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Can you get to heaven by being good?
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| Yes | 50% | 1601 votes | Total: 3197 votes | |
| No | 50% | 1596 votes |
Yes
by Rhonda Coyle
Created on: January 26, 2011
Questions like this make me laugh. Of course you can get to Heaven by being good, as it is the only way to get to Heaven. The problem is “what is good?” And flipping through the piles of philosophy and theology on this exact topic: “what is good”, evidences one thing… man doesn’t have a clue.
Have you ever known anyone in your life who thinks they know it all? …And there is this one thing they “know” for sure, but you know different. You try to tell to tell them but they won’t listen. Sometimes it is painful to watch them keep making the same mistake over and over again. Yet they can’t “hear” you. They even refuse to “hear” you… to the point of walking out of your life. Why do they do this? Because they “know” it all… and it is this exact knowledge they believe they know that is the cause and effect of their ills.
Well that is the message of the bible. Jesus says it over and over again: “they have eyes and do not see, ears and do not hear… neither do they understand.” Mankind knows it all, he has “gained” much wisdom… wisdom he says is true… and he doesn’t listen, he refuses to hear… to the point of walking out… right out of Heaven and he won’t go back because he can’t give up what he thinks he knows.
Paul put it this way in 1 Cor 1:20, 21:
“Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him…”
Does anyone hear what this is saying? The wisdom of this world is science, theology, and philosophy… and through this wisdom God cannot be known. Yet, man continues to define God, Heaven, Jesus, truth… “what is good”, exactly through this wisdom -and- he fails miserably.
Paul also says in Rom 1:25:
“They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator.”
What is “the created thing” that is “the lie”? It is “the wisdom of this world”. Was it not wisdom the serpent tempted Eve with? Was it not “The Tree of the knowledge of “good and evil” that God told Adam not to eat? Why theology and even philosophy took a left turn and totally obliterated this from “what is sin” is naïve at best. I mean God could have just said “do not eat from that tree”… but no, it’s specific… very specific… and it just so happens to be about knowledge… and wow what a surprise, it’s the knowledge of “good and evil.”
Doesn’t Jesus say in Jn 8:32: “Know the truth and the truth will set you free”? Isn’t “free” good? This “free” that is being spoken of here is Heaven. Jesus also says in Jn 14:6 “I am the way”- What is the way? - It is “the truth” - What is “the truth”? - It is “the life” What is life? … It is freedom - it is Heaven - it is the good - the good God created... not the wisdom of this world.
Now in Rev 22:18, 19 Jesus uses some strong words when he says:
“I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”
What do you suppose he means by add or take away? Many would say the bible has been changed due to interpolations and/or translational issues. But I say this is wrong. One can add or take away without ever missing a single dot of an “I” or crossing of a “T”. How?, you might be asking. Interpretation, “by your own understanding… from “the wisdom of this world” or better stated as exegesis and eisegesis.
How do we know we didn’t get it right? Well Jesus says “all the plagues will be added unto you” – and – no Heaven! What are ALL the plagues mentioned in this book? Well it’s not the plagues of Egypt per se, as it says ALL. First a plague is a disaster, a calamity, an infliction, a wound, etc. And all the plagues in this book are crime, poverty, war, disease, natural disease… and death – or - no Heaven. Does mankind suffer these plagues? Absolutely! Also, doesn’t God say in Hos 4:6:
“My people are destroyed by lack of knowledge.”
Are these plagues the very things that destroy mankind? Yes? Why do they happen? Oh, is it because of “lack of knowledge?” Hmm… could the wrong knowledge; as in “the wisdom of this world”, be the “lack of knowledge” that causes ALL man’s ills? Would it “be good” then to “know” the truth that is “the wisdom of God?”
You know what I think is good? Well I will let Socrates tell you:
“I know I am wise because I know I know nothing.”
Got Spirit?
Learn more about this author, Rhonda Coyle.
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No
by Connie Earl Robertson
Created on: July 20, 2009 Last Updated: November 03, 2011
Can a person go to heaven by being good? Absolutely not! According to the Word of God that would be a total impossibility, for man has an inherent problem that keeps him from heaven - his sin.
In Romans 5:12 we are told that "by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Then again in Romans chapter three verse twenty-three it says, "for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." God is perfect and cannot tolerate sin in his presence, so one's sin keeps him out of heaven.
Many people are hoping that when they reach heaven God will simply feel sorry for them and will allow them in instead of sending them to hell for all eternity. Matthew chapter seven verses 21 through 23 say, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." God is very clear that not even those who have worked in their own way to serve Him will be allowed into heaven.
Others believe they can solve their sin problem and, therefore, reach heaven by being good or by being "neighborly". They have a list of actions they think will make the scales balance out in their favor and allow them to enter heaven. If they are baptized into a certain religion and attempt to follow all the dogma of that church, give money to their favorite charity or help people in need, then surely they will make it.
Again Gods Word says a clear and resounding "NO". In Ephesians chapter two verses 8 and 9, God tells us, "for by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of ourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." This verse makes it clear that if anyone goes to heaven it will not be by any good works that they do. No one will be able to boast in heaven.
If a person cannot get to heaven by being good, by doing good works or by being "neighborly", then how can anyone possibly make it into heaven when they pass from this world? Ephesians tells us "by grace are ye saved through faith. . .it is the gift of God. . . ." In Romans 6:23a it also says, "the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." What is this gift and how can one obtain it?
John chapter three verse 16 tells us that "God so loved the world (you can replace world with your own name) that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever (put your name in the place of whosoever) believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." In this verse, one discovers that God has given to all mankind a gift, and that gift is eternal life through Jesus Christ his Son.
How does one become the recipient of that gift of eternal life? - By simply accepting it and saying thank you. In the book of First John chapter 5 verse 12, God makes it very easy for everyone to understand. He says, "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life."
- All verses taken from the KJV Bible
Learn more about this author, Connie Earl Robertson.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
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