Who could disagree? Danny saved his little friend's life; Danny was a good man.

During the days our youth group attended the "Acquire the Fire" conference in Philadelphia, I picked up the newspaper which I found lying on top of a bush outside the house where we were staying. Immediately, the large, bold, headline caught my eye: "'Truly good man' is laid to rest,” it proclaimed.

The story by Philadelphia Inquirer writers Julie Stoiber and Christine Schiavo was about a slain policeman, Gary Skerski. This 16 year officer and his partner had been sent to Pat's Cafe after a patron, holed up in a bathroom, made a frantic 911 call from a cell phone, telling police that a gunman was terrorizing patrons in the bar, demanding that they hand over cash and jewelry, and withdraw money from an automatic teller machine. After arriving at the scene, Skerski had run to the back of the bar - just then the gunman burst through a rear exit and shot the officer in the neck.

Gary Skerski was 46 years old, a husband who would have celebrated 18 years of marriage in three days, and a father of two red-haired children, Robert, 13, and Nicole, 10.

At the funeral service, the Pastor of St. Adalbert's Catholic Church told the packed auditorium that Skerski was "a hero who is now at rest knowing he has shown his light to those who trusted him. He gave all that he had so that his family and his community would be safe, protected and cared for. He is transported from among us and found pleasing to the Lord, and so he has done his duty." Then turning to the children, the pastor said, "Robert and Nicole, be proud of your father. What he did, only a few are called to do: He gave his life that others may live."

With all due respect to the Pastor and the very difficult circumstances faced by this family and community, the truth of the matter is that with statements such as these, Christianity is reduced to being like all other anemic religions - the Gospel that Jesus died to provide is watered down to the point where if you're a good person, you will be saved. If you do good in this life, in the next you will be assured of a place in heaven, and this is especially true if you give your life while serving others. According to this thinking, heroes and martyrs are automatically elevated.

People who understand the cross have a problem with this.

Yes, it is true that Jesus said, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) And later, Paul concurs that it takes a special kind of courage to give one's life for others, "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die." (Romans 5:7)

However, it is also true that when you and I die, the fact of our deaths won't save either us or anyone else. We all understand that physical death is like a doorway to another kind of life, but the question is, will that doorway lead to eternal life in the presence of God in heaven, or will it lead to a second death, which is eternal life in the "lake of fire" prepared for the Devil and his angels? Furthermore, if I take someone else's bullet, I won't really save them, the only thing I will do is postpone their death. Only the death of Jesus is a satisfactory substitution - He died so that we might live.

Not that there haven't been men in the Bible who thought they could die that others could live. For example, in the Old Testament there was Moses who cried out to God, "If you will not forgive their sin, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written." (Exodus 32:32) Evidently Moses thought that the sacrifice of his own life would be an adequate substitute for the people under his leadership. In the New Testament, it was Paul who wrote something similar, "I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh." (Romans 9:3)

So what about this idea that good men go to heaven? It's interesting to note that the Bible speaks of many good things, but identifies only a very few men as being good.

According to the Bible:

There are good gifts, good days, good places, and a building may have a good foundation.
There’s good ground, good trees, good fruit, good wine and good salt.
We can have good cheer, good hope and good comfort.
The Bible speaks of good treasure, measure, and pleasure.
There are good deeds and seeds, words and works, conversation and manners.
There are good remembrances, as well as good reports and good tidings.
We may possess a good heart, good conscience, good will and good fidelity.
There are good laws and good doctrines.
The good fight is fought by good soldiers.
And there are such things as good professions and confessions, good stewards, and good ministers.

However, other than referring to Jesus, there are very few men in the New Testament who are said to be good. In fact, there are only two of whom it is expressly said, they were good men, and, interestingly enough, they both had the same name, Joseph.

First, there was a man by the name of Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Jewish Council, but one who opposed the decision to ask Pilate for Jesus' death sentence. When Jesus died, it was Joseph who asked for Jesus' body - he wanted to bury it in his own tomb. (Luke 23:50)

An old tradition tells us that this Joseph traveled to Glastonbury, Great Britain around 63 A.D., and erected a humble Christian chapel. The so-called miraculous "thorn of Glastonbury" - supposedly budding and blooming on Christmas Day - was reported to have sprung from the staff which Joseph stuck in the ground as he stopped to rest himself on the hilltop.

John (19:38) calls this Joseph a "secret" disciple, and Luke identifies this Joseph as a man who was "waiting for the kingdom of God" (v. 51)

The other man called "good" was the Joseph we have come to know as Barnabas, the name given him by the early apostles. He was a wealthy convert who blessed the early church with his generosity and encouraging words. This is what Luke, in Acts 11:24, says about Barnabas, "He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord."

Isn't it somewhat surprising that in the Bible, only these two men are explicitly called "good"? However, perhaps it shouldn't be too surprising, because, as Paul pointed out, "There is none righteous, no, not one." (Romans 3:10) And Jesus Himself said, "No one is good -- except God alone." (Mark 10:18)

Of course, we know that there were more men in the Bible that we would want to call good. Besides that, there are many people who are living today that we would also want to call good - perhaps some "gooder" than others.

In today's world, we seem to have developed levels of goodness.

On the lower levels, we all perform daily kindnesses, like hold open the restaurant door when someone else is approaching, compliment someone on their choice of clothing or hair style, pick up debris someone else has carelessly dropped on the floor, loan a tool or a cup of flower.

