Keeping a tab...

So here's the question of the week: "Do you think people can 'earn' their way into heaven? Why or why not?"


I was talking to my mom about this question, trying to find the best way to put my thoughts into words. She reminded me of a story that she used to tell the students she worked with while on staff with Campus Crusade for Life.


Dawn breaks over the California coast as two men dressed in swimsuits stare out at the vast body of water in front of them. The sun is reflected in the clear water giving a sense of peace. 
The taller of the two men wears a confident smile to match the glimmer of sunshine in his hazel eyes. While he stands stretching his legs and preparing for the arduous swim before him, the second man looks insecure. He stand more than four inches shorter than man next to him in stature and confidence.


"So Dan, are you ready?" Asks Hazel eyes as he claps Dan on the back, "Swimming to Hawaii is going to be awesome!"


Dan gulps, "Actually..."


He digs his feet into the cold morning sand and looks uncomfortable.


Hazel eyes laughs it off, "Come on man! I'm a great swimmer, don't worry about it!"


"But Steve, what about sharks?" He says looking concerned, "Or changes in the tide? What if we get tired? What are we --"


Hazel eyes, or Steve, argues back. "Stop being such a worry wort."


They go on for a while arguing whether or not they should carry out their plan when an older gentleman walks up. 


He stares thoughtfully at the boys for a minute and then speaks, "I'm sorry, I couldn't help but overhear you two talking about swimming to Hawaii."


Steve's face lights up with enthusiasm, while Dan looks down at his feet. 


The old man looks back and forth between both boys, "You do know that no matter how good a swimmer," he looks at Steve, "Or how awful a swimmer you are," he looks at Dan, "that neither of you will make it to Hawaii by swimming alone?"




Let's say for a moment that Hawaii is "heaven" and swimming is "works." There is no way that we can get there based solely on works alone. Like Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."


In the Old Testament, God required "works" through sacrifices to show help people remain humble and as a way to show them something better was coming. Sacrifices couldn't wholly cleanse them in the way that Christ dying for our sins accomplished.


Hebrews 10, especially the New Living translation, describes how the old system required people to trust God by offering sacrifices. Through Christ dying on the cross for our sins, he wrote the law on our hearts and as verse 17 says, "I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds." 


"And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices." (Heb 10:18 NLT)


So like the men who tried to swim to Hawaii by themselves, we can't pile up works or swim our way to heaven.


God has already erased your sins. Like Ephesians 2:8, 9 says, our salvation is a result of a free gift from God. We accepted it through faith, but we can't receive it through works. 


Getting to heaven isn't a competition between who can rack up the most points. It is a free, though not easy, gift from God.