Young man: Good evening, Pastor. How are you?
Pastor: I’m fine. Thank you, dear. How are you?
Young man: I am fine too, but I am concerned about one issue. I’ve been hearing and reading about God and heaven since I was a kid, yet I still have my doubts. When I ask questions in my family or at church, people criticize that my faith is weak. They say one should not question God. I approached you since I had heard you don’t complain like that.
Pastor: Tell me what you want to know.
Young man: Could you please explain to me the good news of heaven? Otherwise, I may eventually become an atheist.
Pastor: If you die today, will you go to heaven or hell at the end?
Young man: What kind of question is that? If the number of good actions in my life exceeds the number of evil deeds, I will get to heaven because the good deeds will cancel out the bad.
Pastor: Well! Now, listen closely and try to answer. When someone gets charged in court, are they judged for their bad deeds or for their good ones?
Young man: Bad deeds are judged for sure. People are not taken to court for their good acts.
Pastor: When you come before God, He will be the judge. Will he evaluate your good deeds or your bad deeds as a fair judge?
Young man: Bad deeds.
Pastor: You’re correct. If he cancels your bad deeds for your good, then he is not a fair judge. So he cannot be a good God. If the God of the Bible cancels my bad deeds for my good, then I cannot believe him to be a good God. He will be an unjust God. Now, suppose you stole $10,000 ten years ago. People have not caught on to your stealing, and you have not paid any fine. You used that stolen money to get wealthy, and then you contributed millions of dollars to others, which is a good deed. However, no matter how much you donate, it will not be used to excuse your theft. When judgment comes, it will be based on your thievery rather than your kindness. If a judge waives the sentence for stealing for the sake of your charitable work, he is not acting fairly. Because our Creator is a righteous judge, He will not exchange wicked acts for good. Surely, he will reward good deeds, but wicked deeds must be punished as well.
Young man: Now I see why it is incorrect to believe that doing good deeds will cancel my bad and get me into heaven.
Pastor: I’m not finished yet. The Creator is pure and holy; He contains no evil. So, even if you commit just a little evil, you will not be allowed to enter His kingdom. That is, what will be the consequences of your sin?
Young man: Death. Death is the wages of sin. We cannot go to heaven if we sin. But everyone has sinned! If justice is served, everybody will go to hell. If I lie, I’ll go to hell; if I murder, I’ll go to hell.
Pastor: That is correct; everyone will go to hell due to the righteousness judgment. God’s judgment is that, because everyone has sinned, no one deserves to enter heaven. Due to sin, everyone will end up in hell.
Young man: So, what is the way?
Pastor: There’s a way. Suppose you stole $10,000; the punishment is $20,000. You were placed in jail because you did not pay the fine. You have no money to pay the fine since all of your property has been taken, and you will never be able to pay it. The trial result states that you will not be released unless you pay the fine. So you will not be released for the rest of your life since you will be unable to pay the price. But your father can afford to pay the fine; he came and paid it for you, and you are now free because of his kindness. Did you have to do anything here for your freedom?
Young man: “No.” My father’s grace has set me free in the story. But even so, how can I link it with Heaven’s account?
Pastor: Your father loves you; out of love, he paid the price for you. All you needed to do was accept his kindness. Everyone has sinned, and the cost of his sin is infinite. Sinners are not able to pay it. Because of their sin, every sinner will be sent to Hell, a prison where Satan reigns. However, God, our Father, loves us so much that He is prepared to pay the infinite penalty.
We are unable to pay the endless penalty for sin, but God can. God loves us so much that He paid the ultimate price for our sins via the blood of His only Son, Jesus Christ. Our penalty is limitless, as is the worth of Jesus’ blood. In Christ, our horrible prison fine is paid. Those who wish to go to heaven and be free of sin must believe in and accept Jesus Christ into their hearts. Only then can he be set free from hell and enter heaven. Jesus is the only way, since He made the sacrifice for sin. This redemption is not achievable through human efforts.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8–9- KJV)
The Bible makes it clear that our work (good or bad) cannot lead to salvation from sin. An interpretation of such a clear statement should not be overturned by any ambiguous phrase in the Bible. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, was resurrected on the third day, and conquered death. Thus, he defeated Satan and death.
Young man: It is clearer to me now than it was before, yet I am still having difficulty accepting it. Can you help me out a little more? Jesus is an actual human being. In what way does his blood set us free?
Pastor: “Jesus is a human.” This sentence is partially right. You are thinking in this way because of the impact of other philosophical ideas. In truth, first of all, Jesus is God, and He is infinite. However, in order to save humans, Jesus abandoned his divinity, came to our world, and died for mankind. Jesus is not a man who became God, but he is God who became a man. Man can never become supreme, but a supreme God can become a man. God entered the world as a man and sacrificed his life. He is God in human form, yet he purposefully restrained his power. The humility of Jesus as God is clearly evident here. No other god demonstrates such humility. Take a look at this picture.
On one side of the scale is Jesus (who is limitless), and on the other are the sinners of the world. All sins are forgiven for those who accept Jesus as their savior and stand on this scale. Those who refuse to accept God’s kindness (which is Jesus himself) will perish. Jesus Christ is a pure and holy God. His blood is so valuable that even if all the sins of all sinners stood against him, his weight would be greater in scale. That is how the blood of Jesus paid for the infinite punishment of sin. Those who refuse to accept Jesus after hearing the gospel will undoubtedly end up in hell.
Young man: Okay, now I understand. But is the manner in which God takes us to heaven correct?