Funerals are funny things. It doesn’t seem to matter too much how the person lived or what they believed in life, the comments made often tend to run down familiar lines. Along with reminiscences about what a nice person they were, there is often some kind of reassurance that they are now in a better place, that everything is all right and that we’ll see them again one day, usually backed up with a poem or a few Bible verses.

There seems to be little serious thought given as to whether there really is a place called Heaven, what might be the criteria for getting there, and what happens if we don’t meet them. Hardly anyone will really consider the possibility that their friend or relative might be facing God’s judgment and ending up in Hell.

The vast majority of post-modern Westerners see themselves as basically good and generally law-abiding. They view the idea of judgment as a medieval con trick, engineered by the church to frighten people into obeying. Heaven is often seen as a nebulous pleasant place populated by all except the most hideous dictators, paedophiles and mass murderers. Yet this thinking has no biblical basis.

The reality of judgment

Judgment is not a familiar concept for many people. Although Muslims have a strong belief in it, most others will not. Those with an Eastern worldview (eg Hindus) see life as a cycle of birth and rebirth, where our present conduct affects our future lives, but not in any final way. Atheists and agnostics often deny judgment, labeling it as a relic from the times when people thought the earth was flat. If there is no God there can be no judge. Even many nominal or liberal Christians see judgment as one of the doctrines that can be conveniently discarded, as it seems difficult to reconcile with a loving God.

Yet judgment is a fact that won’t go away, and something that we will all face. The Bible tells us that ‘man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment’[2] and ‘we will all stand before God’s judgment seat’.[3] Much as a malignant tumour won’t disappear if we deny its existence, neither will the final judgment. Belief in reincarnation or annihilation doesn’t mean that we will escape giving an account before God.

In fact, a God that really loves must also judge. Anyone who has ever been wronged knows what it is to cry out for justice. We wouldn’t think it right for a judge to acquit the thief who had stolen our car, simply because that judge was loving. We want to see wrongs righted and crimes punished. It’s only when we are on the receiving end that our opinions change. God has to put things right and ‘give to each person according to what he has done’.[4] There must be consequences for our actions, and this sorting of the righteous and the wicked is what the Bible calls judgment.

The judgment theme is widespread in Scripture, not one or two isolated verses. It begins in the Hebrew Scriptures,[5] but doesn’t end there. Anyone who wishes to deny the existence of Heaven and Hell must remember that it was taught many times by Jesus and his apostles. He said that:

The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.[6]

Likewise John, in the revelation he received from Jesus, related that:

The dead were judged according to what they had done in the books - if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.[7]

But for the righteous, the judgment results in blessing beyond measure:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’[8]

The biblical Heaven is not just a fairy-tale existence, floating on a cloud with a golden harp. It is just as real as life now; in fact it is more real, because it is life as it was always meant to be. No sin, no disease or death, but most of all the very presence of God.[9] This is something we can really look forward to with joy, but how can we get there?

The necessary pass-mark of perfection

Even if our friends can accept the notion of judgment, Heaven and Hell, we need to be very clear about the criteria for judgment. Many like to think that God will rule in their favour, that they are generally quite good and law-abiding, that they ‘would never hurt anybody’. Do they have any grounds for this assurance?

Put simply, the righteous receive Heaven and the wicked receive Hell, but who decides which category each of us fall in? Clearly it is not our own definition of good and bad that matters, but that of the judge - in this case, God.

Just as the definition of burglary is not set by defendants in court, neither is the definition of righteous and wicked set by human beings.

We tend to think of good and bad in terms of being a bit better or a bit worse than the people around us (with ourselves conveniently placed in the ‘good’ category). But God, being perfect, deals in absolute terms. For him, only perfection is good enough.[10] In practical terms, this perfection that God seeks amounts to Jesus’ great summary of the Torah:

‘The most important [commandment],’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these.’[11]

If we fail on one point or on many, the end result is the same.[12] In an exam with a pass-mark of 100%, it matters little whether we score 1% or 99% - we still fail the exam. And neither can we make amends by doing better later. We can never score more than 100% to balance out previous failings. As if that wasn’t enough, it’s not only our words and actions that count, but also our thoughts. Jesus made clear that in God’s eyes, lust is morally equivalent to adultery, and hatred to murder.[13]

God gave laws to Israel in the Torah, but these were not so much ways to get into his good books, but more reminders that we could never be good enough on our own. Paul tells us that ‘no-one will be declared righteous by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin’.[14] Even Paul, who was an extremely religious person, realised that none of this was enough for becoming righteous in God’s sight.[15] The rich young ruler who came to Jesus thought he had kept all the commandments sufficiently, but it wasn’t hard for Jesus to pinpoint his love of money as the barrier between him and God, adding that ‘no-one is good - except God alone’.[16]

The universality of sin

Seen from this angle it becomes quite obvious why Paul should conclude that ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’.[17] Furthermore he states:

There is no-one righteous, not even one; there is no-one who understands, no-one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no-one who does good, not even one.[18]

Isaiah even went so far as to say that ‘all our righteous acts are like filthy rags’,[19] a term that basically equates them with soiled sanitary towels.

