How many of the Ten Commandments do I have to keep in order to get into Heaven? I know I've broken some of them, but God surely doesn't expect us to be perfect, does He? If so, I guess no one's going to make it, because I've never met anyone who is absolutely perfect, have you? — H.F.

No, I've never met anyone who fully kept the Ten Commandments either—because no one ever has (except Jesus). This is what the Bible means when it says that "There is no one righteous, not even one" (Romans 3:10).

In fact, you and I have broken every one of the Ten Commandments, because (as Jesus pointed out) in God's eyes our inward thoughts are just as important as our outward actions. He taught us that even if we haven't stolen anything or murdered anyone or committed immorality, we still are guilty of covetousness and hatred and lust (see Matthew 5:21-30).

The point is this: Even one sin—just one—is enough to keep us out of Heaven, and the reason is because God is perfect and holy, and He cannot tolerate any sin in His presence. God's standard is perfection—and we all fall short of that standard. No matter how good we are, we will never be good enough to earn our way into Heaven.

And that is why we need Christ, for only He can take away our sins, and only He can offer us the forgiveness we need. By His death and resurrection He took the judgment we deserved and conquered all the powers of sin and death and Hell. Put your faith in Him alone for your salvation, for "there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).