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From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Dear Rev. Graham: I love Jesus, and I try to obey His commands, but I doubt that I can really be good enough to get into Heaven, though I try. How can I be good enough to get in since I sin even when I don’t mean to? – H.E.

Dear H.E.: We will never be good enough to go to Heaven. That statement may be shocking to hear, but it is true. The reason is because God is absolutely holy and pure, and because of that, He cannot tolerate sin. To put it another way, even one sin would be enough to keep us out of Heaven. The Bible is clear: “Nothing impure will ever enter [heaven], nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful” (Revelation 21:27, NIV).

Does that mean there’s no hope? No! Because of Jesus, we have hope. God loves us and wants us to be with Him in Heaven forever. To make that possible, He sent Christ into the world. Jesus – God in human flesh – was without sin, but while on the cross, all our sins were transferred to Him, and He died in our place. We deserve to die for our sins, but Christ took upon Himself our death and judgment and paid the penalty.

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21, ESV). It is through His righteousness that we can be forgiven and enter Heaven!

It is Christ who has opened the door to Heaven for us by His death and resurrection, but we must come to Him in His way. “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, NKJV). Life is hard – but God is good, and Heaven is real!

(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)