Despite this it can be difficult for some people to see how their lives could be so deserving of punishment. Many people get on with their lives, minding their own business, trying to be nice most of the time. It can be useful to remind them that ignoring God and not living our day-to-day lives with him at the centre is itself an awful thing to do.

An example may help. Consider two teenage children who live with their parents. One is abusive, violent and antagonistic towards his parents. It’s not difficult to see his behaviour as wrong. The other gets on with her life, keeps her room tidy and keeps herself to herself. The trouble is that she never spends time with her parents, never thanks them for the food they cook for her, the clothes they buy her or the roof they put over her head. They are never included in any of her plans and are almost totally ignored, despite the fact that everything she has is due to their care and love. To her friends she may seem pleasant enough, but to her parents her behaviour is the source of as much pain and rejection as that of her brother. Put like this, it’s easier to see the wickedness of so many of our lives. We may not make much noise about our rebellion against God, but when we live our own lives as if he didn’t exist, despite the fact that we owe him everything, then it clearly is rebellion, just as serious as any other.

So far we have been rather morbid, but all of this is necessary preparation. We can never understand the solution to a problem unless the problem is made clear; as doctors we must make a diagnosis before we embark on a plan of treatment. It is only when our friends realise that they are sinners, heading towards a judgment for which no goodness of their own will prepare them, that they will be ready to hear the wonderful message of salvation and hope that is held out in the gospel.

The perfection of Christ

Indeed, it is only when we fully grasp our own imperfection and sin that the perfection and sinlessness of Jesus stand out so clearly. In contrast with everyone else throughout the history of the world, he alone is truly righteous. This is taught in many passages of Scripture:

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin.[20]

Jesus himself, although completely aware of what sin is, was able to stand in front of a hostile Jewish crowd and challenge them: ‘Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?’[21] Needless to say, there was no answer forthcoming.

It is because of his perfection and absolute righteousness that his sacrifice for us on the cross is effective. No sinful human can pay the price for another, because they have their own sins to pay for. In the days of the temple, only an unblemished lamb could be used as a sacrifice for sins. This itself was not effective for forgiveness,[22] but merely looked forward to the time when Jesus, the true ‘lamb of God’, would come to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, once and for all: ‘by one sacrifice he has made perfect for ever those who are being made holy.’[23]

Jesus’ perfection makes him the only way to God, enabling him to say:

I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.[24]

Salvation only by faith

We are now in a position to answer the original question - ‘won’t a good, moral life get me to Heaven?’ We have seen that the idea of a ‘good moral life’ is basically mistaken. It takes arbitrary definitions of goodness and morality and ignores our basic inability to follow the standards of perfect righteousness that God has set. A truly good and moral life would qualify us for heaven, as it did with Jesus, but none of us can match up to that, leaving us dependent on God’s mercy in accepting us through what Jesus has done.

One of the problems encountered during evangelism is that many people think Christians to be terribly arrogant. If we say that they are not good enough to be saved, they can assume that we think we are good enough. Because of this, we must take care to give the whole story, that Christians are as much in need of forgiveness as anybody else.

Eternal life cannot be gained by our own efforts. Paul tells us that ‘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.’[25] He also says that this is the whole reason Jesus came to earth, ‘for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!’[26]

Conclusion

Convincing people of their sin, of the reality of judgment and their need for a Saviour is an essential part of good evangelism. Without it people can be left thinking that their own efforts are quite sufficient to be right with God. Unless they understand the seriousness of their situation, then Jesus’ sacrificial death will remain nothing more than a sentimental gesture and quite pointless.

This doctrine of salvation by faith alone makes Christianity stand alone amongst world religions today. It is the only faith that is sufficiently honest about mankind’s sin and hopeless prospects, whilst reflecting the immense goodness of God in providing a way of salvation.

We must pray for wisdom and guidance so that we will be able to present the whole gospel to our friends, not leaving out the unpalatable truths of judgment and Hell, or giving them cause to think that they can make it on their own.