Are We Good Enough to Go to Heaven?

 It's not every day, but there are a lot of days in my years past, and in the present, when I have a conversation (a rather controversial one) with people about being good enough to go to Heaven. I realize that the boundary questions that we all ask ourselves from time to time are valid and important, and they are literally the edges of the universe for us, as they are in fact the boundary questions. Some of these questions will be "Who am I?", and "Are we really living in a reality or is this a game or someone's dream?"  We may even ask, "Why am I here? What purpose do I serve?"  But the big one, the one we all ask at least 10000000 times in our lives is "Is God real?"  Some people would say most people only ask that question once maybe, but no, I think we will be destined to ask it over and over again, and until we get the answer we believe is real, we'll go right on asking it. Here are my thoughts. 

    Is God real?  My answer, the short answer, is YES.  Yes, God is real, and not only is He real, but He is a HE, and He is in charge of literally everything there is now, ever was, and ever will be. So, why then, people may ask, if God is real, do people suffer? Why do babies die? Why are people murdered? What would allowing dramatic and deadly storms have to do with a real God? Is He cruel? Does He hate us? What's the point! We'll never be good enough to make this mean and sinister being happy! Oh my, I really hope that's not what you're thinking, but if it is I have some good (albeit difficult to understand at times) news for you. Read on.

    Let's start with the beginning.  I'll first say that you have to have some sort of grounding, foundation, or something to believe in or you won't have a chance in Hell or anywhere else when it comes to making sense of the whole mess.  I will claim, and I will proclaim, that the Bible is a living book that was written by many different authors, and that it spans thousands of years from start to finish, but that every author was divinely inspired by the very God we are talking about. The reason I can make that claim is that I also asked the same questions, and though I may have searched other written works, the ONLY one that comes true and comes to light every single time and for every single question, without fail, is the Bible. It simply cannot be disproved.

    There are those who will say it has mistakes. I understand their reasoning. Most who say these things speak English and are reading an English version of the Bible, which was originally written in the Hebrew language, some Latin, and some Greek. Yeah, we're not going to have the same words when we translate, and yes, there seems to be a mistake, but really it's just that something is lost in the translation. If you do the study, if you take the time, if you do the work, you'll find that the translators made the errors, not the original authors.   You either believe that, or you don't believe that and if you don't believe that, we can't continue. You must come to an understanding that the Word is real, and the Word is infallible.  It's been tested and I do mean TESTED, over and over, and over and over again. It is solid. It is true. It is actually unveiling itself for the End Times right now!!  Look at what Russia, Iran, and Turkey are doing!! Hello, Ezekiel 38 is about to explode in front of our faces. This book talked about this war LONG before Jesus walked the Earth.

    Jesus never, not once, quoted the New Testament. Did you know that? Jesus, if you think about it, was not a Christian! Nope. He was in fact, CHRIST. The One we follow. Being a Christian means we follow Christ. He can't follow Himself. Jesus is (and was) a Jew! He's not a Catholic. He's not a Protestant. He's not anything other than EVERYTHING, and He is in fact, the Son of the living, real God. If you can understand it, Jesus said "If you believe in my Father, also believe in Me, for My Father and I are the same."  Wow. We really can't understand that from a human point of view, but you're not supposed to use your human brain to master that understanding. You're supposed to use your FAITH. (that would be your heart and mind combined to come up with the belief that it is in fact reality.)

    First came the chicken, then the egg.  Don't be stupid and think otherwise. The Earth is not flat, and we don't live in a bubble. We are not someone's imagination. We are real, we feel, we live, we breathe, we mate, we make babies, we repeat this over and over, and we die. During that time we have several forms of education, be it in a proper setting at school, at home, in our communities, in jail, you name it, we are being educated all the time. We learn things. One of the things we question as we are learning is whether or not we are actually able to work our way into the last destination for us; which is what we call or consider paradise. We call it Heaven, but it has many names. The Bible has several names in fact, for the place where God lives. We know it's "up there" but in reality, it's all around, it's under, above, between, in the middle, it's God's place of residence, and He is everywhere!

    From a scientific point of view, planets were made. These planets were somehow, maybe through chance (Laugh) placed in the exact position(s) they would have to be placed in so that there would be in perfect order on Earth and everywhere else. Do we really think that was a mishap? Do we really want to even give the Big Bang theory an inkling of support? Have you ever tried to make a cake? I rest my case. We didn't hang the Moon, and no one asked Jupiter if he/she would rather be on this side of this particular galaxy or not. God did that. God.  Don't pussy-foot around it. Don't try to be all politically correct. Don't try to be popular and make yourself sound intelligent and tolerant. GOD DID THAT.  God is real. God is flat-out in charge. The sooner we know, understand, and accept that, the faster we'll be able to begin our healing process inside our wee little brains; we'll better commune and we'll better accept the Truth. 

    Are we good enough to get to that God? The simple answer is NO. No, we are not. The bar is set far far too high for any of us to achieve that sort of reward. We are dirty, scummy, nasty, filthy, lying sacks of shit, and even though God made us, and maybe we shouldn't be the way we are, we are the way we are. He allowed us to have free will, and look what every last one of us has done with that! We were born into it. We continued it. We are not worthy, and there isn't one among us who is. Jesus was, Jesus is. He left that place we call Heaven, He gave His life and blood for us, as a living real sacrifice to His Father. If our children were to do that, we'd freak out! We'd not allow it, but God did allow it. God allowed His ONLY Son to die for me. Well, He died for you too.  He died for the really crappy assholes who we hate. He died for every last soul on this Earth who has ever breathed a breath.  No, we are not good enough and we will never be good enough to go to God, to be in Heaven.

