Is Being Good Good Enough?
Follows the message Live with Others in Mind from the Making Life Count series
Many people assume decent people go to heaven and hell is for the truly wicked. Jesus told a story that overturns that idea. Being good by human standards isn't enough, because the measure is God's holiness. Salvation comes only as a gift of grace through faith in Jesus. Once you receive that gift, it changes how you see everyone around you, because their eternity matters too.
Key takeaways
- The Bible teaches that you are saved by grace through faith in Jesus, not by a record of good deeds.
- In Luke 16, the rich man has no recorded crime, yet he ends in torment because he rejected the revelation that could have saved him.
- Comparing yourself to other people is the wrong measure, because the standard is God's holiness.
- Living with others' eternity in mind means seeing every person you meet as someone God knows by name.
Do good people go to heaven?
Not on the basis of being good. The Bible teaches that you are saved by grace through faith in Jesus, not by a record of good deeds.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:8 to 9
Grace is God's undeserved favor. It's a gift you could never earn. On Beyond Sunday, Levonia Strong and Pastor Sean Sloan put it plainly: we didn't deserve Christ. We deserved to die for our sins, and Jesus died for us instead. Salvation is a gift.
What happens in the story of the rich man and Lazarus?
In Luke 16, Jesus tells of a rich man who ignored a poor beggar at his gate. After death, their places are reversed.
There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
Luke 16:19 to 21
Notice a detail first-century listeners would have caught. Jesus names the beggar and leaves the rich man nameless. In that culture the wealthy were known and the poor were faceless. Ours isn't much different. We know celebrities by name and walk past other people without a second look. God knows the names of the people we overlook.
The story keeps turning things upside down. The rich man won't touch Lazarus, but the dogs lick his sores. After death the rich man is in agony. He begs for Lazarus to dip his finger in water and cool his tongue. The man who had everything now has nothing. The rich man has become the beggar.
But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.'
Luke 16:25
Why wasn't the rich man good enough?
The rich man wasn't good enough because goodness was never the issue. He wasn't condemned for a crime. The story records no crime and no direct harm to Lazarus. His problem was that he rejected the revelation that could have saved him.
That's what makes the story so uncomfortable. Our instincts say hell is only for heinous crimes and all good people go to heaven. This story says otherwise. The rich man's indifference to Lazarus looks like a simple lack of compassion. Underneath it was a rejection of God's word.
The rich man may have looked good to his community. His good deeds may well have earned him social standing. But he wasn't good toward Lazarus, and being good isn't the same as being righteous.
What does righteousness mean in the Bible?
Righteousness is right standing with God that shows itself in right treatment of others. In the New Testament, it's closely tied to charity, giving to the poor, and caring for the less fortunate.
That's why the two greatest commandments can't be separated.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'
Mark 12:30 to 31
Jesus went further and stretched "neighbor" to include enemies. No one falls outside the command to love.
Why is comparison the wrong measure?
Comparison is the wrong measure because it sets the bar at other people instead of at God. It's easy to tell yourself you're better than someone else because you never did what they did.
But the measure was never the person next to you. The measure is God's holiness. Measured that way, no one stands on their own record. That's why the gospel is good news.
How does Jesus make us righteous?
Jesus is the righteousness of God given to people who could never earn it. The One who had everything gave Himself to people who had nothing and could do nothing for themselves.
If Christ lives in you, then you are here to be given away to others as well. That's hard, because most of us like our lives. But your good deeds become a response to grace, not a way to earn it.
What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?
Mark 8:36
What does it mean to live with others' eternity in mind?
It means treating every person you meet as someone whose eternity matters. When the rich man realizes where he is, his next thought is his five brothers. He begs for someone to warn them. Too late, he sees that their eternity mattered too.
Levonia called this "catastrophic blindness" toward others. Catastrophic blindness is failing to see the people around you as souls whose eternity is at stake. The fix starts with asking the Holy Spirit to open your eyes. What if every person you meet is someone God knows by name? What if your encounters with people are God-ordained moments with eternal consequences? You would choose your words more carefully. You would take people more seriously.
Not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
Philippians 2:4
Pastor Sean summed it up in one word: repentance. Repentance means turning. Turn from seeing life only through natural eyes to seeing through the Spirit. Turn from pursuing only your own goals to pursuing what honors God. Turn from treating people as incidental to your day to seeing them as divine appointments.
This also shapes how you use what you have. When you help the less fortunate, God looks at the heart posture behind the gift more than the dollar amount.
Try this week
- Read Luke 16:19 to 31 and list every reversal you notice.
- Thank God that salvation is a gift you didn't earn and can't lose by comparison.
- Learn the name of someone you pass regularly but have never really met.
- Ask the Holy Spirit each morning to open your eyes to the people around you.
- Choose one way to help someone less fortunate. Heart posture matters more than the amount.
Pray
Jesus, thank You for giving Yourself for me when I could do nothing to earn it. Open my eyes to the people around me. Help me see them as You do and live as though their eternity matters. Amen.
Common questions
Do good people go to heaven?
The Bible teaches that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus, not by good deeds. The rich man in Luke 16 committed no recorded crime, yet he ended up in torment. The measure is God's holiness, and our hope is His grace.
What is the story of the rich man and Lazarus about?
In Luke 16 Jesus tells of a rich man who ignored a poor beggar named Lazarus at his gate. After death their positions are reversed. The story shows that this life matters for eternity and warns against ignoring God's word.
What does it mean to live with eternity in mind?
It means realizing that what you do in this life carries into eternity. Every person you meet has an eternal future too. That changes how you spend your life and how you treat people.
Can I earn my way to heaven by being a good person?
No. Ephesians 2:8 to 9 says salvation is by grace through faith and is the gift of God, not by works. Good works are the response to grace, not the way to earn it.
Your next step
Want to know more about grace and following Jesus? Take your next step at Calvary, or plan a visit this Sunday.