Have you ever asked yourself how good you have to be in order to enter heaven? Fairly good? Very good? Very, very good? The answer may surprise you: You must be absolutely perfect. Even one sin – just one – would be enough to keep you out of heaven.

Think of it this way. Suppose you had a barrel of pure water. It was absolutely pure; it had come from the finest spring, and then had been distilled until there were no impurities of any kind left in it. But then suppose you decided to put some raw sewage into that barrel of water. How much would it take to contaminate it? You know the answer: Even the smallest amount – even less than a drop – would pollute it and make it unfit for consumption.

The same is true of us. Even one sin – just one – would be enough to keep you out of heaven – and the reason is because God is perfect and cannot tolerate any wrong. The Bible says, “Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10).

This is why we need Christ, for when He died on the cross He became the final and complete sacrifice for all our sins. All your sins were placed on Him, and He took the punishment you deserve. Trust Him alone for your salvation by giving your life to Him today.