3 reasons why you can’t get to heaven by being good

I was recently diagnosed with cancer. At this point, I’m evaluating the impact I’ve had during my life and thinking about the things that have been burning inside me that I haven’t shared yet. I’ve actually posted on this topic already (Why you’ll never be good enough), but this particular heresy has always grated on me since it’s SO prevalent and it can literally keep you from salvation.

I’m the executive director of a non profit after school program, and when I asked our kids how they thought you got into heaven, most of them answered “by being good.” I’m passionate about this truth: there’s only one way you can get right with God, and you absolutely cannot pull yourself up by your bootstraps and white knuckle it. This is why:

1) No one is good

Mark 10:18 says that no one but God is good. Our definition of good is very subjective, but usually is summed up by not having murdered anyone. So everyone gets in heaven except murderers, by this line of thought. You can lie, cheat, steal, and commit adultery for your whole life, and that’s perfectly fine.

However, God’s standard is much higher than ours. God calls all those things sin, and Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin is death. Even if you didn’t do any of those things, Jesus says that if you look at a woman lustfully, you’ve committed adultery, and if you’re angry at someone you’re subject to judgment. Romans 3:23 says ALL have sinned. No one is good. So does that mean no one is getting into heaven? Not by our own merit, we aren’t.

2) If you could, then Jesus died for nothing

Most of us know the story of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins, but what we need to realize is that it’s not just a nice story. Actually, it’s not a nice story at all. It’s a crazy, extreme story that most of us can’t relate to. We’ve just heard it so many times that we forget to contemplate the implications. God, the Father, surrendered His only Son to die an excruciating death.

Why would He do that? Was He abusive? Indifferent? No, He did it because it was the only way to have relationship with us. God is holy and He hates sin. He sacrificed His Son out of extreme love so that we could approach Him. That sacrifice atoned for our sin so that in God’s eyes, those who embrace the Son, and confess their sin can walk in freedom and intimacy with God.

Now, if you can get to heaven by being good, God was either extremely foolish or cruel to allow His Son to die a gruesome death that He easily could’ve prevented. That is not how the story goes. That is not the divine plan. If you claim to be a Christian, you follow and believe the words of the Bible, and the Bible clearly states that salvation is made possible through the cross.

3) You can’t earn salvation

The gospel according to the Holy Scriptures clearly states:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— Ephesians 2:8

We can’t ever be good enough to earn salvation or God’s love. And we don’t have to. It’s freely given to us. Our access to God is guaranteed. Our inheritance is eternity in the presence of the Glorious and Beautiful One. To enter into this salvation we need only to:

1. Realize we need God and there is sin in our lives
2. Confess our sin and ask God for forgiveness
3. Allow God’s grace to work in our heart to free us from harmful behavior and help us live a life pleasing to Him