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#4 Good People Go to Heaven   (We open with ‘In the Cross’ written by Fanny Crosby)

This is the idea that as long as you try your best to be a good person, you’ll end up in heaven. It’s different than Universalism, which says everyone goes to heaven, but says that anyone can go to heaven as long as their good outweighs their bad and they avoid the really big sins. Essentially, it makes heaven the reward for people who try their best to be good. Different people and groups have different ideas about what constitutes “being good” or just how good you have to be, but the idea is the same – as long as you’re a good person and follow the rules, you’ll go to heaven as long as you were a generally good person.
— (The error of this teaching is displayed in the following scriptures.)

 (Romans 3:21-25, 4:3-8, 6:20-23; Ephesians 2:8-9; Philippians 3:7-11.)

— Q1/ Do you see the difference between the idea that in the End God Will Be Good with Everyone and this idea #4 Good People Go to Heaven? (Hint: think about QUALIFICATIONS.)

I was brought to wonder about the fate of good people the other day. I remembered a very pleasant fellow worker who really impressed me with his generosity and kindness.

— Then I was reminded that OUR GOODNESS IS NOT ENOUGH… The PERFECTION or HOLINESS of God is not attainable by any of us, because in some measure Romans 3:23 holds true.

Romans 3:23 (CEV) All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.

And in God’s perfect heaven, ANY SIN means death… The Apostle Peter quoting the theme of the Book of the Law wrote, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1^st Peter 1:16)

— We strain our minds to even glimpse the idea of such holiness that automatically destroys any sin that tries to live in His presence. To put it in my stumbling words, God’s holiness would burn up any sinful human that would try to stand in His presence.

Next, I ask this to lead us into discussing the result of imperfection (any sin) in the ‘courts of heaven’…

–Q2/ Do you think there is any death or dying in God’s Heaven?

SEE Revelations 21:1-4 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  (2)  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  (3)  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.  (4)  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

The following scriptures speak to our opportunity to stand in God’s presence…

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,  (9)  not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Finally, in Philippians 3:7-11, we find the remedy for our lost in sin existence…

Philippians 3:7-11 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  (8)  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ  (9)  and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—  (10)  that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,  (11)  that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

–Q3/ Why is the death of Jesus able to pay for the sin-debt of Romans 3:23? All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.
— (Answer) Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God… (Only Jesus could pay the debt, it is up to us to accept this by faith. …KK)