There is a misconception that only "good" people will go to Heaven. Perhaps you would like to know what the Scriptures say about this.
A man came to Jesus. A man that most would consider to be a good man. After all, it was the aim of this man's heart to worship and to serve the true and living God. Jesus told him that if he wanted to see the Kingdom of God, he would have to be born again (John 3:1-8) Now you would think that this would have been a good time for Jesus, who always spoke the truth from God, to have said to a man such a this: "Just keep doing what you are doing and you will enter the Kingdom of God." But He did not say that. He told this very devout man that he had to be born again (in other words, born of the spirit (John 3:8) if he wanted to enter the Kingdom of God.
Now, in contrast, in the gospel of Luke 23:39-43, where it deals with the account of the two malefactors who were crucified with Jesus (malefactor means evil doer), one of these men mocked Jesus, but the other one reprimanded the mocker saying: Have you no respect? We are here because of the evil that we did, but this man (referring to Jesus) is innocent. Then he asked Jesus if He would remember him when He entered into His Kingdom. Jesus answered this man's request by guaranteeing him a place in Paradise. A man who, even by his own admission(Luke 23:41) was a criminal, was given this promise by Jesus Himself! Now ask yourself, what good works did this man do (or would he ever get to do considering he was about to die) to deserve to be in Paradise? What the man did do was to recognize that he was a sinner and that Jesus was the Savior and by putting his faith in Jesus, he received such mercy.
Time and time again Jesus was confronted with self-righteous men, many of which were religious leaders, who were offended at the idea of needing a savior, even though their entire belief system was supposedly based upon the coming of one. These people trusted in their own works to make them righteous before God. Jesus' answer to this "holier that thou" attitude was: "The crooks and the prostitutes will enter the Kingdom of God before you". (Matthew 21:31) He also told them: "I came not to call the 'righteous' but sinners to repentance."(Luke 5:32)
Yes, we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.(Romans 3:21-24) If a person could make themself righteous before God simply by doing what they think is right, then Christ died in vain. (Galatians 2:21) In Matthew 26:36-44 it says that three times Jesus asked God if there was ANY OTHER WAY that the sins of the people could be atoned for other than Him having to lay down His life for them. If EVER there was a time for it to have been said from Heaven; "Just tell them to do good works and they will be saved" this would have been the time. But, as we know, it wasn't.
Now for those of us who have accepted the fact that we are sinners, this puts us a better position to recognize our need for a savior. JESUS IS THAT SAVIOR!
"I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me." John 14:6
"If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord"( Messiah), and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this, not from yourselves, it is the gift from God, not of works so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8&9
"Whoever believes that Jesus is the Messiah is born of God: and everyone who has love for the Father has love for His child." 1 John 5:1
SAVED BY GRACE
JOHN 3:6&7
Flesh gives birth to flesh but Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, "You must be born again."
Now, obviously, if you are reading this, you have already experienced the first birth...the natural birth. Flesh gave birth to flesh which gained you entrance into the natural world. But Jesus was speaking here of another birth...a spiritual birth that one must experience in order to gain access into the Kingdom of God which is a spiritual kingdom.
JOHN 3:3
Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he (or she) is born again.(in other words: born from above)
An interesting point is that Jesus said this to a high ranking, devout religious leader of his time thereby revealing that religion-of itself-does not give us entrance into the Kingdom of God.
Just as we entered this world by being born into it (the natural birth), likewise, to enter the Kingdom of God we must be born into it (the spiritual birth). Although we had no choice concerning the matter of our first birth, it is most certainly up to us to make the choice to be born again.
JOHN 4:24 states:
God is spirit...
God is the Spirit that gives birth to spirit (John 3:6). To have the spirit of God born within you is what it means to be born again.
This spiritual birth brings us into God's family as sons and daughters, giving us access to HIM as our heavenly Father. This new birth is a gift made available to us by the grace of God through the perfect obedience of His son Jesus the Christ (Messiah). This gift is received by us through faith.
EPHESIANS 2:8&9
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.
Grace means undeserved or unearned kindness. Through our faith in what Jesus Christ did for us we receive this grace...this FREE gift. We cannot save ourselves for if we could have, then that would mean that Christ died in vain.(Galatians 2:21) But he did not die in vain. He, by faith, took on our identity and in our place carried our sin and suffered it's consequences for us (death being the final consequence of sin), so that we, through faith in what he did for us would identify with him and become partakers of his righteousness and experience it's benefits. A very uneven exchange indeed but that is why we love him so!
2 CORINTHIANS 5:21
For God made Jesus to be sin for us, one who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
This gift of righteousness gives us a right standing before God. It is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. We are thereby justified freely by this grace. (Romans 3:22&24)
To be justified means to be made innocent before God. This righteous standing before God is a gift received through faith. (Romans 5:17)
ROMANS 3:23
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
ROMANS 6:23
...the wages of sin is death (see Revelation 20:11-15) but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Messiah)
JOHN 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that WHOSOEVER believes in him would not perish but obtain everlasting life.
God is merciful. HE had compassion on our hopeless condition. We were all lost, "sold down the river" by Adam (see Romans 5:15-19). God had made Adam the ruler over all of HIS creation on earth. (see Genesis 1:28) But Adam handed that rulership over to satan (see Luke 4:5-7) who is now called the "god of this world" according to 2 Corinthians 4:3&4. All who have been born into this world since Adam handed it's rulership over to satan have been born into satan's domain. God-in HIS great compassion- showed HIS mercy to us by sending HIS Son-the Sinless One-to do what only He could do, save us from this cursed world and it's ruler by offering himself up as the one and only sacrifice for sin. The Prophet Isaiah foretold this when he said that God would lay upon him (the Messiah) the sin of us all. (see Isaiah 53:4-6)
1 CORINTHIANS 15:22 says:
...as in Adam (the natural birth) all die, so in Christ (the spiritual birth) will all be made alive.
Jesus, by His resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven, and His seating at God's right hand, has opened up the door to men and women into a new realm...the Kingdom of God. And all those who put their faith in the power of God that raised Jesus from the dead will, by that same power, be themselves lifted. (see 1 Corinthians 6:14, and 2 Corinthians 4:14)
ROMANS 10:9&10 says:
If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord" (meaning: Ruler), and believe in your heart that God raised him (Jesus) from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart you believe and obtain righteousness, and with your mouth you confess and obtain salvation.
1 JOHN 3:2
Beloved now are we the children of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
1 THESSALONIANS 4:16-18
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the chief angel, with the trumpet of God: and the dead in Christ will come to life first; then we who are still living will be taken up together with them into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so will we be for ever with the Lord. So then, give comfort to one another with these words.