Do Good People Go to Heaven?

[BOC560]

Why is it so difficult to reach the average person with the truth of God?  Why do people vigorously oppose this “new concept” as they see it to be?

• I am convinced that almost all people begin with the premise that good people go to Heaven and bad people go to Hell according to the reward-punishment program they knew from childhood.
  
  I am likewise convinced that all of man’s successful religions concede to this premise.  Even if they emphasize other doctrines, they are careful not to defy the good people concept for the sake of popularity and financial success.

 

Catholic: 

Basically they believe that a person must be a member of the only church that is recognized by God and be forgiven by an authorized representative of that order.  The pope speaks authoritatively for God: 

 I will give you [Isa 22:22; Rev 1:18; 3:7 ] the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and [Matthew 18:18; John 20:23] whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed [Or shall have been bound  . . . shall have been loosed] in heaven."

Salvation is based upon a right standing with God in His only recognized Church.

Catholics fail to realize that the Kingdom on Earth did not materialize because Israel refused to accept their Messiah.

Protestant:

Despite the claims of grace, authority, obedience, and divine doctrine of all the hundreds of Protestant denominations, I have found that there is a common belief among them.  Although pulling teeth is an easier task, if you could get the preachers of the denominations to admit their basic belief it would be this:

Good people go to Heaven; Bad people go to Hell.

For years, I was confused how the many preachers of opposing salvation doctrine could enjoy sitting together at a monthly “pastors breakfast” without conscience.  (Surely if one taught his congregation that they couldn’t lose their salvation and the others thought they could, then this man would be teaching heresy in the name of God and leading many to destruction.)  How is it they could congratulate each other on the many baptisms that each had performed that month?

Several years ago I posed that question to a friend (who also happened to be one of the local preachers) and he told me, “You’re making too much of this!  You could go to about any of the 131 churches in this community and be saved.  We all believe the basics but only disagree upon the finer points.”

I have thought long and hard on his answer.  I have examined the testimony of many people who attend many denominational churches.  Though none will actually come forth to admit what they really believe about salvation (many folks don’t know and a lot have never questioned salvation) I have discovered that there is one common understanding:

Good people go to Heaven; Bad people go to Hell.  (The concept:)

• Hitler was bad.  He is in Hell.  Preachers are good people so they are going to Heaven.  My mother and father were good people so they went to Heaven.  I will go to Heaven because I’m more good than bad.
  
  A person will make it to Heaven as long as their good deeds outweigh their bad deeds.  A person will make it to Heaven as long as they continue to strive to be good.  We don’t question salvation because we all know that only good people go to Heaven (that is a given) and we’re good people.  People in all the churches will make it to Heaven as long as they express remorse for their sins, ask forgiveness and strive to be good.  A person can make it to Heaven regardless of which church they choose because doctrine is not important.  A person can strive to be good in any church.
  
  So do these people believe in grace?   Jesus’ sacrifice will surely make up any difference in performance that they are lacking so they believe in grace.  (That’s the common concept of God’s grace.)
  
  If everyone believes this, then we can all meet together in a communal worship service (Promise Keepers, Million Man March, etc.) without compromising our faith.  Like that song says, “Gimme that old tyme religion; It was good enough for father and its good enough for me!”

There is an inherent problem with the concept, Good people go to Heaven; Bad people go to Hell and it is this:  It isn’t a biblical valid system.  Most people say it is fair but if it was fair, we could surely check back to the bible from time to time to see how we’re doing (to see if we’re ‘making it’ thus far).  Do you have to score a 70 or a 75 on goodness?  How are you doing?  The bible doesn’t say a word about this does it?  (You will find out when you finish the race if you made it or not!)  That rules it out as being a fair system.

That should put a lot of fear into any rational soul.  Apparently folks just hope for the best and trust that a loving God and will have mercy on such a deserving soul as me.  That's their interpretation of grace.  That pretty well sums up the Protestant denominations’ belief system.

Actually, the bible does have something to say about Heaven’s required goodness:

• According to scripture, there is none good; no not one.
  
  Conclusion:  There are NO good people.  So NOBODY goes to Heaven.

That tosses the whole belief system of “Good people go to Heaven; Bad people go to Hell” into the dustbin, doesn’t it?

