Exactly Who is Going to Heaven, Anyway?

I realize not all people believe in the existence of an eternal state of well-being known as Heaven. If you are one of these people who do not, I invite you to consider the possibility for a few moments, and ask yourself if the view presented here is in agreement with the text of Scripture, even if for no other reason than to be better informed. If you do not think it is worth your time to learn what the Scriptures say about anything, I suppose all I can do is to ask you to consider the possibility that you are mistaken. After all, what do you have to lose?

Many people may think we need not be concerned with this issue since it is commonly believed that we all start out as objects of God's love, and if we are generally nice people, we will surely go to Heaven when we leave this life. Furthermore, it is often suggested that because so many people think this way, this view cannot possibly be wrong.

If Scripture is truly the authoritative word of the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, however, we must base our understanding on what it says, not our sentiments or a general consensus of the world around us. And the Scriptures are not silent on this subject.

One of the noblest of characters in the Bible, King David, had this to say about himself: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:5) Why did he say this? Was he unique in this respect? No, he was not unique. In fact, this is how we all start out in this life—as Scripture says, we “...were by nature children of wrath...” (Ephesians 2:3)

According to the Scriptures, the human race began with the creation of our first parents, Adam and Eve. They were created good and perfect. Then they disobeyed what God had commanded, and as a result they lost their inherent goodness, and became subject to the curse of decay and death. Not only were they plagued with this condition, but their descendents would likewise be plagued. We read in the Scriptures: “…through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men…” (Romans 5:12); and, “…by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners…” (Romans 5:19)

Given this universal starting point for all human beings, what then is our status before God while in this state? Is God neutral towards us? Here is what the Scriptures say: “…through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation…” (Romans 5:18) You may say to yourself, “That isn’t fair! I had no choice in the matter!” And you may wonder if you could have done better.

Let’s suppose, hypothetically, that you were created first, exactly as our first parents, under exactly the same conditions. Then you would not be you—you would be one of them. So then we are right back to Adam and Eve.

You may argue that things would be different if our first parents had obeyed God perfectly. Then we would not be in our present predicament. Since that is not how things happened, however, let us not waste any more time speculating about it.

But the story does not end here. We have one remedy, and only one remedy, for our predicament. This remedy is the removal of our guilt by and the imputed righteousness of the Son of God, and it is applied to us through a certain kind of faith in Him. As the Scriptures say, we need to be “…justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith…” (Romans 3:24-25), and that His righteousness “…shall be imputed to us who believe…” (Romans 4:24)

And this faith is not to be equated with something we do. Neither is it being a member of a particular church or denomination. Faith is something invisible to us, even if it is within ourselves, and it manifests itself in various ways and at various times, although at its core it involves a willingness to know, understand, and submit to the word of God, all of which are the result of a work of grace in our lives (see my article at http://pages.sbcglobal.net/dcrow/dave/work.html). This is not to say that anyone reaches a state of perfection in this life. The Scriptures make it clear that those who manifest true faith at various times are still plagued with sin. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (I John 1:8) “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” (I John 1:10)

In short, we don’t have any way of directly knowing who is going to Heaven. Our best indicators are a professed faith in the Son of God alone as one’s all-sufficient Savior and a demonstrated willingness to know, understand, and submit to Scripture. Though it may not always be clear whether or not someone has manifested these characteristics, we can be sure that if these characteristics are continuously absent in a person’s life, that person cannot possibly be bound for Heaven.

It is important to have scriptural assurance of a positive relationship with the Creator and Judge, as it enables us to have comfort in life and in death, that no matter what happens, it will work out for our good, and that in eternity we will experience constant blessing without suffering. Apart from such a relationship with God, we are under His wrath, and face an eternity of constant suffering without blessing.

If you have questions on this or other biblical subjects, you can contact me via www.megaquestions.com. You can also post a response via this site (by accessing the link to this blog on the lower left, then clicking on "comments" immediately below this post).