“Am I good enough to go to heaven?” “I’m a really good person, why would God send me to hell?” “How can a loving God send me to an eternal hell for something I did on earth?” What all these questions boil down to is, “Is Jesus the only way to heaven or can I just be good?” One of the most frequent misunderstandings I come across from Christians and non-Christians is that they believe that if they are good enough, they will go to heaven. But does the Bible say this? I’d love to help you understand what the Bible says about this.
If I can help further, please do not hesitate to reach out, I’m available often and can be found online at SteepleLess Church. Cuurio also has many questions that may help further as well. Feel free to reach out at anytime at johnjr@steeplelesschurch.com. There also is a sermon that relates to this topic, if you are interested in watching it please click here.
5 Common Questions about Goodness and the Bible
1. Am I a Good Person?
The fact is that almost everyone in the “western” culture would claim that they are good people. I am interested in crime and have read or heard testimony from hundreds of criminals. It is extremely rare, even for people who have committed first-degree murder, for people to claim they aren’t good people. Everyone has a justification for why what they did was not bad.
As an example, my wife eats mac and cheese for about half her meals. She just absolutely loves it; however, it is not great for her. When I asked her why she eats so much if it’s so bad for her she said, “At least I’m not smoking crack!” While this is a light-hearted example, these types of exaggerations are very common. Murderers will say, at least it wasn’t a child, or at least it was only one person. As soon as we do something wrong our mind is extremely good at justifying why we are still a good person, and it wasn’t that bad.
2. What does the Bible say About Being Good?
The Bible goes against the popular response in the West by saying that no one is good, not a single person. How is this possible? The Bible claims that God is good and therefore humans must follow the rules that He has set out to be good. When a human sins, even once, they fall from being good to being bad. This is because God is perfectly morally good and holy. For those who may not know, holiness means to be “set apart, sacred, sanctified.” God’s holiness includes His two essential qualities: absolute transcendence and infinite purity. When someone turns from God to follow their way they turn from light into darkness. We can only attain goodness by believing in Jesus Christ as God and allowing Him to be the ruler of our life and put our faith in Him.
3. How can I go to Heaven?
Oprah Winfrey says, “There are millions of ways to be a human being, and many paths to what you call God.” “Well, I am a Christian who believes that there are certainly many more paths to God other than Christianity.” Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6). Despite what popular culture tells you, Christianity is founded on believing that there is One God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and that there is only one way to go to heaven. Put your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior and you will be saved.
4. How can I Follow God?
Once you have put your faith in Jesus, the Bible tells us that having friends who are also Christians is very important. Christians are called to encourage and love one another as Jesus would. No person on earth is perfect, only Jesus was, so while we strive to be perfect when we sin we should repent and turn to God. God is loving, full of grace and mercy to His children. Shame and guilt are tools used by Satan to crush you. No one can hold the weight that people have to hold except God. There’s a common saying, “God will never give you more than you can handle.” This is not biblical; the Bible says that life is often very difficult, and we should give our problems up to God. We can follow God by following the example that Jesus set up for us in the Bible.
5. How can I get Closer to God?
The best way to get closer to God is to first set a foundation for your understanding. God is presented in the Bible as three persons in one being as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Not believing in this would mean that you are not a Christian because this is the foundation of who God is. Understanding this, it is best to read the Bible frequently and answer any questions you may have about God. God is available anytime to His people, for He created time so He is not bound by it.
Take a minute or an hour right now and acknowledge Him. If you have put your faith in Him, He will guide you through the Holy Spirit that lives inside you. Read the Bible, pray, and be friends with others who have faith and you will grow in understanding and faith. SteepleLess Church would love to be your church family if you do not have one. Please reach out to us at anytime time at johnjr@steeplelesschurch.com. We stream our services online so anyone can join us. God bless.
