Jesus), and that Jesus Christ took our punishment in our place by dying upon the cross, then rose 3 days later conquering sin, so that we can be declared perfect before God. God forgave our sin by placing the penalty we deserved to pay on his Only son, Jesus Christ.

So where do works and good deeds come in? The Bible says that our good deeds & works prove our faith. This means that if we truly believe in Christ, our life, our words, and our actions will show it. Nothing I can do can pay (or equal out) the sin I have done.

There is no concept of a Good vs. Bad scale in the Bible.