Do Good People Go To Heaven?

What in the world?  Do good people go to heaven?  What kind of question is that?

At first glance it sounds like a no-brainer, doesn’t it?

Where else would good people go?

Well, what do you mean by “good people”?  People who have done good things?  People who are generally pleasant and don’t do any of the “big” sins?  People who smile a lot and give their money to charities?

You see, there are a lot of ideas that float around out there about heaven, hell, afterlife, spirit and so on, and there are a lot of different opinions about how we end up with a good afterlife.

When it comes to eternal destiny though, I’m not comfortable banking on someone’s opinion.  Instead I want to rely on facts from the One who is truly good, and get directions to heaven from the One who made it.

Jesus is the difference.  He is the Way.  Forgiveness of sins comes at great cost, a cost higher than any of us (or all of us combined) could pay.  Instead, Christ offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice.  He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

But this is a two-part agreement.  The blood of Jesus is for anyone who wants to take advantage of it, but we have to decide to.  We come in faith, turn away from sins to a new life, confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and contact His blood as we are baptized.  We come out of that water a brand new creation.

Then, we walk in the light.  We stay on God’s path, and when we stumble or stray we come back in prayerful repentance.

And we do this so that when it comes to our final judgment, we aren’t standing there alone.  Because “good people” (in the sense of perfectly righteous before God based on our own actions) don’t exist (other than the Son of God).  We all sin.

However REDEEMED people do exist.  And these are the ones who go to heaven.  Because of Jesus.  Because of finishing their life walking in the light.  And there is nothing stopping any human being on this planet from doing the same.  The Way, the blood, and eternal life are offered to all.

Luke 9:23 – Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.