A common evangelism question to ask is, “If you died tonight and God asked you why He should let you into his Heaven, how would you reply?” This is designed to get the person to think of the very real fact that we will all die, and each day we are one step closer. (Now I remember why I read this blog . . . this guy is so upbeat!)
Of course, the Bible doesn’t teach that there is a Q&A session where you try to negotiate your way in. God is the supremely perfect judge and we will all realize that his decisions made based on his infinite grace, mercy, love and judgment are 100.00000% perfect.
But just for the sake of discussion, I can think of four bad answers and one good one. I have heard variations of each of these multiple times.
Four bad answers
- “I’m not sure.” You get honesty points for this one, but that won’t get you in. We are all sinners. God made his existence clear to us (Romans 1) and He wrote his law on our consciences (Romans 2). Ignorance of the law is untrue and wouldn’t be an excuse even if it were true.
- “Uh oh.” Some people realize they are sinners, but they haven’t hear the good news of God’s mercy and grace. I love telling them about that! But of course, at that point it is too late for them.
- “Because I was a “good person.” The self-righteous answer is a common one. But we are dealing with a perfect God who absolutely hates sin. He just can’t be around it. So good luck if you are planning on going with this answer. Some people think that if they are 51% good that they’ll get in. But there is no Biblical basis for that. And think about all the flaws with that reasoning. How do you know what your score is? Are you keeping track on a spreadsheet? What if you missed some sins? Does each sin count equally, or is it a weighted average? If you had a high score, could you sin on purpose for a while? If you have a low score, should you sin like crazy just because you won’t be able to get in anyway?
- “Because everybody gets in.” I’m not sure where people came up with that one. Sadly, some “Christians” claim this is true, but a plain reading of the Bible shows that it is hopelessly wrong.
One good answer: Look to Jesus and say, “I’m with Him.” If you confessed with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believed in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). Keep in mind that if you really believe He is Lord then your life should show it.
Eternity Matters 
Neil…
Welcome to the blogo-sphere.
With this post, I think I finally understand why we disagree on so many issues.
If God asked, “Why should I let you in?” My reply would be, “You shouldn’t. But he (Christ) already paid my ticket.”
Nothing I could possibly say could save me. I believe salvation comes through grace alone and our faith is a response to that grace. It doesn’t appear that you believe that. Our disagreements make a lot more sense to me now.
peace.
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Hi Alan,
Actually, I agree with your view on salvation . . . I was just saying it in a different and perhaps less elegant way. I believe 100% that salvation comes through grace alone and that our faith is a response to that. It all comes from God. My “I’m with him” comment was meant to point out that I’m only there because of what He did and because his righteousness has been imputed to me.
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Gotcha… Thanks for clarifying…
After thinking about it more, I’m not sure I like my first reponse either. The “You shouldn’t” answer sounds like it ignores the confidence we should have in the saving grace of Jesus’s sacrifice.
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Very nice. I have had the same thoughts on my mind lately… you say it so eloquently:)
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I had learnt that In Burma (Myanmar), the true story abou’t a Buddhist monk who had a near death experiance, when he died, He walked across the wilderness and when we walked across the river, on the other side of the river is the vision of the Lake of fire, it is the place of hell. When he went into this place, he had met King Yama, King of Hell the Destroyer. King of hell showed him the visions of those Buddhist monks went into the Lake of fire and Buddha is also in hell. King of hell told him, that they are in hell because they don’t believe in Jesus Christ. So he had been told that if anyone don’t believe in Jesus will go to hell. When this Buddhist monk had brought back to life, he became a christian and he rejected Buddhism. Take note; Burma is the country where christians had been persecuted and killed by the Burmese government. I know what is going on in Burma, but I can’t give you more details. I think this story is true, and I must be careful with what to believe, the Bible is the book that I cannot put it away. And yes, Iam very frightened of GOD, because he knows Iam a sinner and he might will leave me to walk in darkness.
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When Iam in hell, in the hand of King Yama, I shall cry out to Jesus to give me a hand, and the Wardens of hell will send me to the Lake of fire, the Great hell.The flames of hell is the flames of God’s love, God’s great love for me. SO god’s love to burn against me. And the wardens of hell will lead me to the fire and I shall look upon to Jesus and that he will never abandon me forever. Will Jesus to take me out of the darkness. Amen.
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Hell is a real place, be warned!!, more and more people will go there! esp those who reject Jesus. Do you want that Patricia to go to Hell? Do you want to condemn Patricia? If she knows this truth many people will not listen to her.
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