Question: Why can’t simply being a “good person” get someone into heaven? Why isn’t that enough for the Lord Jesus Christ?

Answer: Because striving to be “good” on our own terms keeps us in control.

It makes us the standard, measuring ourselves against our own definitions or those of society.

That is a form of pride, since it refuses to bow to an objective and unchanging measure of goodness: God Himself.

In contrast, submitting to Christ is submitting to the Good, perfect, eternal, and unalterable.

It means acknowledging that goodness is not something we define, but someone we must trust and follow.

Human “goodness” can be admirable, but without surrender to the truth of Christ, it remains rooted in subjectivity, shaped by our own limitations and biases.

Salvation comes when we abandon self-rule and place our faith in the One who is the source and standard of all that is good, true, and beautiful.