However, the bible goes on to say that we do have hope of going to Heaven in spite of our lack of goodness.  Jesus told Paul to tell us Gentiles that we are saved and sealed when we believe that His death, burial and resurrection was sufficient restitution to God for our sin debt.  It is therefore 100% Jesus’ righteousness and 0% of our own that qualifies us for a place in Heaven.

This is contrary to mankind’s premise of good people and it is a totally foreign concept to that taught in the popular churches.  Most people are reviled at the biblical truth that only bad people go to Heaven.
 
Johnny

[Roofdad]

Ya know, Johnny...... this is SO true! There are SOOOOOO many, like the Unitarians, that falsely believe that a loving God would NEVER send anyone to hell......... and many point out the Unitarians, and believe something similar! Perhaps not that God would never send ANYONE to hell........ but that He would ONLY send BAD people there!
And HOW can SO many have double tongues? The church that I attended was telling me that salvation IS by faith (because that is what the Bible says), but then at the same time, they were telling me that you CAN lose your salvation! Can they NOT see that if there was any THING that we could do to either KEEP or LOSE our salvation, then that would mean that salvation is BY WORKS, and NOT a gift, as the Bible teaches?
This shows that doctrine seems to be of little, or of secondary concern to people of so many denominations. They ALL seem to believe, as you said, that since they go to church, God will see them as good, and they will be in heaven.

[BOC560]

Yes, you're right.   Generally speaking, most folks don't like to discuss doctrine.  They believe that followers of any doctrine can be good people.  They see all these denominational preachers as good men of God, while I have absolutely no respect for preachers of heretical doctrine.  These "good men of God" made it extremely difficult for me to find the requirements of my salvation (as they continue to do to others) and I look upon the Unitarian, Church of Christ, Methodist, Wesleyan Holiness, Pentecostal, etc., etc. preachers with the utmost contempt.

I talked with a “Holiness” preacher at some length about the loss of salvation.  He assured me that you could take yourself out of the hand of God as easily as you placed yourself in.

I asked him, “At what point do you lose your salvation?  If I caught my finger in my car door and said a cuss word, how close would I be to Hell?”

He replied, “Well, we all slip from time to time and it’s important to repent and ask forgiveness for those times.” 

“But that would be unconfessed sin.  Would I fail to go to Heaven if I died in that condition?”

“Well, that’s where grace comes in.  Of course nobody knows at what point God gives up on them, but if they’ve been consistently moving forward in their faith, then God will make allowances.  The important thing to understand is that you don’t want to back up on the light you’ve been given.  As long as you’re ‘advancing in the light’ God will extend His grace.  If you back up on the light you’re given, you’re getting into dangerous territory and you need to confess, ask forgiveness and get right with God.”

“How many times would God be willing to accept me back?”

“There’s some disagreement about that.  Of course some pastors will say you can’t lose your salvation but they are preaching a lot of people into Hell and they’ll have to give account for that to God someday.  Some pastors will tell you that you only get one chance.  They say that once you’ve fallen from grace, it will be worse for you than if you had never been saved because you had known salvation and had turned your back on God.  Paul said that only those who finish the race will receive the prize. They believe you shouldn’t ask to be saved unless you’re absolutely serious and committed, knowing you won’t backslide.  Personally, I believe God will forgive you and take you back more than once, but why tempt Him?  Why take the chance?  Just don’t back up on the light and you’ll be right with God.”

Is it an wonder that most people believe the “Good people go to Heaven. Bad people go to Hell” form of religion when we have all these ordained professionals reinforcing it?  Like you said, most preachers of man’s religions will concede that salvation is through faith but then they will repudiate it in their next statements.  They appease man’s expectations to gain popularity. Their yoke is not easy.  Their followers walk in constant fear of destruction.  There is no peace.

By teaching this unholy doctrine, the parking lots are filled on Sunday mornings, the alter is crowded with repentant sinners and the coffers are full.  Congregations from all denominations can join the Promise Keepers, agreeing in worship that they all believe the basics and only disagree upon the finer points.  Why?  Because despite their individual creeds, they ultimately believe against scripture that Good People Go to Heaven and Bad People Go to Hell.

There are no good people.  Only bad people who believe upon Jesus' death, burial and resurrection, having received His holy righteousness go to Heaven.