Do Good People Go To Heaven?
Yes, good people would go to Heaven...that is...if there were any people truly good enough!
Are you good enough? People often say, "I do the best I can and try to keep the ten commandments." But have any of us really done the best we can? Have any of us kept all of the commandments?
The Bible tells us no one can perfectly keep God's law in order to go to Heaven: "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no one be justified in His (God's) sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." 1
God's law does not secure us a place in Heaven, but rather condemns us to Hell. We are sentenced to eternal death because we have broken God's law: "For the wages if sin is death."2 Jesus Christ described Hell as a real place where "there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."3
When you compare your life with God's perfect standard, all of our good deeds do not meet up. Mixed in with man's good deeds is the element of sin: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."4
The question arises, "If no one is good enough to go to Heaven then who will go there?" The answer is simple. Jesus said, "I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."5
When Jesus, the Son of God, died on the cross some 2,000 years ago He opened the way for sinners to go to Heaven. God poured out His wrath on His Son that we might escape the penalty of our own sin: "God commendeth His love toward us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."6
People do not go to Heaven because of their own personal goodness, but because of Christ's goodness. Jesus Christ is the only man who can be called "good" because the Bible says He "knew no sin".7 Jesus was God in the flesh. Only God is without sin.
What are you trusting in to go to Heaven? Doing good to others? Keeping the commandments? Being a church member? Baptism? These are all "good" things but there is only one way to Heaven. Jesus said of Himself, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."8
Are you sorry over your own sin? Would you like to be forgiven and promised a place in Heaven? All you have to do is place your faith and trust in Christ - and in Him alone. Jesus Christ conquered death when He rose from the grave. Why don't you ask Him to come into your heart right now?
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."9
Bible references: 1 Romans 3:20 6 Romans 5:8, 9
2 Romans 6:23 7 2 Corinthians 5:21
3 Matthew 13:42 8 John 14:6
4 Romans 3:23 9 Romans 10:13
5 Matthew 9:13
If you have any questions, please e-mail us at biblebaptist3102@bellsouth.net - we'll do our best to answer them to the best of our ability.
If you have trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior as a result of reading this information, we would love to hear about it. We would also like to send you some material to help you learn more about being a Christian.
In the mean time, as a brand-new child of God, you will need the following to help you grow spiritually:
1. Spiritual food - the Bible
Just as you need to eat in order to remain healthy physically, you also need to feed your soul with spiritual food. Read your Bible every day and ask God to teach you through the Holy Spirit the truths written therein. The best place to start reading is the Gospel of John, Romans, Mark, and Proverbs.
2. A spiritual family - a church
find a local church that preaches the following truths found in the Bible:
- the Bible is the inspired Word of God
- Jesus is the sinless Son of God, born of a virgin, who died for our sins and rose again on the third day
- salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ alone, by grace, without the need for "good works"
- genuine believers are eternally secure and cannot lose their salvation
- there is a real Heaven and a real Hell which last for all eternity
- God exists as a Trinity consisting of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
- Baptism is by immersion, and is a picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ
- follow this first command to brand-new believers by being baptized by immersion
3. Spiritual friends - Jesus and godly Christians
Surrender every day to God, asking Him to help you with all your needs. Confess your failures daily, ask for and rely on God's strength to help you live your Christian life. Pray and talk to God each day just as you would to your best friend. Seek out godly Christians who can encourage you and help you learn more about God.
