Recently I had an outpatient procedure involving fast-acting anesthesia. As the anesthesiologist put the medicine in my IV line, she said it might burn a bit. Less than 5 seconds later, I remember a tingly sensation as though I were fading away like Homer Simpson disappearing into the shrubs, or Captain Kirk dissolving into millions of energy particles in the Enterprise transporter. When I awoke it seemed like only moments had passed. As my mind cleared, I realized from the clock on the wall that almost two hours had gone by, and I was in a different room; it was a bit surreal.
That procedure wasn’t my first time “going under,” but I was a little bit anxious about what the doctor might discover (everything turned out fine, thank you, Lord) and found myself wondering if that’s what it will be like going to Heaven. Physically, maybe it will be like the Enterprise transporter, where our bodies disintegrate into an invisible energy pattern, then are sent to another dimension and reconverted into new heavenly bodies. Consciously, maybe we’ll be aware of existing here in this “room” or realm, with all its worries and discomfort, then moments later realize we are waking up in another realm where our fears and suffering have been replaced by profound relief and joy. How else may we get there?
A survey of 2,000 American adults was conducted in 2020 by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, called the “American Worldview Inventory 2020”. It revealed some surprising findings: “54% of Americans believe they will experience Heaven after they die, 15% said they don’t know what will happen after they die; 13% said there is no life after death; 8% expect to be reincarnated; another 8% believe they will go to a place of purification prior to entering Heaven, and 2% believe they will go to Hell.”
Also, “American adults today increasingly adopt a ‘salvation-can-be earned’ perspective, with a plurality of adults (48%) believing that if people are generally good, or do enough good things during their lives, they will “earn” a place in Heaven. Only one-third of adults (35%) disagree.” In other words, most believe they are going to Heaven as long as they are a “good person” – note that the meaning of this is subjective and open to interpretation.
What does God’s word teach? The apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV), “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (emphases mine). Isaiah 64:6 states, “all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” In other words, scripture teaches a very different message: being a good person is not how we get right with God and go to Heaven; we must trust in God’s gift of grace.
Based on the American Worldview Inventory survey results, there seems to be a significant lack of understanding about the seriousness of sin and how it separates us from God. God is holy, perfect and just. Because He is just, sin must be punished – if this were not so then God would not be just and justice could not prevail. Likewise, if God allowed sinful people to enter His perfect dwelling place in heaven, it would be defiled and no longer perfect. Since every person is guilty of sin (“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” – Romans 3:23), we are simply unworthy to enter heaven based on our own merit.
God’s standard of holiness is the only one that matters to determine who is “good enough” to be with Him in heaven. None of us can measure up to God’s standard, but Jesus can – He is righteous, holy, and lived a sinless life. And the good news of the cross is that though our sin demands justice and punishment before a holy God, Jesus paid it all by ransoming His life for ours: “by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14).
When we faithfully trust in Jesus’ work on the cross, it is His merit and righteousness which make us worthy to enter into heaven: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Salvation therefore is not based on our goodness but on the goodness of Jesus.
What an amazing gift of love — God graciously makes a way for us to be in heaven with Him through Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). According to 1 John 2:1, Jesus even pleads on our behalf before God: “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
The word ‘advocate’ can mean someone who pleads our case before a judge and intercedes on our behalf. Think of Christ standing at the throne of God admitting that although we are guilty of sin and violating God’s law, we have trusted in His sacrifice on the cross for our salvation and are therefore forgiven. The righteousness of Christ is applied to our debt, which we therefore no longer owe.
This unfathomable love should inspire us to live rightly and please God. We are fallen people who keep sinning, so we must continually repent and confess our sin to God: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Our faith should allow the Holy Spirit to refine and work through us, motivating good works which flow naturally as evidence of our salvation: “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17).
This should not be mistaken for the righteous deeds which 48% of Americans believe will earn them a place in heaven – that’s just errant theology. God’s word shows clearly that we can do nothing to earn our way into Heaven. But, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Trust in God’s righteousness and give all the glory to Him alone, for “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Thank you, Jesus.
“God’s already put me so far in debt that if I were to live one million millenniums, I couldn’t pay Him for what He’s done for me.” – A.W. Tozer
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