The Only Way to Heaven

There are a number of Bible verses that can fortify someone in the belief that we have to do something good to enter Heaven. Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell all his goods, give to the poor, and then follow Him. If he did that, Jesus said he would have everlasting life (Matthew 19:16-22). If this is the way to immortality for a rich man, is it also the way for a poor man? If he sells what little he has and gives it to other poor folks, could that buy him a place in Heaven? Such thoughts are in conflict with the many instances in Scripture that tell us that it is impossible for any of us to buy our way into Heaven:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money!” (Acts 8:20)

Here is another verse that the self-righteous could look to in order to try and buy immortality:

“And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.” (Matthew 10:42)

If this verse is saying that the reward is everlasting life, it’s an even better deal than having to sell all of our possessions and give them to the poor.

His Chief Sin

The rich young ruler loved his money, and that was his chief sin. But look now at what Jesus said about every believer:

“So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:33)

When we come to Jesus, we are acknowledging that God gave us life. Everything belongs to Him, and in the light of the cross and the gift of salvation, I gladly forsake the world, the flesh, and the devil. That’s biblical repentance.

Still, most of this sinful world is deluded into thinking that a ticket to heaven is as cheap as a pair of Walmart socks. All they need be is a good person who’s kind to others. They believe this even though most of them know Christ died for our sins. But I have found by experience that when I press them as to what Christ’s death means, most have no idea. They think Jesus left us an example of showing patience and love while in suffering. They are in complete ignorance as to the atonement.

“When we come to Jesus, we are acknowledging that God gave us life. Everything belongs to Him, and in the light of the cross and the gift of salvation, I gladly forsake the world, the flesh, and the devil.”

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Fortunately, God has placed something in the hands of the Church that shatters self-righteousness. When the children of Israel created the golden calf, Moses came down from the mountain and threw the Ten Commandments at their feet in wrath, smashing them into a thousand pieces.

And there is the clue on how we should deal with this stubborn sin of self-righteousness—as with the children of Israel, it’s rooted in idolatry. Idolatry isn’t just making your own image out of wood or stone; it’s also making up a god in our minds. Sinners create an image of God that is congenial, loving, and kind. That god would never be angry. But that god doesn’t exist. He is just a figment of the imagination.

So, the way to deal with self-righteousness is to bring Moses down from the mountain. Let your hearer see his fiery eyes (see Romans 4:15). We should never be hesitant to put the fear of God into the heart of sinners, because the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). And the way to put a healthy fear of God in any one sinner is to open up the Ten Commandments—as Jesus did in the Sermon on the Mount. This is foreign to most contemporary churches, but it wasn’t in Paul’s day. Paul made Felix tremble (Acts 24:25). And that’s good because the Bible says through the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil (Proverbs 16:6). And when sinners don’t depart from evil, they will cause havoc in your church. And you don’t want that.