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The word “penance” is not found in the Bible, neither is the idea found there. The Bible tells us that all our righteousnesses (that is, all the best we have to offer) are no better than filthy rags (see Isaiah 64:6). It is not penance that God wants, nor mere penitence, that is, sorrow for sin, nor remorse, but repentance.

From your own standpoint, or from the standpoint of your relatives and friends, you may not be as bad as others. But those are not the standards that count. The Bible says that those who measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves among themselves are not wise (see 2 Corinthians 10:12). It is God’s standpoint that counts. In God’s sight we all are guilty sinners.

The premise is wrong and therefore the conclusion is wrong. The premise is wrong. It is not true that good people go to heaven. According to God’s standard, there are no good people. “For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin” (Ecclesiastes 7:20). The only kind of people who go to heaven are sinners saved by grace. Because the premise is wrong, the conclusion is wrong. If you are not saved by grace, you have plenty to worry about.

Sin is anything short of God’s perfection. That is what God means when He says that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). It is doing what we know we should NOT do — “All unrighteousness is sin” (1 John 5:17). It is failing to do what we know we should do — “To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). It is violating the conscience — “Whatever is not from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). It is self-will or lawlessness. It is saying to God, “Not your will but mine be done.” Not only are our thoughts, words, and deeds sinful, but our inner lives are sinful. In fact, what we are is a lot worse than anything we have ever done.