On a higher level, there are offerings of time and skill - we may give up our day off to help a friend pack and move, use our mechanical skill to change oil in the car belonging to a struggling single parent, cook a meal for someone who is ill, join a walk-a-thon for a worthy cause.

On a still higher level, there's heroism - these are people on whom we tag the title "hero." Certainly these are good men, like Danny Andrews and Officer Gary Skerski. During the last few years, especially since 9/11, there's been a lot of attention on heroes. There would be little question in anyone's mind today that when someone dies so that others may live - that person is a good person, and surely will be rewarded by receiving eternal life in heaven.

This brings us to the point of noting that the desire to live forever is very strong. Remember the man Jesus corrected? The one who called Jesus good? That man wanted to live forever, and wanted to know what had to be done to guarantee that heaven would be his destiny.

When we think about Jesus' answer to this young man's question, we mostly focus on the first part when Jesus told the man he had to sell everything he owned, and give all the proceeds to the poor. However, that's not the important part. The only reason Jesus told him to get rid of all his possessions was because He discerned that this man's wealth would be the distraction, or hindrance. The real answer followed when Jesus said, "Come take up the cross, and follow me." Or another way to look at this is that it may be good to give up everything you have for the benefit of the poor, or even your own life to save another's. But, and it may shock you to learn, it's not good enough. Philanthropists, like heroes who risk or give their lives to benefit others are, in the eyes of other men, seen to be good men. But Jesus didn't stop with "sell all and give to the poor." He went on to say, "take up the cross and follow me." (Mark 10:21)

If the question were to be asked today, "What must I do to have eternal life?" we might answer, "That's easy, just do something really, really good, like save someone from certain death, find a cure for AIDS or bird flu, or sell everything and become a missionary in one of the poorest countries of the world." Jesus would say, that's good, but not good enough; you must "take up the cross and follow me."

At the beginning, I mentioned the youth convention our teens attended in Philadelphia. On the first night, after all the smoke and pounding music faded, and at the close of the bizarre illustrated sermon with live teenagers hanging out in a pig-pen with live pigs, the speaker called on the youth to answer the call to become Christians.

Before inviting members of the audience to come to the front for prayer, he told them this would not be like other "altar calls." He went on to complain that too often the call to accept Christ was both passive and secretive - passive, because people are usually invited to "accept Christ" as if there was nothing to do other than simply accept, and secretive, because audiences are told to close their eyes and not look around so that those who want to become Christians can do so in private. However, this youth speaker asked for a different response - he challenged the teens to go very public with their decision; whenever they were ready to do so, they should stand up and boldly call out these words, "I want the cross."

Because there wasn't much of an explanation of what the statement, "I want the cross" means, I'm not sure that the kids got it. So what does it mean to "want the cross"? Does it mean to go to the jewelry store and buy a silver cross to hang around your neck? Does it mean to get a cross-shaped tattoo burned into your forearm, or to sew a cross patch on your back jeans pocket?

I'll tell you what it means.

To "want the cross" is to be willing to be publicly mortified, to be rejected and ridiculed by your peers.

To "want the cross" means to stop worrying whether or not other people think that you are good, but to know in your own heart and mind that you are not good, and are willing to forsake all pride and say it out loud, "I am a sinner."

To "want the cross" is to admit that you're sick and tired of your sinful thoughts, actions and words, and desperately want that to change.

To "want the cross" is to fully believe that the only way to be forgiven and have the power to live a righteous and happy life is to trust in what Jesus did when He died on the cross.

But there's still one more requirement - Jesus also said, "Follow me." To do this is no easier than to "take up the cross." Obviously, it means that, as Paul later would write, to be "crucified with Christ," Jesus could not have been advocating suicide or even martyrdom. If we're to follow Jesus, we must go on living. But how are we to live in this world in a way that will prepare us for the next? By following Jesus. Simply put, it means to watch what He does, to listen to what He says, and do it. Just do it.

Danny Andrews, Jr. was a good man. Gary Skerski was a good man. But their goodness, or mine, or yours, won't secure a place in heaven. Taking up the cross and following Jesus will - do you want the cross, and are you willing forsake all others and only follow Jesus?

Mark 10:21

1. Besides the stories of Danny Andrews, Jr. and Officer Gary Skerski, what are some of the very good things done by people that you know about?

2. When Jesus (John 15:13) and Paul (Romans 5:7) both referred to people who sacrifice themselves for others, to whom were they ultimately pointing?

3. Which two great Biblical men apparently believed that their own demise could benefit others?

4. Why is it that we believe that, apart from Jesus, one person's death cannot assure the salvation of another person or group?

5. Why is it that in the New Testament many things are called good, but so few people are actually called good?

6. Who were the two New Testament men who were actually called good, and what do we know about them?

7. What did Jesus and Paul specifically say about the goodness of men?

8. What are the three levels of goodness represented by kindness, sacrifice and heroism?

9. Name some ways we as humans seek to be immortal?

10. Why did Jesus tell the young man to get rid of all his possessions?

11. To be a candidate for eternal life in heaven, what is required beyond such things as philanthropy, humanitarianism, sacrifice, heroism and even martyrdom?

12. Why would someone consider the typical "altar call" to be both passive and secretive?

13. What do you think it means to "want the cross"?

14. What is involved with following Jesus?