I was reading an article the other day about how most people are confident that just being nice secures them a place in heaven.

But is this true?

Of course we want to believe that it’s relatively easy to go through the Pearly Gates, but is being a decent person all there is to it? Have you ever heard the expression, “They would give you the shirt off their back,” referring to someone’s kindness and generosity? It’s a notable character trait, but is this the standard for qualifying for eternal life?

Not necessarily.

Contrary to popular belief, eternal salvation is not based on how good we are or how much we can give. It’s about being spiritually born-again and knowing Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. According to the Bible, the invitation for eternal life has everything to do with accepting God’s love and allowing His love to flow through us in everything we say and do. “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God, and everyone that loves is born of God and knows God.” I John 4:7.

Without learning what it means to love others with the love of Christ, our lives are shallow and frustrating, no matter how many good works we do.

I’ve spoken with people over the years who are convinced that God has a points system and if we make a passing grade, we are rewarded with heaven. The logic of those who have their own religious speculations about the Christian life but who are without a spiritual understanding assume those who receive bad grades because of their trespasses, will fail to accumulate the required points needed in their quest to obtain the keys to their “mansion just over the hilltop.”

That might be considered natural common sense, but it’s not what the Bible says.

Many nice individuals publicly give and volunteer to help others, and are known to be generous. However, if they are not a child of God, their deeds look wonderful to the world, but they are not a substitute for being saved and surrendering their will to Him. Read Mathew 7:22.

To those who are born again, God is their Master and they obey His voice because they love Him. I John 2:15, says it this way: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” Within this word “love” we realize the carnal mind follows and worships the world because it contains everything associated with fleshly desires. Romans 12:2 demands that Christians be not conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the “renewing” of our minds. Receiving a new spirit is the greatest gift in this life, but we also need a completely new way of thinking that is focused on the will of God.

If heaven and hell were based on a grading system, there would have been no reason for Jesus to come and die on the cross, shed His blood, or rise from the dead. God could have just kept track of all the good and bad things people do and after everyone had taken their last breath, all the points would be added up, and we would know our fate.

The reality is that when Jesus convicts and invites us to be redeemed, He forgives our sins and makes us a brand-new creation. It is then we embrace our responsibility to allow Christ to sit on the throne of our heart as our King. As we are filled with His endless stream of His love, it overflows onto others and is what “this little light of mine” is all about.

We cannot out-give or out-love God, and without His nature and character flowing through us, we are not as pleasing to Him as we think we are. As we read First Corinthians chapter 13, we realize the greatest legacy anyone can leave is to be known for being filled with God’s love. Verse 3 says, “And though I give everything I have to feed the poor, and give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profits me nothing.”

Remember, when Jesus was nailed to the cross, He asked His Father to forgive those who were torturing and killing Him. This example of divine love that He has for everyone reminds us that His truth and His Agape love within us is how the lost are drawn to Him.

Dr. Holland is an ordained minister, chaplain and author. Read more about the Christian life at billyhollandministries.com.