It might come as a bit of a shock to hear me say it, but I have to tell you that I don’t think good people will go to heaven. Now I know that sounds pretty radical, unchristian, but Jesus would say exactly the same thing. As far as He was concerned, none of us deserves to be called ‘good.’ He made that abundantly clear one day when he was asked what we have to do to inherit eternal life. This is how Luke puts it: A religious leader asked Jesus this question: “Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “Only God is truly good.” Not a bad answer that. I wish I could deal with tricky questions as quickly and as deftly as He clearly could.

Jesus operated on the assumption that we are all flawed (the Greek word for sin literally meant to miss the mark). Of course, we can set the bar pretty low and kid ourselves that we are OK, but in the final analysis it’s His standards that count not ours and they can pretty exacting. In fact Jesus went on to say: “But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honour your father and mother. The man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.

When Jesus heard his answer, he said: “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Now don’t misunderstand me. We may be failures but there is hope for the worst of us. It doesn’t matter who we are or what we have done in our lives Jesus has told us that we can be forgiven. The slate can be wiped clean; we can start all over again. And it’s never too late either. One of the poor criminals who died next to Him discovered that when Jesus promised him that he would go to Paradise with him that very day.

I have met a man who came to faith while he was dying too. In fact, he did die clinically, but somehow, he miraculously came back to life again some fifteen minutes later. He died an atheist, but came back to life a believer and is now an evangelist. It makes we wonder how many people do come to faith on their death beds. Only eternity will reveal that.

But I have to go one step further and tell you that contrary to what most people tend to think I’m not looking forward to spending eternity in heaven anyway. And for one simple reason: I believe I am going to be resurrected from the dead and given the chance to live a perfect life in a perfect world. Unfortunately, the church has constantly given people the impression that it can offer them the chance ‘to go to heaven when you die.’ But this is to short change them. Jesus talked about resurrection of our bodies not the immortality of our souls, or as someone put it we believe in ‘life after life after death.’ Now I reckon you’d be a bit of a fool not to get excited about that.

Rob James is a Baptist Pastor broadcaster and writer who currently operates as a church and media consultant for the Evangelical Alliance Wales. He is available for preaching and teaching throughout Wales and can be contacted at [email protected]