Good guys go to Hell, and Bad Guys go to Heaven.

Usually people think that good man goes to heaven and bad man goes to hell, because we believe there is some sort of justice system in this world. Well, maybe not in this world all the time, but at least this “all-powerful divine being out there” must do better than the rulers and governors over here, right? The baddies might be able to escape from the justice system in this world, but our God will surely punish them on that final Judgement day. And being a nice, kind and loving person, God might let me through the pearly gate…

From the Bible, the Christian God is a just God (i.e. someone who exercise what is right and true), but Christians believe that good man actually goes to hell, but professed baddies are the ones end up in heaven. Jesus taught in the following parable:

10Two men went into the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood over by himself and prayed, "God, I thank you that I am not greedy, dishonest, and unfaithful in marriage like other people. And I am really glad that I am not like that tax collector over there. 12I go without eating for two days a week, and I give you one tenth of all I earn." 13The tax collector stood off at a distance and did not think he was good enough even to look up toward heaven. He was so sorry for what he had done that he pounded his chest and prayed, "God, have pity on me! I am such a sinner."

14Then Jesus said, "When the two men went home, it was the tax collector and not the Pharisee who was pleasing to God. If you put yourself above others, you will be put down. But if you humble yourself, you will be honored."

Luke 18:10-14 CEV

Why is the oh-so-nice Pharisees not justified, but the scum-of-the-earth tax collector is?

First of all, we need to define the terms good and bad here. What/who defines a man as good? Number of times you help the old ladies to get across the street? Number of 10 commandments that you have kept? As long as you are above average, then you are considered good? Let’s see what the Bible says:

10The Scriptures tell us, "No one is acceptable to God!

11Not one of them understands

or even searches for God.

12They have all turned away

and are worthless.

There isn't one person

who does right.

Romans 3:10-12 CEV

It does not actually tell us the filtering that God uses to separate the good guys from the baddies. It only tells us the number of good guys out there - no one, not even one! We all have turned away from God, rejected him as our creator and ruler, and crowned ourselves to be our little kings. We are all baddies in God’s sight, and that means everyone of us - you and me, Aussies and Chinese, Christians and non-Christians - we are all criminals before God. What does that imply? None of us can pass his judgement, and hell will be the next stop for all of us.

Trying to do good to win God’s favour is like trying to study for the exam that you’ll never pass. The only hope we have is God might have mercy on some of us. In fact, he did show his love and mercy in his son Jesus, and at the cross, his justice and his love are both satisfied. We can be saved, if we do confess that we are baddies, and place our trust on Jesus that his death is enough to pay for my guilt. Thus, baddies can go to heaven.

What about the good guys then? There are no real righteous man from God’s point of view, except Jesus. All the other so-called good guys trust no one but themselves. They need no God because they think they can run their lives themselves, and they might even out-smart God in His judgement scheme. When the judgement comes, those good guys appear not so good in God’s standard. And by relying solely on themselves, where will they end up?