"How do I get to Heaven?": 10 Questions the Bible Answers
People often want to know about Heaven: how to get to Heaven, who goes to Heaven and who does not. This brief-ish (depending on your patience and how much time you've got) post will address ten frequently-asked questions about Heaven with Scripture: namely, the Bible.
Okay, enough introduction-let's just get right into it!
1. Can I get into Heaven by being a good person?
No. Heaven is God's abode, and no human goodness can match God's goodness. No one can be good enough, and no good works are good enough. Isaiah 64:6 - "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away." No matter how good one thinks themselves to be, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23), and "if we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8).
"The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23).
2. Can I get into Heaven by keeping the *law?
No. We fail at keeping the law, and the law does not perfect us. Again, "all have sinned and fall short" (Romans 3:23). Also, "[f]or the concern of the flesh is hostility toward God; it does not submit to the law of God, nor can it; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God" (Romans 8:7-8).
Furthermore, the law itself was not sufficient. Hebrews 7:18-19 - "On the one hand, a former commandment is annulled because of its weakness and uselessness, for the law brought nothing to perfection; on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God."
*Referring to the law God gave to Moses, which required perfect obedience or the sacrifice of an unblemished animal in the case of disobedience. "In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Hebrews 9:22).
3. Can I get into Heaven without following Jesus?
No. One must believe in Jesus. "For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will never die, but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Furthermore, "without faith, it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11:6).
Without belief in Jesus, one stands condemned. "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son" (John 3:18).
4. So if I'm a really nice person, who would never hurt anyone, who does community service, is kind to children and the elderly, gives to charity and [insert other good deeds here], but I just don't believe in Jesus, I can't go to Heaven?
Right, you can't. You must have faith in Jesus. None of your good deeds please God without faith. (See answer to question 3.)
It is impossible for us to save ourselves. We don't get to decide that we're good enough if we just do a certain number of good deeds. (See answer to question 1.) The only one who could have ever saved Himself did not need to be saved. No saved person was saved by their own goodness or good works. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Jesus is the only way in. John 14:6 - "Jesus said, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Acts 16:30-31 - "Then he brought them out and said, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' And they said, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus and you and your household will be saved.'"
Romans 10:9 - "for, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
5. So if someone was a murderer all his/her life, all s/he has to do is believe in Jesus and s/he will go to Heaven?
Yes. Anyone can be saved, by believing. When a person is saved, the old nature passes away and a new nature takes its place. 2 Corinthians 5:17 - "So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come." Romans 6:6 - "We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be done away with, that we might no longer be in slavery to sin."
A saved person is no longer slave to sin, and their sins have been blotted out. Isaiah 43:25 - "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more." Hebrews 8:12 - "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
Anyone can have a clean slate and a new start. This is good news!
There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ (Romans 8:1).
Keep in mind, when asking this question: God's standard for righteousness is 100% perfection--none of us could adhere perfectly to His law, for all have sinned and fall short (Romans 3:23), and if we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8). The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). That means death is waiting for all who are anything short of perfect, not just those whom we consider "worse" sinners by our standards. Self-righteousness, pride, and haughtiness are all sins too. All of our sins put Jesus on the cross; not just the sins of murderers or whoever else we'd like to decide is less worthy than we are of salvation. In the same vein, Jesus died for all sins, not just what we want to think of as "lesser" sins, and gave us victory over death. None of us are worthy; we are just loved beyond measure, and that is not our doing.
6. But what if I adhere to another religion? Aren't all religions equal? Can't I still go to Heaven?
No. Christianity differs in a significant way from other religions, in that God sacrificed Himself in His Son to save anyone who believes in Him. Christianity does not promise paradise in exchange for our own personal strivings and good works, in which we are destined to fail; Christianity promises paradise, and abundant and eternal life, for those who believe. No other religion offers a way to redemption that does not fail; they all depend on human strivings. No other religion offers a single, eternal, and perfect sacrifice that cleanses believers from sin, changes their nature, and puts the Spirit of God in them. (Ezekiel 36:27 - "I will put my spirit within you so that you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep them").
That's right: God wants to dwell in His children. How amazing!
No other God came down in the flesh to dwell among us, be our example, suffer our temptations and yet remain without sin, be whipped for our transgressions, die, and resurrect to save us. (John 1:1; 14 - "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God....And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth." Isaiah 53:5 - "But he was pierced for our sins, crushed for our iniquity. He bore the punishment that makes us whole, by his wounds we were healed.")
All we have to do is accept, by confessing that Jesus is Lord, and has been raised up from the dead (Romans 10:9). That is the narrow gate. "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few" (Matthew 7:13-14).
7. But what about people who have never heard of Jesus or God? Are they kept out of Heaven?
God has revealed Himself in both Jesus and the Scriptures, but for those who have never heard of Jesus or have not been exposed to the Scriptures, all is not lost. God has revealed Himself in creation. "The heavens tell of the glory of God. The skies display His marvelous craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known. They speak without a sound or a word; their voice is silent in the skies; yet their message has gone out to all the earth, and their words to all the world..." (Psalm 19:1-4). " "For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse" (Romans 1:20).
God has also revealed Himself through our spirits. "For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them" (Romans 2:14-15).
So God has revealed Himself through Jesus, Scripture, Creation, and Conscience. At this point, mankind does not have an excuse to reject Him (Romans 1:20). To be clear, anyone who ultimately rejects God will not enter Heaven.
8. But aren't we all God's children?
No. Belief in Jesus makes one God's child. Galatians 3:26 - "For through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus." John 1:12- "But to those who did accept Him He gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in His name".
We are all God's creations, but we are not all His children. We are all created in His image and likeness, but only those who embrace His Son will be called His children.
People who call God their Father, He calls His children.
9. But isn't God supposed to be loving and merciful? How is that so if He doesn't let everyone into Heaven?
He is loving and merciful; He desires that no one should perish. "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). "This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:3-4). God certainly loves.
That said, love always protects (1 Corinthians 13:7). God will not look on evil with favor (Habakkuk 1:13) and "love does not delight in evil" (1 Corinthians 13:6). Therefore, evil will not enter Heaven. "But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life" (Revelation 21:27). Sin will not be allowed to enter into Heaven; if sin were allowed to enter, Heaven would be just like Earth. What would be the point of Heaven then? We could stay here on Earth for that.
Keep in mind, when asking this question: God sent Jesus not to keep people out of Heaven, but to let people in. John 3:17 - "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." In saying that people who do not accept Jesus do not get into Heaven, nothing is being taken from them; due to sin, none of us naturally have the right to enter Heaven in the first place. Instead, in saying that people who accept Jesus get into Heaven, something is being added to them, that was not true before they believed. Hence, Jesus is the way in. Being kept out is our natural condition, due to sin.
We are not entitled to Heaven. It is God's, and in His mercy and grace, He provided a way there for us. He did not have to; He did it because He loves us. (Remember, John 3:16 starts with "God so loved".) We cannot decide for ourselves that we can enter into His abode our way on our terms; we can only enter His way on His terms: through Jesus.
10. What am I to make of all this?
People sin and fail. But God made a perfect way for us to no longer be slave to sin, to dwell with Him in Heaven, and for Him to dwell in us. God sent His Son Jesus to the Earth to walk as a man, take on the burden of sin without sinning, be crucified, die, and rise again for our sake. He shed His blood as a perfect and eternal sacrifice; without His blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. In Him, and in no one else, is where we find salvation. Being a "good person" won't cut it; being a "bad person" won't prevent it. In believing, one becomes saved and a child of God, and the saved will have assurance that they have a place in Heaven and have eternal life. "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).
