Many of us have spent our whole lives trying to do enough good deeds, in the hope that God will allow us into heaven. But is doing good deeds the requirement to get into heaven?
Jesus said, “Be perfect as Your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) Jesus also said, “Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20) . The Pharisees and scribes were the ones who followed the law to a tee and who were the supposedly the most righteous people of those days. And none of us have been more righteous than they. So how do we enter heaven when we die?
The answer is found in the Gospel, which is also known as the Good News. The Good News is NOT “if you are a good enough person” then God will let you into heaven. Romans 3:23 teaches us that “All have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God”. Romans 3:10 teaches us that “There is no one who does good, not even one.” Ezekiel 18:20 teaches us that “The soul that sins it shall die”.
The Bible paints a desperate picture for everyone in the human race. “All have sinned”. The picture gets more grim when it says, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) . God will one day judge sin and the penalty for committing sin is spiritual death and separation from God forever (Matthew 25:46) . This reality is not the most popular truth to bring up at a birthday party or a wedding, but nonetheless, God has spoken and His word is truth.
The Bible never teaches that if a man or woman does enough good things in life that God will weigh the scales and allow people into eternal peace and the place known as heaven. “There is no one who does good, not even one. There is no one who seeks God or who understands”.
The Bible does give us Good News, however. The Good News is God’s Good News to humanity. It is the Gospel. And God’s Gospel given by God to humanity is God’s plan for people to get into heaven when they die. Do you know what plan this is? It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is simply this: Jesus lived a perfect and sinless life, Jesus died on the cross to pay our sin debt to God, and Jesus earned the perfect righteousness that is required to get into heaven on judgment day (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) . Jesus rose from the dead and is seated in power and glory and offers eternal life to all those who will turn from their sin by placing their trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior. “He who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved! (Romans 10:9,10,13) “
Question: What if I reject God’s plan of salvation and eternal life/heaven?
Answer: Then you will be judged by God for how you lived your life and what you believed. God teaches us in His word that “if we say we are without sin we make God out to be a liar and His word is not in us (I John 1:10) .”
Question: Is the Gospel the only way to get into heaven? What about all paths leading to heaven?
Answer: Jesus is the only way to the Father (John 14:6) . Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection is the only way that God has made for anyone and everyone to enter into heaven when they die (Matthew 1:21; Philippians 3:9; Acts 4:12; Ephesians 2:8-10) “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” Acts 4:12.
Question: Why has God made only one way to get into heaven?
Answer: Ephesians 1 teaches us that God made a plan before the world began to save His people from their sin. This plan was in Jesus Christ alone. There is a benefit in this as well: God has made clear and very simple from Genesis to Revelation that Jesus is the only way to heaven and that all other ways are dead ends and are in fact false (John 10:7-12) . There is only one Gospel of God unto salvation for man. “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed (Galatians 1:8) .”
Question: What does God do with the sin that I still commit even after He saves me through Jesus?
Answer: When God saves us in time and in history, He forgives our sin and declares us righteous in Christ. The theological term for this act is Justification by Faith. This is a positional and once for all declaration of God that deals with our standing before God. God now begins to live through us and in us to accomplish His purposes in our lives. This second part of our life and process of God is called “Sanctification By Grace”. Sanctification does not save us or give us heaven. Sanctification does not produce justification. Jesus has already given us eternal life and heaven. We have already been Justified by God through faith. Sanctification purifies us in view of the fact that we are already saved and justified. Our position in Christ is firm and secure. We are children of God through Christ (Romans 8:11-16) . But our sinful nature must be purged from us until we are made completely like Christ. The Roman Catholic position is that this purification takes place in purgatory. But Scripture never teaches anything about purgatory. Scripture teaches us that Jesus has forgiven all of our sin through His death on the cross. “It is finished (John 19:30, Hebrews 9:26) .” Scripture teaches also that Jesus will carry on His good work in us until completion and the day of Christ (Philippians 1:6) . Keep in mind it is Jesus that is carrying on the good work and not us who are meeting God half way in sanctification in order to one day be justified by works. “No flesh shall be justified by the works of the law (Galatians 2:16) . “ Believers are justified by God once for all and believers are being sanctified by God for the rest of our lives. This is why we can say that in Christ, sin no longer reigns, but that sin still remains. We are at the same time “justified” and sinner. We are forgiven and declared right with God but are being made more spotless and clean until the bride is ready for her Savior and Lord to take her home. At that time she will be without sin and completely made righteous.
How about you? Have you trusted Jesus for forgiveness of your sins and His righteousness unto eternal life? If not, and you feel the conviction of His word upon your soul, pray a prayer such as this to God, “Lord Jesus forgive my sin. I believe that You lived the perfect life, died on the cross for my sins, that you were buried and resurrected the third day. I trust you with all my heart as I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.”
if you trusted Jesus and would like more resources on how to grow in your relationship with Jesus feel free to contact me at 702-376-7123.
Blessings to you in Christ our Lord!
Wisdom Walk 