If you were to ask most people, “Why should God let you into His heaven?” you’d likely hear answers like:

✔️ “I was baptized.”
✔️ “I kept the sacraments.”
✔️ “I go to church.”
✔️ “I feed the homeless.”
✔️ “I try my best to keep the commandments.”

And on and on it goes… straight to a lost eternity.

“Don’t get me wrong—baptism, repentance, feeding the homeless, and other good works all have their rightful place. But if they’re done for salvation, God isn’t having it. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone—no exceptions (Ephesians 2:8-9).”

The Root Problem: Our Sin Nature

The problem with mankind is not just that we commit sins—it’s that we have a sin nature (Romans 5:12). We aren’t sinners because we sin; rather, we sin because we are born sinners. Our nature—Old Adam—is corrupt to the core.

This is exactly what Paul describes in Romans 7:13:

“Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful.”

The Law was given to expose our sin nature—not to fix it.

The Futility of Human Effort

If the Law—given by God Himself—could not change our sin nature, then no amount of religious rituals, sacraments, or good deeds could ever do so either.

• Water baptism? No amount of water can wash away sin.

• Keeping commandments? The Law already proved that no one could keep it perfectly.

• Doing good works? Isaiah 64:6 says our righteousness is like “filthy rags.”

• Being religious? The Pharisees were religious to the core, yet Jesus condemned their self-righteousness.

All these efforts do is nullify the grace of God (Galatians 2:21). When people trust in these things, they reject the only way to salvation: faith in Christ alone.

Salvation Is by Grace Alone

Paul makes it abundantly clear in Ephesians 2:8-9:

“For 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.”

No one will stand before God and say, “Look at what I did for salvation.” The only thing that saves is what Christ did on the cross.

The Only Answer That Saves

When asked, “Why should God let you into His heaven?” there is only one right answer:

✝️ “Because Jesus Christ died for my sins, was buried, and rose again, I believe it with all my heart, and I have placed my faith in Christ alone.”

Everything else leads to eternal separation from God. Trust in Christ alone.