Only "good" people go to Heaven. How did this popular rumour get going and who

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Freedom

Member
Only "good" people go to Heaven. How did this popular rumour get going and who

started it?
Romans 3:12
All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."
 
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Parish

New member
It comes out of the RCC, for they think by doing good deeds God will allow them into heaven. They fail to read that no sinner may enter heaven and no sinner may come before God and live.

Here the Apostle Paul is saying because many won't believe in the correct gospel he is preaching that can make one holy and righteous, they have all turned away and have become worthless, not one of them does any good. The good he is talking about is believing in the correct gospel so that they can do the righteous work of God. The Apostle Paul's words are hard to understand and many have destroyed themselves by not comprehending properly.
 
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Parish

New member
It comes out of the RCC, for they think by doing good deeds God will allow them into heaven. They fail to read that no sinner may enter heaven and no sinner may come before God and live.

Here the Apostle Paul is saying because many won't believe in the correct gospel he is preaching that can make one holy and righteous, they have all turned away and have become worthless, not one of them does any good. The good he is talking about is believing in the correct gospel so that they can do the righteous work of God. The Apostle Paul's words are hard to understand and many have destroyed themselves by not comprehending properly.
 
S

Sasi

New member
If only people would read your short question properly, they would see you are not advocating this lie! You are merely asking how, in view of Romans 3:12, such a rumour could get a grip.

The Bible does not say anywhere that 'good' people will get to heaven. It does states in the Old Testament that people in covenant relationship with God, through faith, receive his undeserved kindness so that people like Job and Daniel could state their faith in being with God forever, in glory.

Come the New Testament, Jesus inaugurated the New Covenant for those who put all their faith in what he had done to save them. Again, there is not even a hint here, or in Paul's writings, that people can achieve a certain level of 'goodness' in order to gain entry to heaven. The opposite is stated!

Therefore, I suggest that in times past all people whose pride took offence at the idea of them having to depend purely on God's grace to gain his favour developed this wrong idea. It can be found in all pagan religions too, so we'd have to go as far back as the first false religions that teach people to strive to attain a certain level of doing things in order to please (or appease) the gods. Only after Christians understood what Christ had accomplished to have his righteousness imputed to repentant sinners did the real and lasting bulwark against such heresy appear. Of course, even within Christianity, proud people arose who began to deny this foundational truth and they brought in heretical ideas about a system of works in order to get to heaven. In our modern age I notice how much the Jehovah's Witnesses try to spread this falsehood around, implying that ALL Christians (who are not JWs) believe this. This is odd, given how clearly Christians on this forum keep repeating the fact that Christianity is the ONLY religion that exposes our attempts to be 'good' and to do good works in order to gain merit. Of course, the JW religion teaches a system of works and how hard they must strive to be of a higher moral calibre than everyone else. They must hate the truth of salvation by faith alone, and that untold billions of people can get into heaven!
 
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onelm0

New member
Man's tradition.

At funerals people like to tell kids that the dead person went to heaven.

Some kids will ask, "Then who is in the box?"
 
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FolloweroftheWay

New member
I do believe it was Catholics.
I know I'm going to get a lot of thumbs-downs for this, so please spare me.

Catholicism claimed to be Christianity when it was really just a camouflage of old pagan beliefs, such as life after death and God being an old man who lives in the sky.
The idea is, life (in Medieval Europe) sucked so much that there's just no way to accept that God put you on the planet to farm cabbages for 25 years and then die. So they told themselves and their children that they'd all go to heaven. But people couldn't be Christian by being Christ-like, so they decided the life-after-death option only applied to people who believed what they did, because their faith did not hold up to competition, and threats were the only way to make native adherents stay in the faith.
 
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BibleStudent

New member
The problem is that they have accepted the manipulate version of the Gospel message that has been promulgated by the Catholic church for centenaries.

Whatever we personally think, we have to see what the word of God in the Bible says about the state of death.

We are told that we breath our last, we expire and we know no more. We are told that when we go to the grave we cannot praise God or know anything. But if we have been faithful and obeyed God we will have repented of our sins, been baptised in water to symbolically wash them away and then tried to lead a life with the LORD God and His son Jesus as our guides.

Here are some verses which tell us about the state of death:

Psalm 6
5 For in death [there is] no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?

Psalm 115
17 The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.

Ecclesiastes 9
4 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.


But we are taught that there is resurrection when Jesus returns and the faithful will receive everlasting life in the coming Kingdom.

Luke 20:37 Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

1 Corinthians 6
14 And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.

1 Corinthians 15
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal [must] put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where [is] thy sting? O grave, where [is] thy victory?
56 The sting of death [is] sin; and the strength of sin [is] the law.

Isaiah 26
19 Thy dead [men] shall live, [together with] my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew [is as] the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.


If we are faithful, when we die we sleep in the dust of the earth awaiting resurrection when Jesus returns.
Going to Heaven, or hell, or purgatory are all inventions of the Catholic church to keep there member in fear and paying indulgences.
 
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johnnycee

New member
It probably started from the various religions around the world. It has even been pervasive (although) it is not Biblical) amongst the Christians for hundreds of years.
I Cr 13:8a
 
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BrotherJonathan

New member
This concept could be more or less as old as Cain and Abel. Cain thought his offering of produce was just as good as Abel's sacrifice. It's almost laughable reading Cain's "defense" after God confronted him.

Chances are, though, that this idea had its origins with Satan. After all, even Romans 1 tells how the early peoples of the earth worshiped things that they thought were "good enough"--but they paid dearly for their mistakes when they wound up in Hell later on.

I'm sure that anybody who wants to negate or nullify God's Word and not the least the Plan of Salvation would use that "war cry" as often as possible. Your quote from Romans is absolutely right and as Jesus Himself said, He and He alone is the one and only way, truth, and life (John 14:6).
 
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BrotherJonathan

New member
This concept could be more or less as old as Cain and Abel. Cain thought his offering of produce was just as good as Abel's sacrifice. It's almost laughable reading Cain's "defense" after God confronted him.

Chances are, though, that this idea had its origins with Satan. After all, even Romans 1 tells how the early peoples of the earth worshiped things that they thought were "good enough"--but they paid dearly for their mistakes when they wound up in Hell later on.

I'm sure that anybody who wants to negate or nullify God's Word and not the least the Plan of Salvation would use that "war cry" as often as possible. Your quote from Romans is absolutely right and as Jesus Himself said, He and He alone is the one and only way, truth, and life (John 14:6).
 
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richk

New member
The bible says that none are good. If we could be good we wouldn't have needed a savior. We are all sinners and hopelessly corrupt. The only difference between Christians and Non-Christians is that Christians have recognized their need for a savior and accepted His atonement for the sins. In effect it's like Christ gives you a coat of His righteousness to wear. This way God doesn't see our sin but only sees the righteousness of Jesus.

There is no room for pride as without Christ we would all be swimming in the lake of fire.

I'm not sure where the saying came from. probably some religious minded folks that didn't really understand the grace of God.
 
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