Are You Saved and On Your Way to Heaven?

One of the most common misconceptions made by many is that you can get to heaven just by being a good person, being baptized, taking communion, etc. First, this negates the necessity of Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world. Secondly, this reveals a complete lack of understanding of what God considers "good."

How Good Is Good Enough?

God’s Holy Bible has much to say about humanity's perceived "goodness."

"Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." (Psalm 53:3)

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." (Isaiah 64:6)

“And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God." (Luke 18:19)

Most of the time, when comparing ourselves with others, it is the murderers, rapists, drug dealers and robbers that we use. Of course we will look golden next to them! We may recognize some of our flaws but think, “Mostly, I’m a decent human being”.

The problem is that when God does the comparing, He compares us to Himself and God is holy! Goodness is not the standard we are to use, it is complete holiness! Absolute sinlessness!

The Inescapable Problem of Sin

Since Adam and Eve and the Fall, every human being has been born with a sinful nature. “For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners…” (Romans 5:19a) We may think we are good when comparing ourselves to others who are worse than we are, but we are not holy.

We are sinners. “...sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4b). Sin is breaking God’s law, and we are all guilty lawbreakers in the eyes of God. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). So-called good works do not forfeit the legal ramifications of breaking God’s law. Blood must be shed. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul" (Leviticus 17:11).

Sin can only be removed by blood. “…the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7b). This is the significance of the Death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Without His blood sacrifice, all humanity would be damned!

How to Get To Heaven God's Way

Because people can never be good enough to get to heaven, God provided a way, through justification, for them to be credited with the righteousness of Jesus Christ:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) Getting to heaven is not a matter of obeying Commandments, because no one can. It is not about being ethical, going to church, saying a certain number of prayers, making pilgrimages, or attaining levels of enlightenment. Those things may represent goodness by religious standards, but Jesus said: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’” (John 3:3)

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one cometh unto the Father, but by me.'" (John 14:6)

Receiving salvation through Christ is not as much about doing as it is about believing. Eternal life in heaven comes through God's grace, a gift. It is gained through faith in Jesus, not performance.

John the Baptist, Jesus, and the Apostles all preached the same message, “Repent from your sins and turn to Jesus!” “And they went out, and preached that men should repent.” (Mark 6:12)

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:9, 13)