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The most important question anyone could consider is the question of whether they are good enough to go to heaven. The Holy Bible gives us an answer to this question and tells us how good we have to be. Are you good enough to go to heaven? Have you broken any one of the Ten Commandments? Most of us would say that yes we have but we have done nothing really seriously wrong, like murder, so God will overlook that.
How does one enter into heaven? By being good? By being baptized? Or could it be by faith in the finished work of Christ? It may surprise many born again Christians to know that according to research done by the Barna Group, "54% of all adults believe that if a person is generally good, or does enough good things for others during their life, they will earn a place in Heaven." Can 54% of the adults in the USA be wrong?
Sin cannot enter into heaven and if we have violated any one of the Ten Commandments, no matter how unimportant it may seem to us, we cannot get into heaven. The smallest violation of God’s laws is called sin. The Apostle Paul writing in the book of Romans tells us how many of us have sinned, Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
If you say you have not sinned John writes in 1 John 1:10, "If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." And again in 1 John 1:8, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." The apostle Paul writes in agreement with John in Romans 5:12, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin ; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"
How many people today or at any time do good? If we can do good and get to heaven we must be righteous. Have you wondered how many righteous people, how many people that do good are in the world today? This is no secret, the apostle Paul tells us in Romans 3:10-12, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable, there is none that doeth good, no, not one."
So obviously, no one has ever been able to keep the Ten Commandments except for Jesus Christ. So why did God give us the Ten Commandments if we can’t keep them and do good to be saved and go to heaven? Without the commandments of God we would not know what sin is. The commandments were given so we could look at our own lives in comparison to the commandments, as in a mirror if you will, and see our own sinfulness. The apostle Paul says the commandments are a schoolmaster and writes in Romans 3:24, "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith."
Once we understand that the commandments were given as a schoolmaster so that we might see our sin and God does not allow sin in heaven then how does anyone get into heaven? Romans 3:24 above tells us that the law is our schoolmaster to bring us unto Jesus Christ and why? Paul goes on to state that we might be justified by faith! We are made righteous enough to enter into heaven by faith in Christ.
Why is salvation just by faith in Christ? Paul tells us in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." There is a price to be paid for our sin and that price is death. Jesus Christ had no sin but he took your sin and my sin upon himself and died on the cross in our place, paying the price for our sin.
Also, the Bible states in Ephesians 2:8-9, "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." This verse clearly states that salvation is not of works so our good works will not save us and thus no one has a reason to boast of his good works. This verse again states the fact that we are saved by faith and it is a gift of God. One cannot earn a gift and if one works for a gift then it is no longer a gift.
Then where does good works come in? Let’s not forget the verse following Ephesians 2:8 and 9, verse 10 which states, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." So we are saved to do good works not because we have done good works. If we could be saved by the works of the law then Christ died for no reason. Gal 2:21, "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."
We are saved, not by our good works then, but by the grace of God through faith in Christ. To put it all in order, we are saved by grace, through faith, it is a gift. The Bible goes further and states that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. When one believes their minds will be made up to turn from their sins and turn to the ways of God and as they place their trust or faith in God they receive the gift of eternal life with God in heaven.
Paul writes in Romans 10:9-10, "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 with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Again in Romans 10:13, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Since Christ died on the cross in our place and was without sin we will enter heaven just as righteous as He is righteous. His righteousness is imputed to us as a free gift and not by any good works we have done. Romans 4:22-25, "And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification."
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