How to Get to Heaven

According to the
Bible: It’s NOT by
Being Good
Written by David Kim ● in Christian
Living ● Last Updated February 6, 2023

It’s easy to get caught up in the busyness of life

and not think about what happens when this
life is over. But sometimes, things can happen
that make you pause to ask the important
questions. As a pastor, and a police chaplain in
the past, people have asked me these
questions – some of them on their deathbed.
The Bible has clear answers and guidance that
has brought peace to many people.

How to get to heaven according to the Bible?

According to the Bible, you get to heaven by
putting your trust in Jesus Christ and
following Him.

Although we might ask about how to go to

heaven, the Bible doesn’t actually use the
phrase “go to heaven.” That’s more of a
modern-day way to talk about it. Rather, the
Bible talks about having “eternal life” or being
“saved.” In Acts 16:30-31, someone asks how
he can be saved. The answer is: “Believe in the
Lord Jesus.”

Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs,

what must I do to be saved?” And they
said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you
will be saved, you and your household.”

Acts 16:30-31 (ESV)

This is what the Bible calls the Gospel, or Good

News. To believe in Jesus doesn’t mean to
know some facts about a religion. In this
article, we’ll explore more what that means.

Before we do, here’s a video that explains the

Gospel. It’s a drawing called the 3 Circles.

The Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ,

Explained Using the 3 Circles

Ta b l e o f C o n t e n t s
You Don’t Get to Heaven by Being a Good
Person

Heaven Is Not the Default Destination

You Get to Heaven by Trusting in Jesus

Going to Heaven Is More Than About a Final

Destination

You Can Be Sure That You Are Going to

Heaven

You Don’t Get to

Heaven by Being a Good
Person
A common misconception is that you get to
heaven by being a good person. You don’t go
to heaven if your good deeds outweigh your
bad deeds. The Bible is very clear that this is
not the case. No one would be good enough to
earn heaven.

God doesn’t grade on a curve when it comes

to getting to heaven.

For by grace you have been saved through

faith. And this is not your own doing; it is
the gift of God, not a result of works, so
that no one may boast.

Eph. 2:8-9 (ESV)

Eph. 2:8-9 explains that you are saved by grace,

through faith.

Grace means that we get to heaven by

God’s gracious, free gift, not because we
earned it.

Faith means that you get to heaven by

believing in God and His way. It’s based on
something that He did, not something that you
did.

Faith is trusting in God and what He did

and not in yourself or something you did.

It’s not a result of works. This means that you

don’t get to heaven based on your good or
bad deeds in this life. That “no one may boast”
means that you can’t take credit for it. You
can’t get to the pearly gates and say: “Peter, let
me in because I’ve been a good person!”

Note: This is not in the Bible. Peter is not at a

pearly gate waiting for you. Even if he happens
to be, the point is, you won’t be able to take
credit for getting into heaven by your good
deeds.

This might be a relief to some people but a

frightening idea for others! The bad news is
that you can’t get to heaven by being good. The
good news is that even if you’ve lived a less
than stellar life, or have done much worse, God
did something for you so that you can get to
heaven.

The good news is that even though you are not

a good person (everyone has sinned), Jesus
died for your sins. You can be forgiven of your
sin because Jesus paid for the penalty of your
sin. He paid for it with His death on the cross.

Heaven Is Not the

Default Destination
Another misconception is that heaven is the
default destination. You don’t automatically
go to heaven. The Bible says that you can be
saved because there is something you needed
to be rescued from.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free

gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
our Lord.

Rom. 6:23 (ESV)

The Bible says that the wages, or penalty, of

sin is death. Sin is when we depart from God’s
way and go our own way. Sin is what separates
us from God. Sin leads us into brokenness in
this life.

For all have sinned and fall short of the

glory of God.

Rom. 3:23 (ESV)

You don’t automatically go to heaven. The

destination of mankind is separation from God.
If God is life and the author of life, our sin has
led us away from God and into spiritual death.

People today might wonder about “going to

hell,” but Revelation 20:14-15 describes the
final destination as the lake of fire. This would
be what people would be referring to as “hell.”
The lake of fire is what is prepared for Satan,
who opposes God’s plans in the world.

The whole story of the Bible is that God makes

a plan to rescue and redeem people from the
lake of fire. To “get to heaven” in the Bible
means to be saved from death and eternal
separation from God. What are we saved
from? From sin and the results of it. We are
rescued from our eventual destination, the lake
of fire.

In their case the god of this world has

blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to
keep them from seeing the light of the
gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the
image of God.

