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All mankind has sinned and cannot go to heaven by his or her own power. (What is sin?)
There is no one righteous, not even one; Rom 3:10 (NIV) No one is good (why?), and no one deserves to go to heaven.
Here's what the Bible has to say about it: As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." Rom 3:10-12 (NIV) All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous
[or good] acts are like filthy rags... Isa 64:6 (NIV) God loved us so much, He was willing to die for us.
Here's what the Bible has to say about it:
The Gift of God God does not want us to go to hell. He wants to give us eternal life.
Here's what the Bible has to say about it:
The Proper Response
If we trust Jesus as our Savior, eternal life is ours! In the picture above the first heart is black. This represents us as we are by nature. We are sinners and nothing we do is good enough to overcome that nature. The second heart is red. This represents the blood that Christ poured out for our sins. If we place our trust in what Christ did for us, then our sins are covered by His blood. The third heart is white. Once we have been covered by the blood of Christ, we are pure and clean. Though the sin nature is still with us, our spirit has been made perfect and now belongs to God. The fourth heart is gold. This represents heaven. Once our sins have been "washed away", we have a place with God in heaven. Here's what the Bible has to say about it:
Whoever believes in the Son [Jesus] has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." John 3:36 (NIV) "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NIV) What Must I Do? The answer to this question is simple: Believe. If you truly believe this in your heart, then let God know. Yes He knows everything, but He likes to hear from us. Stop right now and pray to Him. Let Him know that you are sorry for being a sinner. Let Him know that you believe He loved you so much that He sent His only Son to die on the cross to take your place. Let Him know that you are Trusting Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord. Here's what the Bible has to say about it:
Still not quite sure what to do? Not sure what to pray? Not sure how to pray? Here is a simple prayer. This prayer is not a magic formula that will get you into heaven. What gets you into heaven is Believing in your heart and telling God you believe--no matter how you say it. But here is a simple prayer that puts it all into words. If you pray this prayer and mean every word of it from the bottom of your heart, you will be saved... Dear Lord, If you have prayed this prayer, and have received Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord, would you do us a favor? We would love to hear from you. Just to know that we have a new brother or sister in Christ. Send us an email. You can give us as much or as little information as you want, but we would love to pray for you in your new life for Christ. Thank you, The Cranes. Webster's defines sin as: n. 1. The act of breaking a religious or moral law. 2. An offence, error, or fault Sin is simply doing what is wrong, or not doing what is right. For something to be wrong, there must be a standard of right. The Bible is God's word, and therefore is the standard of right and wrong. Here's what the Bible has to say about it:
Back To The Natural State Of Mankind Why Are We Separated From God? God is perfect. God has never done anything wrong. God cannot allow sin in His presence. God wants us to be perfect, too. In fact, He created us that way. When He created Adam and Eve, they had never sinned, they were perfect. But, God has never been one to force Himself on anyone. He has always given us a free choice. This is why He allowed Adam and Eve to be tempted by Satan. He wanted them to be with Him because they chose to be, not because He made them. They did not choose to obey God's commands (by the way, God's commands are always there for our protection, not our subjection, much like a parent instructing his/her child not to play in the street. It is not that parents desire to keep their children from doing "fun" things, but that they are protecting them from the danger in the street). By disobeying, they committed sin. Sin is like a fatal disease. It starts small and then infects your whole being. This "disease" is hereditary. It passes from generation to generation. And sin always leads to death--separation of life from the body, and separation of spirit from God. Here's What the Bible has to say about it:
Back To The Natural State Of Mankind We all have a sin nature. We are born as sinners. Our parents were sinners, and their parents were sinners. It's hereditary. Just as an Orange tree cannot naturally produce grapes, and the Ocean cannot produce fresh water (without salt), a natural sinner cannot produce good. Even the things we call good are tarnished by our sin nature. Here's what the Bible has to say about it: All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous [or good] acts are like filthy rags...
Isa 64:6 (NIV) Let's say you found out you were dying of cancer. The next day, you hear of someone who can cure cancer completely--so that it can never come back. The only problem is, the cure costs $1,000,000.00. You don't have a million dollars. So you are doomed to die of cancer. Now let's say that someone else who has cancer pays the person who has the cure one million dollars. Does that do you any good? No. They have only paid for their own cancer cure. Now let's say that a person who does not have cancer, who does not need the treatment, gives the person with the cure one million dollars and says that it is to pay for your treatment. Now you can be cancer free! It is the same with Jesus. He never sinned. He didn't deserve to die. He didn't owe a thing! But, He loved us so much, He was willing to pay the price we owed so we would not have to be separated from God. Now let's say that the person who was to pay for your cancer treatment handed you a check for $1,000,000.00 and the "pay to the order of" was left blank. You don't become a millionaire until you reach out and take the check. And your cancer will not be taken care of until you get the million dollars and pay your debt with it. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross will cover your sins, but only if you accept it. You see, God is still not in the business of forcing Himself on anyone. If you want to be with Him, the payment is made, but if you don't, you can choose not to. But there is a choice to be made. Back To Sacrifice of Jesus Christ
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By
nature we are separated from God. 
All
the efforts of mankind to reach heaven on their own are useless.
Nothing we can do will bridge that gap between us and God. We have a
sin-nature and that makes even the good things we do "not good
enough". There is nothing anyone can do that will earn himself or
herself a place in heaven. We are hopelessly lost unless someone intervenes... 
The
price for sin is death. Physical death and Spiritual death (separation
from God). Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect life (he never did one
single thing wrong), and then died in our place. Because Jesus never
sinned Himself, he didn't deserve to die. If Jesus had ever sinned, His
death would have merely covered the price of His own sin. But, because He
never sinned, His death covers the price of our sins. When Jesus died on
the cross, he bridged the gap between us and God. 
God
never intended for mankind to go to hell. God wants everyone to live for
all eternity with him in Heaven because He loves us. Though by
nature we cannot get into heaven, through God's sacrifice and gift we can still
get there. God will not force Himself on anyone. If a person does
not want to go to heaven, he does not have to go. God has done everything
he can to make it possible for us to go to heaven. He is giving us
the opportunity. All we have to do is accept it.