(Titus 3:5) not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.
It’s the way we grew up and the way the world is today. And that is if you do something right you will be rewarded and if you do something wrong you will be punished. Well, that works for parenting and in the schoolroom and in society in general but when it comes to God’s economy, it’s just not true. When Jesus came into the world to die on the cross for our sins He turned everything around. He satisfied God’s wrath against sin and now man can be fully justified in God’s holy sight by personally accepting God’s free gift of grace. Paradise in the afterlife is not based on good works, but on the merits of Jesus only from the cross. This way good people go the hell and bad people go to heaven. I better explain!
GOOD PEOPLE GO TO HELL: (Pro 14:12) There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. There is something deep inside of us that thinks if we do good in life then God will accept us in the end. It is always good to do the right thing, but when you do the right thing for the wrong reason than that right becomes a wrong. It becomes pride and hypocrisy. Pride, because you think you can enter heaven on your own virtues. Hypocrisy, because you know in your own heart you are a sinner but you come off like you are a saint. Take the words of Jesus way down deep in your soul and wipe that self-righteousness right out of your life: (Mat 7:21-23) “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demo ns in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
BAD PEOPLE GO TO HEAVEN: (1 Cor 6:11) And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. The bad you have done in life doesn’t have to keep you from God’s presence in heaven. If you are forgiven by Jesus then His blood has washed you clean and you are fit for His presence. You don’t have to go around wondering if you are going to be accepted by the Lord on that final day. You can know for certain. Why? Because heaven is not based on your performance. It is based by God’s mercy through Christ. There is no need to live in dreaded fear any longer. And if you blow it, then just ask for forgiveness and know that He will forgive you. You don’t fall out of salvation when you sin, you just fall out of that sweet fellowship with Christ that you can regain through confession and repentance. He loves you, and will never change His mind and cast you away.
Let’s get the word out there that good people go the hell and bad people go to heaven!
Louie