In Matthew chapter five, the Bible describes Christians as a “City on a Hill.” The understanding of this concept is that Christians will stand out from those around them because of the standard of morality that they represent. If you are a Christian in the world today, you must expect that people will react in many different ways to what they see in you. Christ is so radically different from anything on society, and people take notice. Because of this, you can expect questioning about your faith. 1 Peter 3:15 says:
“But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.”
Christians must be prepared to explain to people what makes them so peculiarly different. If you are a Christian, you can expect to hear any number of these four questions from skeptics, and it is important to know how to answer them.
The second question to address is this: “Why do good people not go to heaven simply by virtue of being good?”
Most people approach the question in a manner similar to this: Why would God allow someone who is mostly good to go to hell? Don't they deserve to go to heaven for their good works? The Bible says in Isaiah 64:6 that our righteous deeds “are as filthy rags.” This meaning can be somewhat confusing because it wouldn't make sense, by a human standard, to say that the work of someone as morally correct as Mother Teresa was “filthy as a rag.” In this verse, the Bible is comparing the standard of human morality to that of God's. God is by definition infinitely more good than any human because He cannot sin. Humans, on the other hand, can sin because of their sin nature (the origin of which was explained in the first article of this series).
So, pertaining to Mother Teresa, because of her sin nature (which all people possess), the amount of good deeds she could do in a lifetime could never measure up to the standard of infinite good that is God. At this point, it would not be immodest to ask “Well then, why does it matter if we are not as good as God? He is, after all, God. Can’t He just forget that we aren’t as good as He is and let us into Heaven?” There is no possible way that God could make an exception. It may sound harsh, but this fact is based on His unchanging character. God is so perfect that anything less than perfect cannot be in His intimate presence. What this means is that God cannot be in a loving and perfect relationship with something that isn't perfect. To do so would compromise His completely good character. Revelations 21:3-4 reads:
“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Good people cannot go to heaven simply because they are good. However, by God’s standard, that would eliminate the chances of anyone on earth going to heaven! How will anyone be in heaven in the end? The answer lies in the life of Jesus. God sent Jesus, His son, to die on the cross for our sins. In His sacrifice, He made a way for people to be saved and to go to heaven someday by taking the punishment for sins - death. Those who believe in Jesus will be saved. Upon salvation, Jesus’ sacrifice covers all sins, past and future, of the recipient. They are now able to be in a perfect relationship with God when they die.
As Christians, we must always be ready to give a defense for the light that is in us. Never turn someone away who questions the faith, but rather answer in grace.
