Why Good People Don’t Go To
Heaven
A question I frequently ask people is, “If you were to die and stand before God and
He said, ‘Why should I let you into heaven?’ what would you say?” Most
people recognize that it’s a crucial question!
The answer I most frequently hear goes like this: “I’ve tried to do the best I could. I’ve
never hurt anyone intentionally. I’ve been a pretty good person.”
In other words, basically decent people will get into
heaven. Only really bad people—thieves, prostitutes, and murderers—will go to
hell.
There’s a “slight” problem with this common notion: It is
totally opposed to what Jesus taught!
In Matthew 9:12-13 Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the
sick…For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Jesus spoke these words to
the religious crowd—to the “good” people of His day. These
folks were at “church” every time the door opened. You could set your watch by
their prayer times. They tithed not only their money, but even their table
spices. We’re talking outwardly good people!
What sparked the confrontation between them and Jesus was
that Jesus had attended a dinner party thrown by a crook and attended by the
crook’s unsavory friends. These people never darkened the door of a church.
They did not even pretend to be good people.
To make matters even worse,
Jesus had just invited the crook to be one of His disciples, and the guy had
accepted the offer! The religious folks thought that it was wrong
for Jesus to offer God’s forgiveness to such riffraff. Let them clean up their
act first!
When Jesus said,
“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick,” He was not
implying that the religious crowd were acceptable before God and didn’t need
the forgiveness of sins He came to
Rather, Jesus was getting at the point that there’s one thing worse than being sick,
namely, being sick and thinking you’re well! Then you won’t go to the
doctor for the cure.
At least the crooks knew
they were spiritually terminal. By confessing their
sinfulness and by accepting God’s cure (His undeserved mercy through Jesus),
they were made well.
But those who thought they
were spiritually well were terminal without knowing it.
Some years ago in a church in England, the pastor noticed
that a former burglar was kneeling at the communion rail beside a judge of the
Supreme Court of England, the very judge who, years before, had sentenced the
burglar to seven years in prison.
After his release the burglar had been converted to
Christ and had become a Christian worker.
After the service, as the judge and the pastor walked
home together, the judge asked, “Did you see who was kneeling beside me at the
communion rail?” “Yes,” replied the pastor, “but I didn’t know that you
noticed.”
The two men walked on in silence for a few moments, and
then the judge said, “What a miracle of
grace!”
The pastor nodded in agreement, “Yes, what a marvelous miracle of grace!”
Then the judge said, “But
to whom do you refer?”
The pastor replied, “Why
to the conversion of that convict.”
The judge said, “But
I was not referring to him. I was thinking of myself.”
“What do you mean?” the
pastor asked.
The judge replied, “That burglar knew how much he needed Christ to save him
from his sins. But look at me. I was taught from childhood to live as a
gentleman, to keep my word, to say my prayers, to go to church. I went through
Oxford, took my degrees, was called to the bar and eventually became a judge.
Pastor, nothing but the grace of God could have caused me to admit that I was
sinner on a level with that burglar. It took much more grace to forgive me for
all my pride and self-righteousness, to get me to admit that I was not better
in the eyes of God than that convict whom I had sent to prison.”
Jesus taught that good people don’t go to heaven because
their pride keeps them from admitting their need for a Savior. The only ones
who go to heaven are those who see their sinfulness before a holy God and cry
out to Him for mercy.
What will you say when you stand before God?
Are you hoping to get into heaven by your goodness?
Jesus did not call “the
righteous”!
Is your hope in God’s grace toward sinners through Jesus
Christ? You’re in!
You may want to express your trust in Christ
in prayer to God. A suggested prayer is, “Heavenly
Father, I acknowledge my sin, rebellion, and self-centeredness to you. I
rightly deserve your holy judgment. But I put my trust in your Son, Jesus, and
His death on the cross, as the just payment for my sings. Thank you for giving
me eternal life according to your promise.”
If you have just put your trust in Jesus Christ, you have
been born into God’s family. As a spiritual baby, you need to grow by feeding
on God’s Word (1 Peter 2:2).
Purchase a good modern translation Bible and begin
prayerfully reading it. I suggest you start in the New Testament, such as the
Gospel of John or Paul’s letters to the Ephesians.
As you read, ask two questions: “What are You, Lord?” “What do You want me to do?”
Also, you need to join a church where the Bible is taught
and where God is truly worshiped.
God bless you as you begin your new life with Him!
RELATED POSTS:
The Great Exchange – God exchanged our filthy rags of sin
with the righteousness of Jesus Christ
.
Are You a Good Person? All our righteousness are just filthy rags to
Him
.
.
As a gift from God salvation is free
.
As a gift from God salvation is free
Steve has been the pastor of Flagstaff Christian
Fellowship since May, 1992. From 1977-1992 he pastored Lake Gregory Community
Church in Crestline, California. He graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary
(Th.M., 1976 in Bible exposition) and California State University, Long Beach.
https://bible.org/article/why-good-people-don-t-go-heaven
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