Answering, “What Must I Do to Go to Heaven?”
Introduction
In the quest for understanding salvation, grace, and what it means to live a good life, one question often looms large: “What must I do to go to heaven?”
This question is as ancient as the text of our faith and has been a central concern for millennia. It’s a question that sometimes leads us to simplify our faith into a checklist of moral achievements and good deeds.
A Simplified Faith: The “Be a Good Person” Approach
One popular answer to this question is to “be a good person.” This perspective suggests that if we just live a moral life and follow ethical guidelines, we’ll secure our place in heaven. While this idea resonates with many, it oversimplifies the essence of true faith. The problem with this approach is that it can reduce a complex relationship with God into a series of actions or behaviors, potentially overlooking important aspects of the Christian life, like being circumspect with our doctrine, ensuring it is sound. After all, Jesus did tell us to love the Lord our God with all our mind.
James 1:17-27: A Call to Active and Reflective Faith
In the book of James chapter 1 verses 17-27, we find a different perspective on the question of salvation and righteousness. James challenges us to shift our focus from what we must do to earn our way to heaven to understanding that what we do is an outgrowth of what God has already done for us. The Christian life is about responding to grace, not earning it.
This change in perspective is not just a minor tweak; it is a profound reorientation of how we approach our faith.
James highlights that true religion is not about meeting a standard of good but about responding to God’s incredible grace in a way that honors the Lord. In verse 27, he defines pure and undefiled religion as caring for orphans and widows in their distress and keeping oneself unstained by the world. James is calling for an active, thoughtful, and reflective faith that is aware of the goodness of God and the corrupting influences that can harm our enjoyment of it.
The Burden of “Good Enough”: Breaking Free from Comparison
The idea that we must be “good enough” can lead to endless comparison and self-evaluation. We might find ourselves questioning whether we meet the required standard of goodness, and live our lives in guilt, fear, and dread, or we might see life as one long “Prove to me you deserve it” task list. Yuck.
This approach is devastating to joy, exhausting to our spirit, and discouraging to our faith. It focuses on our own efforts rather than the grace of God that freely comes to us.
Shifting the Question: From Earning Salvation to Living in Response
The real breakthrough comes when we shift the question from “What must I do to go to heaven?” to “What has God done for me and how should I live in response?” This perspective allows us to see that salvation is a gift from God, not something we earn through actions or achievements.
Generally, liturgical churches from the Reformation organize our worship services in acknowledgment of this. The service is usually organized by thirds: the call of God to worship, the reading and preaching of the Word, and the response. We are welcomed by God, we are educated about ourselves and our need for forgiveness, we are shown the life of Jesus who is our leader and Lord, and we spend the later part of the service responding in prayer, offerings, and worship before we are blessed with a benediction that sends us out into the world to respond faithfully.
Reflecting on the message of James helps us find freedom in understanding that our salvation is assuredly in God’s capable hands. Instead of striving to meet an impossible standard, we start with grace (God’s grace) and the work the Lord wants to do in our lives. How refreshing!
The Freedom of Grace: Moving from Transactional to Relational Faith
By embracing this perspective, we move from a transactional view of faith to a relational one. The transactional view says, “I did this, now God, you are obliged to reward me.” The relational perspective says, “God, you have shown me great love and mercy, now help me live in a way that honors such grace.
This way can lead to a more authentic and fulfilling relationship with God in which we are freed from shame, guilt, and fear. It is a path to joy
True religion is found in living out this grace in our daily lives, showing love and care to others because that’s what we’ve received from God, and allowing our faith to shape who we are and how we live.
