“For God so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in him
should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send his Son into the world
to condemn the world, but that the world
through him might be saved.”
John 3:16-17

Many, if not most, religions teach that all good people will be saved. This is one of the greatest lies that Satan has perpetrated upon the human race. People are taught that salvation is determined by the ratio of good deeds versus bad deeds. And so, many spend their lives feverishly trying to “be good,” so they won’t go to hell. But the truth is that we are ALL sinners, and no one with sin …can enter heaven. Salvation is NOT dependent on whether your good outweighs your bad, that is a lie from “the father of lies.” All are born into sin and all sin must be judged.

“There is none righteous, NO, NOT ONE;”
Romans 3:10

“The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately WICKED.”
Jeremiah 17:9

“So Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good?
NO ONE is good but One, that is, God.”
Mark 10:18

“ALL we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned, EVERY ONE, to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
Isaiah 53:6

So how then DOES one get to heaven?

There is one thing that all other “religions” lack, and that is a Redeemer. Without the Savior, no one is saved because they have guilt, they have sin, and there is no way to enter heaven with sin on their souls.

Salvation begins when a person accepts the truth about himself – that he is not “good,” and pride makes it very difficult to admit that.

As long as a person perceives himself as “good,” he cannot be saved. Sin is the elephant in the room.

All human beings descended from Adam are born into a fallen human nature prone to sin, and all human beings sin. Because we have sin on our soul we are all, every one of us, deserving of hell.

Does that sound harsh? Well if no one can enter heaven with sin on his soul, where else would he go?

One denomination says he goes to “purgatory” where he burns until all his sin is purged. This too is heresy foisted upon the people, giving them hope that if they burn long enough they’ll eventually get there. NOT TRUE! It’s a lie. A lie many fall for because they do not know the Word of God. The Word of God speaks of two destinations after death: heaven and hell. And it is not the ratio of good versus bad that decides our fate.

Then what DOES decide our fate?

Let’s go back to the first verse at the top of this post.

“For God so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in him
should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Because God loved his creation that was spoiled by sin, he sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to BEAR THE JUDGMENT due us because of our sin. Whether a person goes to heaven or not …is dependent on whether or not their sin has been judged. If Jesus Christ bore the judgment due me because of my sin, then there’s no more penalty to pay, he did it ALL. By receiving the great atonement he made for us, we are cleansed. And cleansed, we are welcomed into heaven no matter how great our sin was, because Jesus paid it all, and only requires us to receive him by faith.

“Because the sinless Savior died,
my sinful soul is counted free;
for God, the Just, is satisfied
to look on Him and pardon me.”
Lyrics to ‘Before The Throne Of God Above’

Does that mean we can just go and live a life of sin? No, absolutely not. Jesus said we MUST be born again (John 3:6-7), and once a person is born again his nature undergoes a great change. He no longer WANTS to sin. If he does slip up, the sin has been judged and he is still saved – and there will be many slip-ups while we still live in this world. But the point is that the person who has been born again simply does not want to sin. His whole life, his whole world-view, his interests, his motivations, all have been intrinsically changed once he has been born again. Jesus didn’t suggest a person be born again, he said a person MUST be born again. It’s the only way to heaven.

How is one born again? See the following:

Born Again – What Does That Mean?