Good questions.

No. Nobody is good enough.

We've all lied, used bad language, or been angry with someone. That makes us guilty before God. Doing good things now can't erase the bad things we've already done.

Think of a courtroom. Someone commits 5 crimes, then does 10 good things. Would a good judge let them go free just because they did good things? No. The judge still has to punish the crimes. It's the same with God.

That's why heaven is a free gift. If you had to work for it, it wouldn't be a gift.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."Ephesians 2:8-9

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."Romans 6:23

It's good to do, but it doesn't pay the fine.

If you broke a serious law and asked the judge to forgive you, would he let you go free? A good judge still has to give out the punishment. Same with God. Someone has to pay.

Jesus paid it for us when He died on the cross.

"without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins."Hebrews 9:22

"but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."Romans 5:8

No. Baptism doesn't save you. Jesus does.

In the Bible, a whole house full of people received the Holy Spirit before they were ever baptized. They were saved by believing in Jesus.

Baptism is still a good step. Jesus told us to do it, and it's how you show everyone you've put your trust in Him.

"everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."Acts 10:43

"Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?"Acts 10:47

What to do after you trust Jesus

It means to change your mind.

In the Bible, "repent" comes from the Greek word metanoia, which means "a change of mind." What you change your mind about depends on how the word is used.

Most often in the Bible, it means going from unbelief to belief. You change your mind and now believe that Jesus paid for your hell punishment, so you are 100% sure you are going to heaven.

It can also be about sin. Repenting of sin means you go from loving your sin to then changing your mind about your sin and hating it, because it's the very thing Jesus had to die for. That change of mind leads to you getting better at turning from sin throughout your life. Turning from sin is the result, not the price of heaven.

"repent and believe in the gospel."Mark 1:15

Then you're not fully trusting Jesus.

If Jesus does 50% and your good works do the other 50%, there's still punishment left for you to pay. Jesus didn't take half. He took 100%.

The Bible says if we could earn it ourselves, Jesus died for no reason.

"I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose."Galatians 2:21

"he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy"Titus 3:5

It's free for you. It wasn't cheap for Jesus.

It cost Jesus His life. God made it a free gift so nobody gets to brag that they earned it. You accept the gift by trusting that Jesus took 100% of your hell punishment.

"And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness"Romans 4:5

Yes.

When Jesus died, every one of your sins was still in the future. He paid for your past, present, and future sins. If He paid 100%, there's nothing left for you to pay.

"For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified."Hebrews 10:14

"And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross."Colossians 2:13-14

"My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."1 John 2:1

No. Jesus holds on to you.

You didn't earn it, so you can't lose it by failing. Jesus is the one who keeps you.

"I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand."John 10:28

"whoever comes to me I will never cast out."John 6:37

You won't want to.

If a fireman ran into a burning house and carried you out, you wouldn't punch him in the face. You'd want to thank him. Same with Jesus. We don't do good things to get saved.

We do them because we ARE saved.

If someone still loves their sin and nothing ever changes, it may show they only know about the gift and never actually received it.

"What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?"Romans 6:1-2

By what you're trusting in.

If God asked you, "Why should I let you into heaven?", what would you say? If your only answer is "Because Jesus took 100% of my hell punishment," then you're trusting Him alone, because you're not pointing to anything you did. The Bible says you can know you have eternal life.

"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life."1 John 5:13

"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life."John 6:47

Take the quiz

Yes. Jesus said so Himself.

Only Jesus took the punishment for our sins. Nobody else paid it, so nobody else can get us to heaven.

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."John 14:6

"And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."Acts 4:12

Because He's also a good judge.

A good judge punishes crime. But there is still a way to get forgiveness. God sent Jesus to take the punishment. He offers this as a free gift, and the way you accept the gift is by trusting Jesus took 100% of our hell punishment, leaving none left for us.

Anyone who ends up in hell is paying for their own sins because they never received the gift.

"God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day."Psalm 7:11

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."Romans 6:23

"Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God."John 3:18

Nobody. God was never created.

Time and space had a beginning, and things can't create themselves. So whatever made them has to be outside of time. Something outside of time has no beginning and no end. It has always been there. That's God.

"Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God."Psalm 90:2