Do Good People Go to Heaven? What Romans 3 Really Says About Being Right With God

If you’ve ever sat on a train in Brooklyn, looked around at everybody on their phones, and wondered, “Am I right with God? Does any of this even matter?”—you’re not alone.

In our church, we’ve been walking through the book of Romans under this big question: How to Be Right With God.


Romans doesn’t start where we might expect. It doesn’t open with, “You’re amazing, God loves you, keep being you.” It starts by saying, in essence:

• You’re not right with God.
• You can’t make yourself right with God.
• And you absolutely need God to step in.

In Romans 1–3, Paul unpacks the mystery of the wrath of God so that we can understand the miracle of the righteousness of God.

This post is an expanded reflection on Romans 3—what it says about us, about God, and about how a person (yes, a person like you, reading this in Brooklyn, or anywhere else) can actually be right with Him.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

The Three Groups Paul Addresses

In Romans 1–2, Paul lays out three kinds of people. Spoiler: every one of us fits into at least one category.

1. The Heathen: “I’ll Live How I Want”
Romans 1 describes the person who suppresses the truth about God and runs after pleasure:
“Who suppress the truth in unrighteousness…
Professing to be wise, they became fools…
Therefore God also gave them up…”
(Romans 1:18, 22, 24, NKJV)

This is the person who:
Knows something about God from creation and conscience…
But pushes it down…
And says, “I’ll define right and wrong for myself.”

If you grew up with little thought of God, chasing whatever felt good, you might recognize yourself here. Maybe you even drew a line in the sand—“I’ll never cross that”—and yet one day, you looked back and realized, I crossed it.

2. The Moral or Spiritual Person: “I Know Right from Wrong”

In Romans 2, Paul shifts to another group: the moralist, the spiritual philosopher, the person who says:
“I can see what’s right and wrong. Those people are messed up… but I’m okay.”
Paul says of this person:
“You who judge practice the same things.”
(Romans 2:1, NKJV)
They:
Judge others.
See right and wrong.
But don’t live up to their own standards.
They damage and sear their own conscience while still feeling morally superior.

3. The Religious Person: “But I’m Religious, So I’m Fine”

Finally, Paul addresses the Jew—the one with Scripture, with ordinances, with a spiritual track record.
Today, that might sound like:

• “I was baptized as a baby.”
• “I did catechism.”
• “I grew up in church.”
• “I took communion.”
• “I said the sinner’s prayer at a Billy Graham crusade.”

All good things. But here’s the trap: we start to believe those actions make us right with God.

Paul says no. Religion can’t save you. Having the law doesn’t mean you keep it.

“For ‘the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,’ as it is written.”
(Romans 2:24, NKJV)

Romans 3 opens with a real question Paul heard over and over:
“What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision?”
(Romans 3:1, NKJV)
In other words, “If Jews sin too, what was the point of being Jewish at all?”
Paul answers:
“Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God.”
(Romans 3:2, NKJV)
Israel was God’s chosen instrument to receive and preserve His Word.
They were a nation under God before all nations.
Through them, God gave the Law, the Prophets, the Psalms—the entire Old Testament.
And they’ve been faithful transmitters of that Word for centuries. That’s why you and I have a Bible today.
But here’s the key:
Having the Word didn’t make them automatically right with God. It gave them responsibility, not automatic righteousness.
Today, Christians aren’t one nation; we are:
God’s children scattered among all nations
From “every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9).

After breaking it down group by group, Paul draws the conclusion:
“For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.”
(Romans 3:9, NKJV)

If you have a Bible, underline that phrase: “all under sin.”

That includes:

• The wild partier.
• The thoughtful moralist.
• The devout churchgoer.

Then Paul strings together a bunch of Old Testament quotes to make sure we don’t wiggle out:
“As it is written:
‘There is none righteous, no, not one;
There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one.’”
(Romans 3:10–12, NKJV)

Let that sink in:

• None righteous.
• None understand.
• None seek God.
• All turned aside.
• None do good.

If you’re in church, it’s not because you’re super spiritual and went searching for God; it’s because He’s been chasing you.

And then Paul gives a fuller picture of sin:

“Their throat is an open tomb;
With their tongues they have practiced deceit;
 The poison of asps is under their lips;
Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.
Their feet are swift to shed blood;
 Destruction and misery are in their ways;
And the way of peace they have not known.
There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
(Romans 3:13–18, NKJV)

Summed up:

• What we say is infected by sin.
• Where we go is infected by sin.
• What we think is infected by sin.

We are, as I said in the sermon, full of it—full of sin.

