While there is nothing wrong with doing good deeds, evangelist Billy Graham says this becomes a mistake when people base it as their only hope for getting to Heaven.
"The greatest mistake anyone can ever make is to assume that they are good enough to go to Heaven. And yet countless people make this mistake every day, thinking their good deeds will somehow outweigh their bad deeds and make them eligible for Heaven," he writes on his website.
The reason why this is a mistake is because God's standard is nothing short of perfection, explains Graham. God is absolutely holy and perfect, and just even one sin would be enough to banish people from His presence. In school, Graham says it's okay for students to make several mistakes just as long as they hit the passing mark, but the same cannot be said of God.
The Bible says of Him in Habakkuk 1:13: "Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing."
However, Graham says this does not mean that no one will ever get to Heaven. "The reason is because God has provided another way for us to be saved. That way is Jesus Christ. He was without sin (for He was God in human flesh)—but on the cross all our sins were placed on Him, and He took upon Himself the judgment and Hell that we deserve. He died in our place!" says the evangelist.
He is advising people to trust God and not in their own goodness for salvation. Graham says non-believers should now commit their lives to Jesus Christ as well as put their faith and trust in Him. "Then you will know that someday you will go to be with Him in Heaven forever—not because of your goodness, but because of His," he says.
