This is a surprisingly common thought pattern not only in those who have no religious background, in fact, I’m afraid those with some religious training often propagate these beliefs.  They remember learning about heaven and hell, and if you’re good enough you get into heaven, because that’s where the saints are and they’re good, and if you’ve been a really awful person (and who would admit to this) you end up in hell.  If your on the fence,  like you helped an old lady with her groceries last week, but then yesterday you got into a swearing match with the guy who cut you off, it’s some strange place called purgatory.  It’s all pretty fuzzy and you’re not really sure you believe it all but if it is all true and you had to say where you think you’d end up, it would probably be heaven…just barely squeeking in though. 

In the Bible a prophet named Isaiah looked at the world he lived in, at the people that he lived among, a people who were thinking along these same lines and prayed the following words to God:

⁶ All of us have become like one who is unclean,
       and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
       we all shrivel up like a leaf,
       and like the wind our sins sweep us away.    Isaiah 64:6

⁶ All of us have become like one who is unclean,
       and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
       we all shrivel up like a leaf,
       and like the wind our sins sweep us away.    Isaiah 64:6

Our righteous acts are like filthy rags…that image is visceral.  I imagine a painter who is painting a beautiful landscape, he’s getting close to finished but then his paintbrush slips and black paint gets all over a tree.  He grabs the rag he’s been using and frantically tries to clean the black off.  It smudges, it smears, it begins to change the colour of the tree behind it turning it a tainted grey.  The more he moves the rag around the larger the smear.  The black spots appear to be gone, but the result is such a mess and the black colouring has done it’s damage regardless of the clean up attempt. 

The problem is not doing good things, or having manners.  The problem is that the vessels we use to do good are filthy.  Human kind is infected with a disease so debilitating that it infects our best attempts at righteousness.  We help someone out and wonder when its going to come back to us, we give generously so that we might be given to even more generously,  we help our neighbor and hope that the neighbor tells to friends and they tell their friends, we do our decent things in public so that others might know that we are nice people, good people.  The problem is not the acts themselves, but the vessel.  The rags are dirty.  

 ¹⁷As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 
 ¹⁸“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. ¹⁹You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’^[d]“ 
 ²⁰“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” 
 ²¹Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 
 ²²At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.   Mark 10:17-22.

“No one is good—except God alone.” -Jesus

No one is good-except God alone.  No one.  Jesus begins his conversation with this guy by revolutionizing the way he thinks about the word ‘Good’.  No one but God is good, that’s a new standard isn’t it. 
But this guy isn’t fazed.
He takes a crack at justifying himself, basically saying ‘I think I’m good enough for heaven Jesus, I’ve done enough good things and stayed away from enough bad things’.
Jesus again revolutionizes this guys world.  He changes the rules of the game.  He asks for the one thing that Jesus could see this guy loved more than anything else.  He asked for the guys heart, his idol, his worship, his all in all. 

And not because Jesus was trying to keep the guy out.  It says Jesus looked at him and loved him.  Jesus was actually giving this guy, who was as far away as you could get from heaven, the way in.  I say he was as far as you can get because he didn’t even understand what the rules were. 

This is how most of us live our lives.  It may not be what we believe, but it is how we live. 
Jesus loved this guy, even though he was lost.  Even though he was spending his life frantically wiping the mess of his life with a rag that was hopelessly filthy.  Jesus gave him a chance.  Give yourself up, give up the rags, give up the effort, give up your beliefs, give up your money, your heart, your passion, your love.  Give it up and follow me. 
And then Jesus takes the offer to the next level.  He tells this guy that everything he gives up in this life will be counted for him in heaven…what an incredible offer!  Not only will he get in, which is assumably all he was asking for, but he’ll have his treasure there too!

But not even all of this, the love, the truth, and the deal are enough for him to give up. 
I pray that this would not be my story, as I’m sure you do, and yet I am afraid it is an all too common story. 

Merciful Jesus, who looks on us with love in your heart and truth on your lips, grant us the faith to see Your promises.  Help us to see how filthy our rags are, and how often we still try and use them.  Bring us to a place where we have an opportunity to choose You and Your righteousness.  In the power of Your Spirit, Amen.

I do hope that you prayed that prayer.  Know that the good things you do in Jesus’ name and for Jesus’ name by Jesus’ Spirit will be counted for you as treasure in heaven; everything else, whether good or not, will not remain.