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If you believe being a good person is enough to get you into heaven, you’re not alone. The Bible, however, clearly teaches that even our best attempts fall short of God’s requirement for entering Heaven.  Romans 3:23 “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:12 “There is no one who does what is good.”  Even the best person among us falls short of what God expects. He requires complete obedience, and no one has ever met that standard except Jesus. 

Many of us were taught doing good works gain us entrance into heaven.  Our good works or efforts cannot take away our sins or save us.  Ephesians 2:8,9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.”  Titus 3:5 “He (Christ) saved us, not because of the righteous things we have done, but because of His mercy.  He washed away our sins giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.”

In reviewing the 10 commandments, we quickly understand that we can’t keep most of them.  James 2:10 “For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all the laws.”.  Galatians 3:24 “So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith.”  Romans 3:28 “So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law. 

While church attendance is important in growing your faith and building community, no amount of church attendance will earn eternity in heaven.  Philippians 3:9 “and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.” 

Baptism is an act of obedience after accepting Christ as Savior and is not a requirement to get into heaven. Baptism is an outward expression of an inward decision that signifies publicly you have accepted Jesus as your savior and that you believe in Christ, He died on the cross to pay for your sins and was raised from the dead. Galatians 2:16 “…know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.