Do Good People Go to Heaven?

By Rey Diaz

We all like the sound of "good people go to heaven" and it makes sense to us.  We like the idea that there is a good God who has a good heaven reserved for good people.  We like it when the good guy wins and the bad guy loses.  Yet when put to the test, this theory really doesn't hold up that well.  Here are some of the problems with this way of thinking:

-          How many good deeds do we need to outweigh a bad deed?

-          What percentage of good deeds do we need to pass?

-          Which good deeds are most important?

-          Which set of laws do we follow?

-          What happens if what I think is right hurts others?

This list can go on and on because there are so many glaring holes in the logic of this system.  As I mentioned in the Sunday message, it’s the equivalent of a teacher telling the class “Good morning.  This class will have one final exam on the final day.  It’s pass/fail.  See you then.  By the way, there is no syllabus, study guide, no one you can talk to, no notes, and no text book.  Good luck.”  That wouldn’t be fair would it?  That wouldn't produce peace, would it?  In fact that class would produce stress, anxiety, and worry.  And that is how many Christians live their lives never sure of their identity and standing before God. 

More importantly, believing good people go to heaven makes a liar out of Jesus, because Jesus taught the exact opposite.  He invited many “bad” people into heaven and refused the way for some “good” people.  Better stated, Jesus taught that forgiven people go to heaven.  In fact the Bibles goes as far as to say that no one on earth is good…that all of us have made mistakes.  These mistakes are called “sin,” separate us from God, and mandate punishment.  But in His mercy, God sent his son to pay for our sins, thus forgiving us.  Now when we throw ourselves in the mercy of Jesus who forgives us, we experience heaven. 

I ask you to reconsider the idea that “good people go to heaven” because it isn’t as clear as we might think.  I ask you to process the idea: Forgiven people go to heaven. 

What might this change in paradigm mean for our assurance of salvation? For our faith? Perhaps it takes more faith to trust God to his goodness on us instead of earning it ourselves.  How does this change how we see ourselves? How we see others?