High School wasn’t very good to me when it came to marks! Ironically, I am 66 and a half years old ... which is exactly my average in high school. It’s not that I didn’t study. I studied hard but couldn’t seem to remember a lot of what I was supposed to learn.

One of my favourite classes was Physics. I remember my excitement when the smartest kid in class phoned me for help with a problem we were given for homework. I had figured it out! As I recall, I got the right answer but the teacher didn’t like the way I had come up with the solution. It seems I couldn’t win.

My average school-mark woes all changed when I went to Bible School. Having an average in the 90’s was a new experience for me. Apparently the subject matter was more to my liking!

There are some urban legends concerning final tests that I find fascinating. The one I recall immediately is where a professor of philosophy asks only one question for the final exam: “Why?” Many students wrote pages of information they’d learned throughout the year. In the end only two got full marks. Their answers were “Why not” and “Because”.

In another story, two university students had been partying the night before their final exam and slept in. Arriving too late to write, the students begged for a second chance. As part of their excuse for arriving late they claimed that they had gotten a flat tire on the way into class. The professor granted their request, however, their lie was exposed by the final question on the exam: “Which tire?”

Jesus made it clear that he would sit in judgement when he returns. We might call this the final exam. There is no rewrite, you either pass or fail. “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats” (Matt. 25:31-32).

Someone has come up with a hypothetical question that fits this scenario perfectly. You might call it “the final question”. “If you were standing before the gates of heaven, and God were to ask you, ‘Why should I let you into my heaven?’ what would your answer be?”

Some might answer, “God, I’ve tried to be a good person. I did my best.” Others would say, “I’ve done more good than bad in my life.” A self-righteous person answers, “I’ve given to the poor.” Then there’s the religious guy who says, “I’m a member of the church and I sing in the choir.” Finally there’s the woman who says, “I chose my own path and here I am because all paths lead to God. Right?”

Every one of these answers fall short. Notice the common error. It’s the idea that “I did this” or “I did that”. All of these people have “I” trouble! Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” What’s the right answer then? “Jesus made a way for me!” It’s all about Jesus! As Peter said in Acts 4:12, “Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Believe it, receive it, and stand with confidence when that final question is asked!