Have you ever asked yourself how good you’d have to be to go to heaven? The answer may surprise you—because the answer is this: You’d have to be perfect.

The reason is because God is perfect and holy, and any sin is an offense to Him. In fact, God is so pure that even one sin would be enough to keep you out of heaven. The Bible says of Him, “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong” (Habakkuk 1:13). No one who is impure or sinful can enter His presence, and that’s why the only way you could get to heaven on your own would be to be perfect.

But that isn’t the whole story! God loves us, and He doesn’t want us to spend eternity separated from Him. That’s why He has provided another way for us to be made pure and fit for heaven. That way is Jesus Christ, who came into the world for one reason: to cleanse us of all our sins. He was without sin, but on the cross all our sins were transferred to Him, and He died in our place. The Bible says, “The blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

No, you can’t be saved by your own good works. But God loves you, and Christ has provided the way for you to be saved. Turn to Him today and ask Him to take away your sins, and then commit your life to Him as your Lord and Savior. When you do, you too will be able to say that if you died tonight you know you’d go to heaven—not because you were good enough, but because of Christ.