The gospel truth about how to get to heaven
One of the most common misconceptions among Christians and non-believers is that you can get to heaven simply by being a good person.
The irony of that disbelief is that it completely ignores the need for Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world. Furthermore, it shows a fundamental lack of understanding of what God considers "good".
How good is it enough?
The Bible, the Word inspired by God, has much to say about humanity's so-called "goodness".
“Everyone moved away, together they became corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one ". (Psalm 53: 3, NIV)
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like dirty rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf and like the wind that our sins blow away. " (Isaiah 64: 6, NIV)
"Why do you call me good?" Jesus replied. "Nobody is good except God alone." (Luke 18:19, NIV)
Goodness, according to most people, is better than murderers, rapists, drug dealers and thieves. Giving to charity and being polite can be some people's idea of goodness. They recognize their flaws but think, on the whole, they are fairly decent human beings.
God, on the other hand, is not only good. God is holy. Throughout the Bible, we are reminded of his absolute sin. He is incapable of breaking his laws, the Ten Commandments. In the book of Leviticus, holiness is mentioned 152 times. Therefore, God's standard for entering heaven is not goodness, but holiness, complete freedom from sin.
The inevitable problem of sin
From Adam and Eve and the fall, every human being was born with a sinful nature. Our instinct is not towards good but towards sin. We may think we are good, compared to others, but we are not saints.
If we look at the history of Israel in the Old Testament, each of us sees a parallel to the infinite struggle in our own life: obeying God, disobeying God; cling to God, reject God. In the end, we all backtrack in sin. Nobody can meet God's standard of holiness to enter heaven.
In Old Testament times, God faced this problem of sin by commanding Jews to sacrifice animals to atone for their sins:
“For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I gave it to you to atone for yourself on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life. " (Leviticus 17:11, NIV)
The sacrificial system involving the desert tabernacle and later the temple of Jerusalem was never thought to be a permanent solution to humanity's sin. The whole Bible indicates a Messiah, a future Savior promised by God to face the problem of sin once and for all.
“When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise your offspring to succeed you, your flesh and your blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will forever establish the throne of his kingdom. " (2 Samuel 7: 12-13, NIV)
“However, it was the will of the Lord to crush him and make him suffer, and although the Lord makes an offer of sin in his life, he will see his offspring and prolong his days and the will of the Lord will thrive in his hand. "(Isaiah 53:10, NIV)
This Messiah, Jesus Christ, was punished for all the sins of humanity. He took the punishment humans deserved by dying on the cross and God's requirement for a perfect blood sacrifice was met.
God's great plan of salvation is not based on the fact that people are good - because they can never be good enough - but on the atoning death of Jesus Christ.
How to get to heaven The way of God
Since people can never be good enough to reach heaven, God has provided a way, through justification, to be credited with the righteousness of Jesus Christ:
"For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16, NIV)
Reaching heaven is not a matter of keeping the commandments, because no one can. Nor is it about being ethical, going to church, saying a number of prayers, making pilgrimages or reaching levels of enlightenment. Those things may represent goodness by religious standards, but Jesus reveals what matters to him and his Father:
"In response, Jesus declared: 'I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God if he is not born again'" (John 3: 3, NIV)
"Jesus replied:" I am the way, the truth and the life. Nobody comes to the Father except through me. " (John 14: 6, NIV)
Receiving salvation through Christ is a simple gradual process that has nothing to do with works or goodness. Eternal life in heaven comes through the grace of God, a gift. It is achieved through faith in Jesus, not performance.
The Bible is the ultimate authority in heaven and its truth is crystal clear:
"That if you confess with your mouth," Jesus is the Lord "and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10: 9, NIV)