The majority of adults in the United States believe in heaven, and many believe they’re going to heaven when they die. Why? Because, they’re good people. Yep. Because, they’re good people. They are nice to their neighbors. They do volunteer work a couple of times each month. They donate to their favorite charity. Some of them even go to church each week. They are good people. They lead a good life. Good people go to heaven, and bad people go to that other place. Isn’t that how it works? News Flash! Heaven is not for good people! You heard me right. Heaven is not for good people.
It Doesn’t Matter
It doesn’t matter who you are, or what you have done. If your only claim to heaven is that you are a good person, well, you are going to be in for a surprise. Whatchu talkin’ ’bout, Willis? I’ll say it again. It doesn’t matter how good you are. Heaven is NOT for good people. Ain’t no good people getting into heaven.
Who Is A Good Person?
Who is a good person? One way to describe a good person is, someone who follows the rules. Someone who doesn’t break the law. Someone who doesn’t lie, or cheat, or commit crimes. A person who is kind, honest and has good morals. Someone who is friendly, loyal, trustworthy, and dependable. A person who is righteous. That is the type of person most people think of when they think of what a good person is.
The Rich Young Ruler
This is the thing though. What does the Bible say about a good person? In Luke 18:18 it talks about a certain ruler who asked Jesus, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Verse 19 goes on to say, “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good-except God alone.” Now Jesus was not chastising the man for calling him good. He was trying to get the man to understand the concept of Jesus’ goodness, and the lack of the man’s own goodness. In verse 20, Jesus tells him what he would need to do. “You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’
Wealth More Important Than God
The man replied in verse 21, “All these things I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. Verse 22 goes on today, “When Jesus heard of this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Verse 23 says, “When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy.” See, although the man had devoted himself to keeping the commandments, obviously his wealth was more important to him than God, so he was not good in the eyes of God. Matthew 22:36-38 says, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest commandment.” It is obvious that this ruler loved his wealth more than he loved God.
Human Definition Of Good
See, here is the deal. We humans have a definition of good, but our definition of good does not meet God’s definition of good. What is God’s definition of good? It would be someone who has no evil in them. Someone whose intentions and motivations are always good, with no selfish motives. Someone who keeps the commandments. Now, has anyone ever kept the commandments? The answer to that questions is, No! To keep all of the commandments, you would be perfect, and there was only one who was perfect. 1 John 1:8 says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” Also remember what Jesus said in Matthew 5: 27-28, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery, But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery in his heart.” Yep.
For All Have Sinned
You can’t work your way into heaven by trying to be good in God’s eyes. We can do all of these good works, but as it says in Isaiah 64:6, “All of us became like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” No matter what we do, we fall short. Romans 3:23 says, “For All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Who Will See Heaven?
Well if heaven is not for the good, then who is heaven for? What do we have to do to get into heaven? Well again, Romans 3:23 says, “For All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Remember, it is sin that separates us from God. As long as we are sinners, we can never be reconciled to God. What then, can we do to be reconciled to God? Well God made a way. In John 14:6, Jesus says the only way to heaven is through him. Jesus, who was without sin, took our sins upon himself so we could be reconciled to God. He paid the price for our sins when he died on the cross. In 2 Corinthians 5:21, it says, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
Relationship With God Was Broken
When somebody does you wrong, what is your relationship with that person like after that? You are probably hurt, or angry, and don’t want anything to do with them. There is a good chance your relationship is probably broken. What if that person comes to you, and is sincerely sorry for the wrong that they have done to you, and asks for your forgiveness? Well, that will put you on the road to reconciling your relationship with them. That’s the way it is with God. We have had a lifetime of disobedience to God, so our relationship with God is broken. Christ though, paid the price for our disobedience, when He died on the cross, and was raised from the dead. Through Christ, our slate is wiped clean.
Next Steps
So, what do we do with that? First we recognize the fact that we are disobedient to God, and separated from him because of that disobedience. Next, we recognize the fact that, as we said previously, Christ paid the price for our sins on the cross, and we put our faith in Christ. Next, we repent of our sins. What does it mean to repent? It means to turn away from our sin, and turn to God for forgiveness of our sin. In 1 John 1:9, it says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Spoiler Alert: It Is The Forgiven
Ok, so if good people will not see heaven, who will see heaven? Well, it isn’t the ones who are good in the eyes of humanity. It is the ones who put their trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. So it isn’t the good, but the forgiven who will see heaven. Remember, Christ paid the price for our sins, so we could be reconciled to God. In John 14:6, “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
The pic of this post is my interpretation of a person being escorted to the gates of heaven by two angels. The small blue sphere on the lower right corner is earth. As Christians, we know heaven is our home, and even though we treasure our time here on earth, we also look forward to the day when God calls us home to be with Him. To take a look at the picture, click on the “Pic Of The Post link.” Please feel free to leave questions or comments.