The namesake of the oldest book in the Bible, Job, asked the question, “If a man die, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14) The question of life after death has occupied the thoughts of man for all of his history. Just the fact that you are now reading this text bears witness to the fact that this most universal of all questions has occupied your thoughts as well.

Dear friend, allow me to share with you what God’s Word has to teach us about this subject. The Bible (both Old and New Testaments) gives us abundant evidence that man was created by God to live eternally. The sense of eternity is universal; a general belief in man’s mortal present but immortal future can be found in all cultures throughout the world.

The question is, then, “What happens when I die?”

Are you a good person?

Most people today believe that if, generally speaking, they are a good person then they will go to Heaven. In other words, if their good deeds outweigh their bad deeds, or, as long as they sincerely try to live a good life, then God will accept them.

There is actually some truth to this. If a person dies and truly is a good and righteous person, then he is assured of an eternity in Heaven. There’s just one problem, though: the Bible makes it quite clear that there are no inherently good people. Romans 3:10 states, “There is none righteous, no not one.”

I know, I know

It sounds very brash and harsh to claim that there are no good people to be found anywhere. After all, one may wonder, ‘What about people like Mother Theresa, Gandhi, or Billy Graham? Weren’t (or in the latter case, aren’t) they good people? Well, by human standards I would be the first to answer that question with a resounding Yes. Though I would disagree with some of them on some theological issues, I would say that all of them were, or are, humble people who consistently placed others above themselves. History will look kindly on all of these individuals as being selfless people with high moral standards and personal integrity.

God’s Standard

The problem, though, lies in the fact that God does not judge us by man’s standards, He judges us by His. What exactly are those standards? They are, very simply, the 10 Commandments. If a man could live by all of the 10 Commandments perfectly throughout his life, then he would indeed be a good person by God’s standards and be assured of eternity in Heaven.

If you are anything like me, you probably did not do too well.

If you are really honest with yourself, I think that you will find that at one time or another you have broken most, if not all, of God’s commandments. Even if we break only one, it is the same as breaking them all (James 2:10).

By God’s standards, then, we are all liars, thieves, idolaters, blasphemers, and adulterers. We have all at one time or another dishonored our parents, disregarded the Sabbath, coveted another’s possessions, and not put God first in our lives.

So you see, by God’s standards, we are not as good as we might have imagined. The fact of the matter is, we are all sinners (Romans 3:23).

The word “Gospel” means “good news.”

The Good News of the Gospel is that God does not want you to go to Hell and loves you enough to have provided a Way of escape. His name is Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the living God. Jesus came to earth as fully God and fully man and was the only One to have ever lived a perfect, sinless life. Jesus then willingly laid down His life for us by dying on a Roman cross. He was crucified to pay the penalty of your sins and mine. He became the offering for our sins and therefore satisfied the demands of God’s justice.

Then, on the morning of the third day, something amazing happened. God raised Jesus from the dead. All four gospels bear witness to this miraculous event. Jesus was raised and showed Himself very much alive to the disciples and apostles and to more than five hundred at once (1 Corinthians 15:3-7). The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is the single most well-attested event in all of ancient history and testifies to the deity of Jesus. The resurrection sets Jesus apart from all other “religious leaders” who came before Him or since.

By being raise from the dead, Jesus has gained victory over sin, death and Hell. He is alive today and stands ready to forgive anyone of his sins who will confess with his mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in his heart that God has raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9). Jesus and Jesus alone can forgive one of his sins and secure for him escape from Hell and an eternity in Heaven. That is the Good News.