Holiness is required for
entrance into heaven
"Follow peace with all men, and
holiness, without which no man
shall see the Lord." (Heb 12:14)
No one has ever been admitted
to heaven in his sins; nor is it desirable that any one ever
should be. Desirable as it is that lost men should be happy, yet
it is benevolence which excludes the
profane, the impious, and the unbelieving from heaven—just
as it is benevolence to a family to exclude profligates and
seducers, and as it is benevolence to a community to confine
thieves and robbers in prison. This great principle in the
Divine administration will always be adhered to; and hence they
who are expecting to be saved without holiness or religion are
destined to certain disappointment. Heaven and earth will pass
away, but God will not admit one
unrepenting and unpardoned sinner into heaven.
- Barnes Notes on Heb.12:14