2 Cor. 4:4 (ESV)

According to the Bible, people have been

blinded from the truth. It takes God’s work to
help you see the light of what your real
situation is and understand the good news of
what God has done for you through Jesus.

You Get to Heaven by

Trusting in Jesus
God did something about our situation and our
destination of the lake of fire. God wouldn’t be
a just Judge if He didn’t uphold justice. But in
His love, He did something so that He can save
as many people as possible from going there.
He wants everyone to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4).

For God so loved the world, that he gave

his only Son, that whoever believes in him
should not perish but have eternal life. For
God did not send his Son into the world to
condemn the world, but in order that the
world might be saved through him.

John 3:16-17 (ESV)

The most important point in the Bible about

getting to heaven or being saved is that you
have to trust in Jesus. John 3:16 is possibly the
most well-known verse in the entire Bible.

John 3:16 means that God shows His love to

the world in this way: He sent His only Son,
Jesus. If you believe in Jesus, God will rescue
you and you will have eternal life. You will not
perish as a result of the penalty of sin. You’ll be
saved from your final destination, the lake of
fire.

Jesus came “to seek and to save the lost” (Luke

9:10). Jesus saves you by dying in your place.
He became your substitute by dying on a cross.
He became the sacrifice for your sin to pay the
penalty. Jesus died so you can have eternal
life.

And saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the

kingdom of God is at hand; repent and
believe in the gospel.”

Mark 1:15 (ESV)

The Bible says that you need to repent and

believe in the gospel, the Good News of
Jesus.

You don’t get to heaven by being a good

person, but by believing in the good news of
Jesus.

Who will enter heaven? Those who have

believed in the good news of Jesus Christ will
enter heaven. According to the Bible, there is
no other way to salvation except through
Jesus (Acts 4:12). Jesus says in John 14:6
(ESV): “I am the way, and the truth, and the
life. No one comes to the Father except
through me.”

To repent means to see things differently.

Repent doesn’t mean to just feel bad about
your sin our your life. It means seeing things
from God’s perspective. In the Bible, repent
literally means to “think differently after.” After
you hear the good news of Jesus, think
differently about God, the world, and yourself.

How would your life be different if you saw

things differently? If you believed that God
really loved you enough to give you His only
Son? If your sins are forgiven so you don’t have
to live in fear, shame, and condemnation
anymore?

Would you have a peace that can carry you

through the difficult times in life?

Would your life be filled with gratitude?

Would you begin to live life in God’s design

and not be the boss of your own life?

If you repent and see from God’s perspective,

you will live life differently. Jesus will become
the Lord, or boss, of your life. To trust God
means to surrender to Him and to live life in His
design.

Going to Heaven Is
More Than About a
Final Destination
What the Bible says about going to heaven is
much more than just going somewhere when
you die. It’s more than having “fire insurance”
from the lake of fire.

The Bible presents a way to think about your

entire life from God’s perspective. It helps you
put things into perspective so you can find
peace and thrive in this world. You can be filled
with God’s true love. God’s plan for your life is
that you would have life and that more
abundantly (John 10:10).

The thief comes only to steal and kill and

destroy. I came that they may have life
and have it abundantly.

John 10:10 (ESV)

It’s not just about going to a certain place

when you die. It’s about how you can live life
in God’s design starting today. It’s about
experiencing how God begins to restore your
life to His design.

The way the Bible defines “eternal life” is not by

the destination or how long eternity will be.
Eternal life is defined by the quality of life, of
knowing Jesus. If Jesus is the King of your life,
how would your life be different? To live
because of Him and for Him defines your life.

And this is eternal life, that they know

you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ
whom you have sent.

John 17:3 (ESV)

To know this life that the Bible talks about,

you don’t have to wait for your deathbed.
That life can start now. You can receive God’s
forgiveness and you can forgive others. You
can find peace and love and live in God’s
design.

What God wants from you is not

burdensome. But, it does require you to
surrender your life to Him. Following Jesus
doesn’t mean you’ll have a perfect life with no
problems. Everyone on earth has problems.
Jesus promises to give you a peace that goes
beyond your understanding (Phil. 4:7).

I have said these things to you, that in me

you may have peace. In the world you will
have tribulation. But take heart; I have
overcome the world.”

John 16:33 (ESV)

You Can Be Sure That

You Are Going to
Heaven
The Bible says that you can have assurance
that you are going to heaven. It’s not something
that you can just go by people’s opinions or
experiences. It’s not a matter of emotions or
guesswork. It’s not something that’s worth
gambling eternity on.