How often to you hear many people say that when they die they are going to heaven because they are a “good person.” But is being good the basic requirement for getting into heaven? While all of us at times do good deeds we also have a fundamental problem that totally disqualifies us from making it to heaven called sin. For you see heaven is a holy place and we are anything but holy. In fact, our record of sin is so extensive, if we were to go to heaven in our unredeemed state we would totally destroy its holy atmosphere.
But what exactly is sin? Well, it is doing anything that violates God’s perfect holy standards of what is right and pure. And by this definition according to (Romans 3:23): “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And all includes both you and me and the rest of humanity. Not only that but (Romans 6:23) adds: “ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” So we see from these two verses three profound things. First, all of us are sinners. Second, because of sin we all will also suffer both physical and spiritual death. But praise God for the third profound conclusion – our certain eternal death because of sin, and therefore exclusion from heaven, doesn’t have to take place because of the amazing love of God through Jesus Christ!
Heaven, my friends, is a place for holy people and because of the gift of God – Jesus’ death on the cross – we can be made holy by accepting God’s free pardon for all of our sins by inviting Jesus into our hearts and accepting His substitutionary death for our sins. In this way God now can write your name in His Book of Life since you are now declared His righteous and forgiven children.
But there is one big problem concerning sin and that concerns its deceitfulness. Andrew Murray stated it this way: “One great power of sin is that it blinds men so that they do not recognize its true character.”1 Someone once said it well in reference to the Bible: “Sin will keep you from this book or this book will keep you from sin.” I believe most of mankind, before they come to Christ as their Savior from sin, know in their heart that they are rebels against God and that they suppress the truth about God and sin by thinking that they are basically good, and that should be enough to earn them heaven when they die.
Satan has done a masterful job in blinding people to the realization that sin is serious business. Sadly, most people never contemplate that it is their sin that has prevented them from getting to truly know the God of the universe. Instead they think, either they are good enough, despite their bondage to sin to make it to heaven, or they strive to do good works thinking that will earn them heaven. In both cases these two groups of people totally miss the reality that no matter how good they think they are or how many good works they do, it’s their lifetime of sin that will exclude them from gaining eternal life.
Fortunately, God has made a way for sinners to be redeemed from the penalty for sin which is eternal death and separation from God – through belief in Jesus as the God who forgives sin – thus providing atonement and forgiveness for sin.
For those who might have been searching the internet and have come across this devotion, who might not personally know Christ as their Savior God, I pray that you may read the Gospel of John and the Book of Romans in the Bible where you can learn about sin, and Jesus – the God who forgives sin and loves you so much that He sent Jesus to die so you might live.
And for those of you who know that your sins have been forgiven and that you are heaven bound because you have established a personal relationship with Jesus, I pray this simple devotion may encourage you to share the message of salvation though Christ alone with friends and family. And don’t forget that when you share the gospel to pray that the Holy Spirit opens those whose blind eyes have been taken captive by the deceitfulness of sin.
1 Andrew Murray – One great power of sin is that it blinds men so…