A while back, a woman was talking to me about her relationship troubles with her boyfriend. She said the main reason she was thinking about breaking up wasn't that he had anger issues or that he cheated on her, but that he didn't share her faith. She invited him to join her at church, but he wasn't interested. She told him about why her faith was so important, but she never made progress. The last straw for her was when he said, "Why is the whole Jesus thing such a big deal to you? You're a good person, I'm a good person, and that's all that matters."
I think the boyfriend's viewpoint is shared by a lot of peoplethat being good is what matters. The thinking goes like this: There's a good place called heaven that was created by a good God and it's the place good people go. Makes sense, right? At least on the surface it does, which is why a lot of people are hoping it's true. The problem is, there are some pretty big holes in the be goodidea of going to heaven.
First, what is good? Who gets to decide? You might think, "Come on, everyone has a sense of right and wrong." I'm tempted to think that as well. But I think it's wrong to blow up a car in a crowded market. Yet, the person who blew it up genuinely believes what they are doing is good and right, and they believe that doing so will get them to heaven. Who's right? Who gets to decide? You may believe the way you're living your life is the good and right way, but what if you've been wrong your whole life? Good means different things to different people.
Second, if being good gets you to heaven, how much good do you have to do? Let's say we agree on what good is. How much good do we need to do to get into heaven? If we're 51% good versus 49% bad, is that enough to get in, or does a holy, perfect God require more like 90% good? Nobody knows. Or, instead of a pass-fail system, is God going to grade us on a curve? Is the amount of good we do going to be compared to Mother Theresa or Charles Manson? If that's how we're going to be evaluated, it would be good information to know. But we don't find that answer in the Bible, Quran, or any other sacred writing. All world religions, except Christianity, have a "do good" component to themthat doing good is part of what gets you to heaven. Yet, the books used to guide these religions don't say how much good they need to do. It would be a shame to find out that you were one or two good deeds away from getting to heaven, but you ran out of time. So, instead of going to heaven, you're going to some other place that's much more uncomfortable and really, really hot.
Finally, the be good mentality contradicts the teachings of Jesus. In fact, the teachings of Jesus contradict the rest of the world religions. It's why you can't say all religions lead to God, because they all are so different. Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." That might sound exclusive, and it is, but it's worth checking out the claim of Jesus, because what he taught is that being good is not what gets us to heaven. In fact, Jesus told a group of guys, called Phariseeswho prided themselves on doing more good than anyone elsethat as good as they were, they weren't close to good enough to get in. Jesus knew we could never measure up. We're told, "Everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard" (Romans 3:23).
God is glorious, holy, and perfect. We have all sinned, which makes us sinners. However you want to define sin, you know you've done it. And it's our sin that separates us from God. It keeps us out of heaven. Jesus knew we'd never be able to be good enough to work our way back to God. It's just not possible to live a perfect life. That's why what Paul wrote in the Bible should get our attention: "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). God loves us so much that the sins we commit, the sins we deserve to be punished for, Jesus took the punishment for usa punishment that resulted in death. And even more amazing? Jesus didn't stay dead. He came back from the dead, proving he's God and is the only one able to forgive our sins. That's what Easter is all about.
If I was able to talk to the boyfriend who started our story, I would tell him people who recognize they are sinners, believe Jesus died for their sin, and accepts Jesus offer to forgive their sin, they are the ones who go to heaven. Because good people don't go to heaven. Forgiven people do.
