I think it is a clever trick of the Devil to have people believe that one’s standing before God can be decided by their ability to live a good life and avoid, or at least minimise, the number of worldly vices they participate in. Those wanting to partake of the debauchery of life feel that God has no right to tell them how to live, while those with nice pristine lives feel they have nothing to be forgiven for, so they never ask. One way or the other they are locked out of heaven because of pride.
Most of our desires, rightly understood, come from our being created in the image of God. The desire for love, sex, beauty, eternity, health, work and comfort, to name a few, are perfectly good desires. Its only when pride tells us that we have the right to decide how we satisfy them, that we find ourselves at loggerheads with God. We are not talking about the pride that brings tears to our eyes when we hear the national anthem played at the Olympic games, or the pride we might take in our work or our children, the pride that destroys us and makes us candidates for Hell is the one that says I am more real than my creator. It is this kind of pride that convinces me I can live a worthwhile life without help from God and when that life is over I have the right, not only to determine the test for entry into heaven, but to assess whether or not I have a passing grade.
The pride that leaves me un-forgiven on the day of judgement is that which convinces me that there is nothing I need to be forgiven for, because I am answerable to no-one higher than myself.
It was Adam’s pride that made him victim to the delusion that given more knowledge, he could rule over the garden without having to take notice of his creator and benefactor.
Pride finds no real pleasure in anything unless it belittles. I cannot take pride in my riches or my intelligence or my good looks unless I can see that I excel above you in these things. Likewise I cannot take pride in the good things I might do unless they make me feel a better person than you.
Pride, since it will having nothing to do with the death of Jesus, must find its satisfaction and comfort in self righteousness. It can never admit wrong because that would place me beneath another on the slippery pole of moral perfection.
I can never be thankful, even for a beautiful sunset or a hearty meal, because those things are nothing more than a proud man deserves. I can never love another unconditionally because do to so would mean that I must both commit and submit myself to someone who is my inferior.
The proud will be excluded on the day of judgement because it makes no sense to include them. If pride could destroy Adam’s satisfaction in Eden it would destroy your satisfaction in Heaven, so the offer of a place in Paradise to a proud man makes no more sense than offering a carrot to a lion.
God in his brilliance decided before the creation of the universe that the only people he would include in his eternal kingdom would be those that recognised the need for his grace and incredible generousity. the humility that accepts God’s grace is the opposite of pride and the door to freedom from all the things that have made you hard to live with.
You will enter on the same basis as everyone else, no matter what your standing was here on earth, you come as a hungry beggar wanting food you don’t deserve and never worked for and when you get it you will be eternally thankful.