Paul then explains why God gave His Law in the first place:
“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
(Romans 3:19–20, NKJV)

Two big truths:

• The law stops our excuses.
It shuts our mouths. No more, “I’m a pretty good person, surely God will let me in.”
• The law shows us our sin; it doesn’t fix it.
The law is like an X-ray—it reveals the break but doesn’t heal it.

Some of us treat God’s law like a checklist:
“If I do most of this, I’m good.”
“Seven out of Ten Commandments—70%. That’s passing, right?”
But with God, anything less than 100% holiness is impurity.

“For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.”
(James 2:10, NKJV)

The law’s purpose is to bring us to the place where we finally say:
“I need God. I can’t fix myself.”

Right when it feels hopeless, Romans 3 turns a corner with one of the greatest words in Scripture:
“But now…”
(Romans 3:21, NKJV)
All of this—the wrath, the guilt, the law—is building to this:
“But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith,
to demonstrate His righteousness…”
(Romans 3:21–25, NKJV)
Let’s break down some of these big words:
Righteousness of God (v. 21–22):
Being right with God, not by your law-keeping, but apart from the law, through faith in Jesus Christ.
All have sinned (v. 23):
We’ve all “fallen short of the glory of God.” We don’t just make mistakes; we miss the mark of God’s character.
Justified (v. 24):
A courtroom word: declared “not guilty,” “righteous,” “just as if I’d never sinned.”
And this is:
“freely by His grace…”

Grace:
Undeserved favor. A free gift to you—but not free to God. It cost Him His Son.
Redemption (v. 24):
To buy back. We were slaves to sin, spiritually under Satan’s domain, and Jesus purchased us with His blood.
Propitiation (v. 25):
A sacrifice that satisfies the wrath of God. Jesus’ blood fully satisfies God’s justice against sin.
At the cross:
God’s holiness is displayed—sin must be punished.
God’s justice is displayed—sin is punished in Christ.
God’s love and mercy are displayed—Christ takes the punishment instead of you.
So God remains:
“just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
(Romans 3:26, NKJV)
Your “currency” to receive this?
Not money. Not morality. Not membership.
Faith.
“I believe this. I accept this. I trust Jesus.”

If you’re living in Brooklyn—maybe in Bed-Stuy, Flatbush, Bay Ridge, Bushwick, or anywhere in NYC—you’re surrounded by:

• Hustle.
• Pressure to perform.
• Moral confusion.
• Tons of religious options and spiritual noise.

Romans 3 cuts through all of it with clarity:

• You are not right with God on your own.
Church attendance, culture, activism, religion, or “being a good person” won’t justify you.
• God has already made a way for you to be right with Him.
Through Jesus, apart from the law, by grace, through faith.

You must personally respond.
 Not just “I grew up Christian,” but:

• Admit you are a sinner.
• Believe Jesus died for your sins and rose again.
• Confess Him as Lord.
• Decide to follow Him as a disciple.

If you’re looking for a church in Brooklyn because you’re hungry for truth, forgiveness, and a fresh start—Romans 3 is your invitation:
“Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
(Romans 10:13, NKJV)

If you’ve read this far, it might be because God is tugging on your heart. You might sense Him saying:
“Stop trying to fix yourself. 
Stop hiding behind religion.
 Come to Me through My Son.”

Don’t put it off. Every time you say “tomorrow,” your heart can grow a bit harder to what God is saying today.

Let’s pray:
Father,
 We acknowledge that we are sinners. We belong in the “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” category. We cannot make ourselves right with You.

Thank You for the gift of Your Son, Jesus. Thank You that You are both just and the One who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. I place my faith in Him. I accept that His blood is enough to pay for my sins.

Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Help me not to continue in sin so that grace may abound, but to walk in newness of life. Thank You that this gift is free to me, though it cost You greatly.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you’re in Brooklyn and need to talk with someone about following Jesus or finding a church home, reach out. Don’t leave the question “Am I right with God?” unanswered.

Biblically, no.
“There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10)
We might be relatively decent compared to others, but before a holy God, we all fall short.

No. Romans 2–3 shows that having religion doesn’t equal having a relationship with God. You must personally trust in Christ.


Paul will answer this more in Romans 6, but the short answer is: “God forbid!”
True grace changes you. Forgiveness isn’t a license to keep living in rebellion.

That doesn’t change who Jesus is.
“Let God be true but every man a liar.” (Romans 3:4)
Look at Christ, not just Christians.

Right where you are:
Admit your sin.
Believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection for you.
Confess Him as Lord.
Then get connected to a Bible-teaching church in Brooklyn where you can grow as a disciple.

Don't have a church community to explore spirituality, explore faith, visit us at Calvary Life Brooklyn.