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I am a good person, so I can count on going to Heaven, right?

By whose standards are you measuring your goodness? Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” This verse very clearly says that all people are unworthy of God’s goodness. This means everyone—even you!

Being a good person will help you get through this life. It will earn you some good friendships and cause people to trust you and lean on you in difficult times. However, it is not what God requires of you. If God held you to the standard He requires, you would never make it to Heaven—no one would. God has known since the beginning of time that man is incapable of perfecting himself, so He has been trying to show us our need for a Savior through our own weakness.

Here it is, the whole Gospel: 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” The first step is recognizing that you are NOT good enough. Secondly, you need to repent of your sinfulness, especially the sin of pride—believing that you have somehow done something to make you worthy to spend eternity in the presence of God. Only then can God cleanse your heart. Isaiah 1:18b says, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow.”

It is necessary to recognize that Heaven is a holy place. It is not a right. It is a gift given to God’s children—people who have come to a faith in Christ and who have made Him Lord of their lives. There is much debate over this issue. Many denominations and cults believe that there are many roads to Heaven. Let me settle the debate with a Scripture verse that directly quotes Jesus Christ: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn. 14:6).