1. If I’m a good enough person, won’t I go to heaven?

How good is "good enough"?

If you believe you’ll get to heaven because you’ve been a "good" person, then ask yourself, "How good is really good enough to get to heaven?" For example, you may say "John Smith" is good enough, but another person may say he’s not. So who is the judge of what’s "good enough" to make it to heaven? God is the one who will be our judge one day. And what is His standard? Well, God doesn’t grade on the curve. Even if we break only one of God’s commandments, He says we’re still sinners; "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). And yet how many of us have claimed that we’re good most of the time, and that’s good enough to get us to heaven? After all, if we keep the Ten Commandments, especially the "big ones," like no adultery and no murder, won’t that do it? That’s why the Bible tells us, "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it" (James 2:10). Have you ever stolen? Have you ever lied? Have you ever cheated? We may have obeyed most of the laws, but if we’ve lied even once in our lives, then we’re sinners, and sin separates us from God. Sin means to fall short of God’s standard, and we’ve all done that.

So how can anyone get to heaven?

You may be thinking, "But I thought Christians are people doing good things so they can be good enough to get to heaven. They go to church, read the Bible, pray, and try to be good enough to get to heaven." Actually, Christianity is not about trying to be good enough to earn heaven. In fact, Christianity is about acknowledging that we cannot be good enough to "earn" heaven on our own. Like missing the bull’s eye, we’ve missed the target or the standard of perfection. If you can live a life that is absolutely perfect in thought, word, and deed, then you can make it to heaven on your own. But no one ever has or ever will. Whether we’ve committed "big" or "small" sins, we’re all sinners nonetheless. But the good news of Christianity is that Jesus Christ took ALL our sins and our punishment upon Himself when He died on the cross.

Remember. . .

Whether you place your faith (trust) in Jesus Christ to save you or not, one day you will die and stand before God at His judgment. Will you tell Him that you’re good enough to be in heaven, or that you know Christ lived the perfect sinless life that you can never live yourself, and that you trust in Him for your entrance to heaven? He died in your place. And His righteousness becomes your righteousness. You are covered by the perfect righteousness of your Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Does that mean I don’t have to live a "good life" and I’ll still go to heaven?

We do "good works" because we want to obey God--we want to live a life that’s pleasing to Him, to make Him the Lord of your life rather than self-centeredly doing whatever you want with no regard for God. You let Him call the shots now, not you. We do not receive Christ and then live like the devil. If we do, then it only means we don’t have a genuine saving faith, because receiving Christ involves a change of mind. It means we’re turning to God from self to surrender our lives to Him and follow Him. It means allowing Him to mold us and to make us what He wants us to be. He knows what’s best for each of us.

The Bible has many verses that tell us we cannot depend on our good works to go to heaven. Here are just a few of them:

Titus 3:5: "He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy."

Philippians 3:8-9: "Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith."

Ephesians 2:8-9: "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."

The Bible is clear that we are saved by God’s grace (mercy) through faith in Jesus Christ. Faith alone saves, but a saving faith is never alone--it always produces good works! No one is saved by good works, but those who are saved bring forth good works!

None of us will live on earth forever. If you were to die tonight, where would you go? Do you know for sure you will go to heaven? One day when you stand before God and He asks you, "Why should I allow you into My heaven?" what would you answer Him? Will you then plead your own "goodness" . . . OR . . . the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ?

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