As foolish as that may seem, many people today are convinced that if they just live a certain way or do something good, God will be pleased and will send them to heaven when they die. "I try to live a good life", they say, and "I'm not near as bad as other people I know".

The Bible tells us a lot about eternal life. "Eternal life" (also called "Salvation") means living forever in the presence of God. The Bible also tells us that what we do has no bearing on whether or not we receive eternal life. First of all, the Bible says that God is not impressed by the good things we do:

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. (Isaiah 64:6)

...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

For the wages of sin is death... (Romans 6:23)

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. (Romans 5:1-2)

If you want to know more about salvation in Jesus, we'd love to hear from you! Send an email to the Pastor, an Elder, or the webservant.