Denny answers:
Because we are each sinners, we cannot get to heaven by trying to be good and nice.
You may say, “I’m a good person. I never killed anyone, and I try to make right choices. Won’t God let me into heaven?”
But the Bible says, “All of us are dirty with sin. All the right things we have done are like filthy pieces of cloth” (Isaiah 64:6a, NCV). Even when we try to be good and nice, we are still sinners. We fail to love God best and obey His commands perfectly.
The punishment for sin is dying and going to hell away from God forever (Romans 6:23). If everyone has sinned and deserves to go to hell, how can anyone be saved from sin and go to heaven?
The Bible says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:8-10).
Let’s look at each part of this truth:
• “For it is by grace you have been saved”: Grace is God’s gift we do not deserve. Imagine you were bad all year—lying, stealing, and pitching fits. But you still received Christmas gifts. That’s grace—a gift you don’t deserve! God also gives grace. God sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross to take the punishment for sinners. Jesus rose from the dead to prove His victory over sin and death.
• “through faith”: God saves sinners by giving them faith in Jesus. Sinners cannot try to take care of sin on their own. Instead, we must turn from our sin and turn to the Lord Jesus, trusting He died on the cross for sin. Through faith in Jesus, believers become God’s children and can go to heaven to be with God forever (John 1:12; 3:16).
• “and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God”: Faith in Jesus is “not from yourselves.” God freely saves sinners by giving them faith in Jesus.
• “not by works, so that no one can boast”: No one will go to heaven and brag, “I went to church every week. That’s why I’m in heaven.” No one will boast, “I obeyed my parents and teachers, loved my friends, and never told a lie. That’s why I’m in heaven.” No one will show off, saying, “Look at me! I gave money to poor people and helped my neighbors. That’s why I’m in heaven.” No, those in heaven will say, “I am in heaven because God gave me grace—a gift I don’t deserve—instead of punishing my sin. God gave Jesus to die for my sin and gave me faith to trust in Jesus alone. Thank You, Lord!”
• “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”: We cannot get to heaven by doing good works. But if God saves us from sin through faith in Jesus, He makes us brand new (2 Corinthians 5:17). God gives Christians the desire and power to do good for His glory (Philippians 2:13).
Bible Truth
- “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good” (Titus 2:11-14).
- “he saved us because of his mercy. It was not because of good deeds we did to be right with him” (Titus 3:5a, NCV).
- “Yet we know that a person is made right with God not by following the law, but by trusting in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus, that we might be made right with God because we trusted in Christ. It is not because we followed the law, because no one can be made right with God by following the law” (Galatians 2:16, NCV).
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