by Rachel Stacey

Created on: November 20, 2010

Can you get to heaven by being good? To answer this question, we must visit the Bible, God's holy Word. In this book, we can find out the answers to all of our questions. God does not leave us guessing. His absolute truths are available for anyone to see. While different religions will look to different books to seek answers to questions about the after life, there is but one true book, the Bible. The Bible is the longest standing book on Earth. Its prophecies have been fulfilled time and time again.

The Bible discusses Heaven, Hell and Eternity (the after life) in countless Scriptures throughout the Old and New Testament. In fact, the word Heaven appears in the Bible over 550 times. This is obviously a subject that God wanted to make very clear to us. In many of these verses, God tells of the awesome magnificence of an Eternity in Heaven for those who trust in Him. That brings us to a discussion on how we get to Heaven.

Beliefs on the afterlife vary greatly among different religious groups. Here we will consider the different views contained in groups that fall under the umbrella of Christianity. Christians believe that people can get to heaven one of three ways: by faith, by works or by a combination of faith and works. Works or "good works" are good deeds that we do that are in accordance with God's commandments for us regarding acts of service. 

One of the most popular verses in the Bible where God addresses this issue is Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast". This is an absolute truth from God. Again in 2 Timothy 1:9, "Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began". God reveals this truth to us over and over throughout the Old and New Testament of the Bible. In this verse we can also see God calling us to "good works". The verse tells of God calling us with a holy calling according to His own purpose. God commands us hundreds of times throughout the Bible to love and serve the needy. Doing these "good works" is His purpose for us, our reason for existing. They are not the basis for salvation and not the deciding factor of whether or not we will be allowed into Heaven or banished into Hell. Our faith decides this. It is our acceptance of His gift of salvation that guarantees us an eternity in Heaven. The Scriptures go on to discuss how Christians, those who have accepted Jesus Christ by faith, can be known by their good works. These Scriptures are often misinterpreted or taken out of context and used as the basis for those believing in works salvation. What God is telling us here, is that after we accept the gift of Salvation, we will bear good fruits. In other words, the people around us will see good things coming from us, see us doing good works instead of bearing evil fruits or bad deeds. In these Scriptures, Jesus is explaining to us that there will be a change in us after we accept His gift.  

Learn more about this author, Rachel Stacey.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.