If you are trying to get into Heaven by being good enough, you will not succeed.
In my opinion, this is the most important question you could ever ask. God gave us the Bible in order to teach us about Him and how He works in the world, which includes telling us what He expects from us in order for Him to let us have a relationship with him and get into Heaven. The answer to this question is all over the place in the Bible; and most of the stories in the Bible are meant to point you towards this answer. So, the more you read and study the Bible, the more you will understand the answer to this question.
I am going to answer this question by starting out with saying something you may find crazy: if you are trying to get into Heaven by being good enough, you will not succeed. God says you cannot be good enough to get into Heaven. But, don’t get too worried, because you can still get into Heaven.
Now, it’s time for me to prove this to you by showing you what the Bible says.
The first verse we will look at is Isaiah 64:6
Isaiah 64:6 (NIV) All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
This verse is saying that even the good things we do are considered unclean, or bad, to God.
Now you may be wondering, “If that’s the case, then why did God give us the law and ten commandments? If following them still leaves us unclean, then why do we have them?”
God answers that question in Romans 3:19-20
Romans 3:19-20 (NLT) Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.
So, The Bible says that God gave us the law so that he could prove to us that we are not good enough to be successful at keeping the law. He also says the following in James 2:10
James 2:10 (NLT) For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.
In other words if you have ever broken any of God’s laws you have already messed up badly enough to never be able to be good enough to get into Heaven. So what now? Is it hopeless? No, you can still get into Heaven, Let’s look at Romans 3:21-28 to see God’s instructions on how to get into Heaven.
Romans 3:21-28 (NLT) But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.
Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.
Even more so, Galatians 2:16-21 tell us this:
Galatians 2:16-21 (NIV) Know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
“But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners; doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker. “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
So, let me review what we learned. The question was, “How does God decide if we’ve been good enough to get into Heaven?” The answer is: God knows we cannot be good enough to get to Heaven. So, He gave us the law in order to prove to us that we cannot be good enough and to let us know that we need help, specifically, help from God, Himself. This is why Jesus came down to earth, lived a sinless life, and died on the cross in order to buy us all tickets into Heaven.
Now you have a choice. You can choose to try to be good enough and then pay God for your sins yourself. But this will mean you cannot make it into Heaven. Or you can choose to admit that you cannot be good enough to get into Heaven on your own and accept Jesus’ free gift of entry into Heaven.
If you want to accept Jesus as your Savior and receive your free “ticket” into Heaven, all you have to do is believe in those truths. God knows what is in your heart even if you don’t know what to say. However, if you would like to pray to God, it’s as easy as thinking and talking. I will give you an example of what you can say to Him right now:
Dear God, I am so sorry that I have messed up and sinned. I know I deserve punishment and that Jesus took that punishment for me. I know that I need your forgiveness and your help. I am putting my faith in Jesus and in His payment for my sins. Thank you for forgiving me and for wanting a relationship with me.
In Jesus name, Amen
If you accept Jesus’ payment for your sins, you are adopted as a son/daughter of God and are on your way to Heaven no matter what, because we can know for sure that if God says something will happen, it will happen. God is not a liar and He always keeps His promises.
This series of blog posts titled, “Holding on to Reason”, is named after Amanda’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote: “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”