Do you have to believe in God to go to heaven?

Author: BibleAsk Team


Believing in God and Going to Heaven

Heaven, is God’s Holy dwelling place (Psalm 68:5; Nehemiah 1:5). A person that wants to live with God has to believe that He exists and rewards those that believe in Him. Compared to God’s standard of holiness, no one is good enough for heaven. “There is none righteous, no not one” (Romans 3:10). Even good works do not atone for the evil works. If God permitted wicked people to enter heaven, it would no longer be holy and safe. The punishment for sin is separation from God (Romans 6:23). And according to God’s justice, sin and wickedness must receive its punishment, or God would not be just (2 Thessalonians 1:6).

After the fall of man, the Lord in His infinite mercy planned a way of salvation. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” And the Lord adds, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life” (verse 36). So, the Son of God became man and took our punishment upon Himself. Jesus lived a sinless life of obedience (Hebrews 4:15) and all that accept His sacrificial death on their behalf, confess their sins and repent, could be declared holy and perfect (2 Corinthians 5:21). Through Jesus’ merit, people can receive atonement for their sins, victory over sin and enter heaven (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 1 Peter 3:18).

Heaven is for those who are pure and Holy. The apostle Paul teaches, “Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

So, when sinners accept by faith the death of Christ on their behalf, they receive the grace that transforms their lives into His likeness (John 1:12; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9). This faith will be followed by obedience to God (Mark 8:34; John 15:14). The right kind of faith is the one that will always fruit in a changed life (James 2:26; 1 John 3:9-10). Thus, without faith in God, a person can’t receive both forgiveness and transformation that fit him for heaven.

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In His service,
BibleAsk Team

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