By: Tatum-Lee Louw
Before accepting Jesus as Lord and Personal Savior of my life, I was of the opinion that I was generally a good person and that because I thought I was a good person that was more than enough to get me to Heaven. I mean, God had to know that I was good. I sinned here and there but 40% of the time I was good so Heaven has to have a place for me.
Then that beautiful day dawned on me (You can read about this in my other post) and I encountered Jesus. This girl who had rough ideas about who God is was presented with an opportunity to get to know who He is. It changed my perspective forever and eliminated every false teaching, idea, and thought.
This included thinking that ‘Being a good person’ would get me to Heaven. I was wrong. It was not.
Imagine knowing that you have access to owning a room in this luxurious estate. From a very young age, you have been told about this room that is yours. You also know that all your friends and family have the same inheritance. Which means inevitably you would be amongst the people you love in a place that you have been promised to love. However, does a father pass down an inheritance to an unfamiliar person? If he has never met with you how can you be sure that the agreement is cast in stone? Would you be okay if a strange person knocked on your door claiming to have a room in your house? Or do you think that because you’re a good person you should automatically be allowed this right?
The problem with this ‘good person’ ideology is that fundamentally it has flaws. It means that we have declared ourselves to be our own judge. Only, where would we get that kind of authority? What is our definition of good? By what can we compare our goodness? Because you see I can be of the opinion that taking revenge on someone is good, but my friend Maryam is of the opinion that it’s bad and because our characteristics are fundamentally who we are, would my idea of revenge being good mean that I am good?
What does the Bible say about ‘being a good person’?
The Bible makes it clear that getting into heaven is not something we can accomplish in our own power.
“For by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; but it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
(Ephesians 2:8-9)
Therefore, we cannot boast about our good works securing our place in heaven. Being saved from sin and receiving eternal life cannot take place by our own works. Getting into Heaven means that you have to have faith in Jesus Christ.
What has Faith got to do with Heaven?
The Bible describes Heaven as being perfect and free of sin. Yet all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All of us, except Jesus. He was sinless (1 Peter 2:22). One sin is all it takes to keep you from Heaven, unless you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ.
The Bible is not full of gloomy messages that try and force us into having a relationship with Christ. It gives us the truth, with no taddle tails and no alternative roots. It is clear,
“Salvation can be found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by whom we must be saved”
(Acts 4: 12)
The great news found in the bible is that ‘while we were still sinners, Christ died for us’ (Romans 5:8). He was well aware that we would make mistakes, fall and sin and that our human efforts would not get us into Heaven, apart from Him. So He devised the ultimate plan, which involved dying on a cross, actually dying in our place as a sacrifice for sin. Christ offered himself as an offering that would allow us to access heaven by faith in Him.
Anyone can come to faith in Jesus Christ. Regardless of what we have done in the past or what we have been labeled as. There are plenty of examples in the Bible where this has happened. Jesus made this promise to us in John 3:16.
Now you may be wondering how a person can put his faith in Jesus Christ and receive eternal life in heaven? The Bible has the perfect answer for this. Roman 10:9 explains that “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”. We are saved by accepting that Jesus as our Lord and believing that He rose again.
When we exercise this we can be confident that He has accepted us. Romans 8:1 explains that “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ”. 1st John 5:13 amplifies this in saying “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life”.
I was a firm believer that my good works and efforts was enough to get me to spend the rest of my life in the presence of God. It wasn’t the case, in fact I didn’t even know him. Nor did I have an unwavering belief In Him, until I met faith. Today, you can place your faith in Jesus and know for certain that you will have eternal life.
If this is you, you can say this prayer with me today and accept Jesus as the Lord and Savior of your life:
“God, I recognize that I have not lived my life for You up until now. I have been living for myself and that is wrong. I need You in my life; I want You in my life. I acknowledge the completed work of Your Son Jesus Christ in giving His life for me on the cross at Calvary, and I long to receive the forgiveness you have made freely available to me through this sacrifice. Come into my life now, Lord. Take up residence in my heart and be my king, my Lord, and my Savior. From this day forward, I will no longer be controlled by sin, or the desire to please myself, but I will follow You all the days of my life. Those days are in Your hands. I ask this in Jesus’ precious and holy name. Amen.”
If you have any further questions for me or about this Blog post please feel free to email me at:[email protected]
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Tatum-Lee is a Born Again Christian, qualified Writer and Content producer who resides in Cape Town lives on Facebook and reads books for breakfast. She makes a conscious effort to remain on top of the news and is equipped to produce all kinds of content, works exceptionally well with briefs and makes people look Kwaai on Facebook. She loves getting paid for her work, but really hates asking for money, so if ever you are in need of content, no rhetorical questions are allowed. Also, never use the word also.
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