Hell, Heaven & How To Get There By Pete BriscoeSample

The Myth About Getting Into Heaven

You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas. — Davy Crockett

When it comes time to get off the road to hell and head toward heaven, many people base their beliefs on myths—and not the Word of God. A lot of people believe that if you’re a good enough person, you’ll get to heaven. I call this the “good-guy” mythstake. The words of Jesus, however, destroy this notion.

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.” (Mark 10:17-18)  

By human standards, the man Jesus was talking to was a “good” man. He had kept the law since he was young—and yet Jesus stopped mid-track and said, “No one is good” (except God, of course). Jesus obliterated the assumption of being a “good guy” before the conversation even got started.

Here’s the problem with the “good-guy” mythstake: We compare ourselves to other humans. It’s not too tough to find somebody who’s more of a scumbag than we are. In our minds we think, “compared to that person, I’m pretty good!”

Jesus says if you want to compare yourself to someone, compare yourself to God. He’s the ultimate standard of what’s good. That’s a little tough though, isn’t it? Compared to God, we are anything but good. “Good guys” are just an illusion created by human-to-human comparison.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:23-24)  

Listen, if we’re honest, we’ll realize we’re all guilty of this mythstake to one degree or another. It’s one of the patterns that just seems to be built into our flesh. Every day, however, we can replace this myth with truth.

Jesus, I want to break free from this mythstake today! By the power of Your Spirit in me, replace my tendencies to judge and compare with a profound awareness of Your grace and the free gift of eternal life that You have given me. Amen.