Heaven Requires Prior Registration?

I was having lunch with at group of nurses at a major northeastern teaching hospital and medical center recently. I was using the occasion to autograph my new book, The Book of Life & The Books of Wrath. The cover of the book has these words, “Heaven Requires Prior Registration.” This started a discussion when one person asked, “Do you really believe that you have to register to go to heaven? I don’t believe that! You just have to do what’s right, what’s good!”  I humorously responded, “May be you should write a rebuttal with the title, Heaven, No Prior Registration Required.” 

The mindset that you gain entrance to God’s heaven by just doing what is “right” or “good” is a very popular belief, but at best a misguided one and I will show you why. First, who determines the level of rightness or goodness that will satisfy heaven’s entrance requirement?  If that is left to each individual to decide then each person establishes his or her own standard which in the end is no standard at all.

Lets say, each person seeking entrance to the United States from abroad set his own standard, wouldn’t you consider that approach absurd? For one, the United States would have surrendered its sovereign authority and greatly compromised its security. A sovereign state must set the standard by which anyone gain entrance; the kingdom of God does not surrender that right. God alone determines the level of human rightness and goodness that satisfy His entrance requirements.

The King of the kingdom says there is not one human being good enough on his or her own terms to gain entrance to my heaven; no one measures up to the standard of righteousness God requires. Human beings can be morally good and decent people but that on its own does not meet God’s required standard. If you rely on this self-produced rightness or goodness, you will not get close to heaven’s gate much more gaining entrance.

The Book of Life & The Books of Wrath makes clear what you need to do in the here and now to secure a place in the hereafter. It is this knowing and doing what God requires now that I refer to as prior registration. The biblical evidence is clear that your name must be in the Book of Life in time to be on the right side of eternity. Learn more here.

Michael Dewar
Author