This
is the most common answer I have heard from non-Christians in response to the
question, “Why should God allow you into heaven?”
But
this answer actually has its root in original sin.
After
Adam and Eve rebelled against God, they experienced guilt and attempted to hide
from Him. They also experienced shame, and so they attempted to cover
themselves through their own effort. Once Adam and Eve became corrupt, they
couldn’t produce anything better than themselves, i.e., all they could produce
was corruption. Each one of us is born into this world as a little fallen Adam
and Eve. And like Adam and Eve, fallen humankind today attempts to hide and
cover from God. But rather than sew fig leaves together, one of the most
prevalent ways we attempt to cover our moral shame and guilt is by appealing to
our own moral “goodness.” That is, we point to our “basic human goodness” and
“good deeds” in an attempt to justify ourselves before God. Often this even
becomes a rationalization as to why we don’t need God, e.g., “Why do I need
God? I’m living a good enough life on my own.”
