Good people go to hell...

every day. I said this to my mom the other day.

She was telling me about a book that she was reading. It was written by someone in her Sunday school class, and she was surprised that it contained some rather questionable material. She was surprised at the author's content choice and plot line because of his many philanthropic gifts to their Sunday school and church.

I told her, "Good people go to hell every day." I'm sure it shocked her. The first time it was told to me, it shocked me because reactively I thought that "good" meant righteous and certainly righteous people don't go to hell. The Bible promises that the righteous live by faith (Rom 1:17), the righteous are held in the Father's hand and never lost (Jn 10:28-29), the righteous inherit eternal life (Mt 25:46).

But nowhere does the Bible equate man's understanding of "good" with His righteousness. That deceptive equation is formulated in man's depravity and has been tried before. (Mt 19:16-17)

That's the point of the statement. Those persons believed to be "good" (or believing themselves to be "good") but not having the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ are not saved by any quality or quantity of philanthropic works to any amount of Sunday school classes or churches, though it would number in the millions.

The entrance to heaven is not a ticket purchased by "good" works. It is the gracious gift of the Father, purchased by the atoning blood of Jesus Christ and guaranteed by the seal of the Holy Spirit. (Eph 1:11-14; 2:4-9)

It shouldn't shock so much as sober and grieve us to think of how deceived we are to the realities of His narrow way to the kingdom. (Mt 7:13-14) It should cause us be truly humbled, and to cling to His persevering promises demonstrated and exercised through faith to make our calling and election sure. (2 Pet 1:10)

Matthew 1: 20, "For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."