The answer may startle you: We must be absolutely perfect to go to heaven. God is holy and pure, and even one sin — just one — would be enough to keep us out of heaven.

This is why we need Jesus, because only He can make us ready for heaven. We can’t go to heaven on our own; no matter how good we’ve been, we’ll never be good enough to enter God’s presence. Many people think that if they’ve been good enough, God will let them into heaven. But it isn’t true; as the Bible says, “There is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10).

But Jesus Christ came to take away our sins. He was without sin, but on the cross all our sins were placed on Him, and He died in our place. We deserve God’s judgment for our sins — but He took the judgment and Hell that we deserve. Now we can be cleansed of all our sins — and when that happens, God gives us the gift of eternal life. The Bible says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Accept God’s gift by turning to Christ in repentance and faith, asking Him to come into your life and trusting Him alone for your salvation. Then thank God that some day soon He will welcome you into His presence forever — because of what Jesus did for you.