    We are going to be there though. That's the good news. We are going to be in God's house, in God's presence, and with God Himself. We're going because Jesus made it possible. Can a sinner go? Yes. Can a gay person go? Yes. Can a murderer go to Heaven? Yes.  King David put his to-be lover's husband on the front lines of a battle he knew would end up with Uriah being killed. That's murder! God still called David one of His, and though David was punished, God's grace saved his soul from eternal damnation. Back up, you just asked me why I said gay people can go to Heaven. Not all gay people are saved. Not all gay people will go to Heaven when they die, or when the Rapture happens. Those people, straight, gay, bi, or otherwise, who have accepted Christ as their living and real Savior, will in fact be (and are) covered by the blood of the sacrificial Lamb, Jesus. Now, that being said, homosexuality is a sin! Don't think for a second that it's condoned by God or by Jesus. It is not.

    There are 67 clear verses about homosexuality in the Bible and not one of them is in favor, and not one of them is stating that the act is allowed or good. In fact, all of the verses are quite substantially clear that this particular sin is of both an abomination and a stain that God abhors!  That being said, "For God so loved the world (everyone) that WHOSOEVER (including gay people) believes in Him (Jesus as the Savior) will be saved."  John 3:16 was NOT rewritten to include only those people who King James believed were to be saved. King James, by the way, was NOT a good person. Just so you know that, please do a bit of study. He was NOT the end-all of Christian leaders. NOPE.

    So why would God allow sinners to be saved? All of us are allowed to be saved. All of us are sinners. We may not all be the same type of sinners. We are not all this way, that way, another way, or in between. We are all, however, missing the mark, and we are all guilty of sin. Even if it were only one sin, it would be enough to keep us from going to Heaven, and God allowed Jesus to cover that one sin. I can't however imagine there being anyone with only one, but there you go. One is enough to stop you from going to Heaven. Period.  Personally, I like the verse in the Bible that talks about the greater the sin the more the person who was doing those sins is grateful for the salvation which is offered.  Think about it. 

    You have a housewife with kids who just works, and does her thing, she may have watched a dirty little movie or picked up a nasty little book for grins.  She's not murdering people, and she's not robbing banks, but she is a Christian and she knows what's right and what's wrong. Her forgiveness from God through Christ is complete.  But what about the guy (or gal) who has been in gangs since he/she was a kid, maybe they were initiated by murdering someone. Maybe they dug graves for other murders. Maybe they drove the car, maybe they hid information. Maybe they had sex with anything and everything that walked the planet!  Are you understanding where I'm going with this? That person, once he/she is saved, and has repented of their sin and crimes, will be so much more grateful for not facing damnation than the people who just sort of live life and sin a little.  All sin will and does keep you from Heaven, but all repentance and all trusting in Jesus will allow you entrance. 

    There is/are a new type of preacher and pastor right now. They are calling themselves "apologists".  They defend what we call sin and give reasons for why God will allow these sinners into His Kingdom.  They are scoffers. They are liars. They are false teachers and God will deal with them.  You need to know that your sin is bad and will NOT be allowed. We were NOT BORN this way. We learned it. We became it.  We are it...we sin.  Accept that you have, and either repent or don't repent, but if you aren't willing to obey God and accept HIS terms, you will not be covered by the blood of Christ.  Repenting of sin is the only way we can come to Christ. Does that mean we won't sin afterward? Are you nuts? Of course, we will. We're human, but the fact(s) is that when we accept Christ we are given His Holy Spirit in the form of a seal or restrainer in our hearts/souls, and we are sealed into the eternal peace that will come.  Yes, we continue to sin, and then the Spirit reminds us not to. The Spirit reminds us what is right. The Spirit nudges, He pushes, pulls, and even punishes us for being disobedient. 

    Say you were born into a family of gangsters.  You may end up apologizing to folks you know for the behavior of your family.  Say you were born into a family of law officials, judges, and jailers.  You may end up apologizing to folks for the decisions that were made and the sentences that were imposed. Do you see the difference?  You can apologize for the wrong, but you can't apologize for the right. You may not agree with the right, but it is still right. You may not agree with the wrong, but it is clearly still wrong! You know it. God will not be mocked. These apologists are literally saying that Jesus left Heaven and DIED FOR US for NO REASON!  They are taking away the power of God and the power of Salvation! They are claiming and will claim that you can continue in your lifestyle, continue in your sin as long as you say the words you're supposed to say, and tell people you did. NO. That is tantamount to a doctor giving you saline to cure you of an infection! You need the ONE THING that cures you, not the fake shit that they push so people see you making a profession, or see you living the lie. 

    Are you (am I) good enough to go to Heaven? Absolutely not. Will we be forgiven if we continue to sin after we accept Christ? Absolutely, thank God, yes. So then, why would He allow that?  Simple answer? You had the moment when you wanted to change. You had the moment when you knew right was right, and wrong was wrong, and for however long it was, you wanted to do the right thing, through the help and love of Christ. That moment was long enough for the Spirit to seal you. Once the door is closed by God, there will be no one who can open it. Once the door is opened by God, there will be no one who can close it. God and God alone is the Master of His House.  He gave a promise, and HE will never take that promise back, or lie and not fulfill it. He can't. He literally CAN NOT lie or take back a promise. You are sealed by the Spirit, not by your own doing, not because YOU were anything but because HE is and will always be EVERYTHING!

Thank, God!

Photo Credit: FamilyToday.com