Monday, February 20, 2012

Do Good People Go to Heaven?

During my life I have been blessed to know some very good people. I have grown to love them, and appreciate what they mean to me. Many of them have been instrumental in helping me be who I am today. So many good people have made a huge impact on my life. Yet, as I think of all of these people, were they saved or not? Some I don't even have a clue. But surely since they are really good people they are going to be alright, right? As much as it saddens me to say this, wrong? Being a good person does not ensure your entrance into heaven. The truth is, none of us are good enough to get into heaven. Now there are a lot of people out there that believe if they do the very best that they can, and do good to everyone that they should make it. But, has any of us truly ever done this all the time?

Matthew 22:36-39
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’


Have any of us ever truly kept this law all the time? The answer to that is no. None of us can. There is nothing we can do on our own that would make us worthy enough to go to heaven.

Romans 3:20
"because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin."

There are many people who try to justify themselves in all the things that thy do. "Well, I am a good person." "I have lived a very moral life." They give to charity, they work in civic organizations to help the community, they even attend church. But none of this is good enough. We all fall short everyday, no matter what we do.

Romans 3:10
"as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;"

We can do nothing on our own to please God who is our judge. None of the things we do on this earth mean anything to God. That is why Jesus came to earth. He was sent to die as the only sacrifice worthy enough to cover all of our sins. Jesus said,

Matthew 9:13
"But go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”"

Isaiah 53:6
"All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him."

Our Lord Jesus took our punishment on the cross so we could be declared righteous before God.

2 Corinthians 5:21
"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

The only way to be declared righteous, is acceptance of Jesus as our Savior. We must truly believe that He died on a cross for our sins, and rose again on the third day. And we must obey what He wants us to do. If we truly love Him, we will obey Him.

John 14:15
"“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."

So, do good people go to heaven? Not unless we have been declared righteous through the acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. If we have not, then we will never reach heaven. If you have read this post, and do not know the Lord Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I pray that you would seek Him now. You can click the Plan of Salvation tab at the top of this page, and it will show you how much you need Him, and how Salvation works. If you have read this today and are saved, I pray that you use this to determine who those people are in your life that you care deeply about that are not saved, and reach out to them before it is too late.

Thanks for reading, and God Bless You all this week!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

How am I living?

There are many things in this world that we use to justify the things we do. We have activities that we enjoy doing, jobs, little league with our kids, and so on. Sometimes we get caught up in all the things that we are trying to do, and thus, our lives are controlled by them. Myself for an example. I teach at a high school, I coach varsity soccer in the fall for boys and the spring for girls, and my son is in school and loves to play t-ball and soccer. We have two younger girls at home who want all the attention. We have church three times a week, with different activities going on all the time. Fridays are almost always spent with my parents, and the list goes on. It is very hard not to get caught up in all the details of our lives.

I saw a t-shirt sometime back that "Soccer is life, the rest is just details." This caught my attention to begin with because I love the game of soccer. But I had a thought. What if I replaced the word "soccer" with "Christ"? That puts things into a whole new perspective. "Christ is life, the rest is just details."

Matthew 24:35
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”


All the things of this world that we enjoy to do, will one day pass away. Nothing is eternal except the love of God. Now there is nothing wrong with all the things that we enjoy doing with our lives. That just adds to the pleasure of life. What becomes bad is when we let these things control our lives, and take our eyes off of Christ. If we center our lives around Christ on the other hand, that will never end. He will always be there, now and through eternity. Everything else is the sprinkles on the cake so to speak.

Psalms 37:4
"Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart."

Matthew 6:33
"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

I know that my life is always going to be more fulfilling when I keep Christ as the center of it. Will you too say to yourself everyday "Christ is Life, the rest is just details"?

Thanks for reading, and God bless you all this week!