Transcript

Heaven: My Heart's Preparation-Part One

1 John 5:9-12
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Pastor Randy Smith

---

Do you know what the Bible teaches? It says that all Christians when they die will go to heaven (1 Tim. 1:16). It says they will spend eternity in heaven (Mt. 25:46). It says that heaven is their true home (2 Cor. 5:8). And while these truths are known and embraced by even the newest believer, I am convinced that most believers have no idea what their future home is like and rarely allow the prospect of heaven to influence their thoughts and actions in the present. This is why I have been led to devote a few weeks to explore what the Bible has to say about heaven, what the Bible says about the Christian's eternal dwelling place.

We have had a busy morning so far, and we still have the Lord's Table waiting for us at the end of the service. Since my time is limited, I plan to answer only one question this morning related to the topic of heaven. Please do not allow the brevity or simplicity to detract from the gravity of this subject matter.

Here is the question: "How do I get to heaven?"

You have heard the trite remarks often used a punch line at the end of a bad joke: Helping old ladies cross the street, slipping St. Peter $20 at the Golden Gates, having a strong letter of reference, living a good life, having connections to someone at the top

Then we have all the worldwide religious beliefs: Gifts to witch doctors, throwing babies to hungry crocodiles in the Ganges River, paying money, torturing yourself, traversing burning deserts to visit Mecca, counting rosary beads, getting baptized, visiting a confessional box, going to church, committing acts of terrorism.

Some people simply believe heaven is for anyone with good intentions. I read this week about a nurse a long time ago in Chicago that had given a lethal dose of wrong medicine to a little boy. Her error was not detected until it was too late to save his life. She didn't mean to kill the kid. She was sincere. She tried to help. Yet her good intentions proved disastrous.

So who is going to heaven?

I enjoy asking people that question. Most I encounter will say "everybody," except of course the Judas' and Hitlers. If you ask particular individuals to explain why, often the responses range from doing good deeds, to avoiding "big sins," to practicing a particular religious belief.

You need to know that according to the Bible none of these answers will grant access to heaven. The Bible clearly teaches that all people will spend eternity in heaven or hell with the majority of people in the latter category (Mt. 7:13). The Bible clearly teaches that there is a way to heaven. There is no more important issue to be considered. So, how do I get to heaven? And am I, according to God's Word, going there?

Let me read a few verses: Acts 4:12, "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." 1 John 5:11-12, "And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life." John 3:18, "He who believes in [Jesus Christ] is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." John 14:6, "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.'"

We can believe anything we want, but the Bible is clear that salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone! Now I know that this statement of exclusivity does not fly too well in a pluralistic, politically-correct, postmodern world so let me explain.

God's requirement to be with Him is simple. He is perfect and His standard is perfection. Though the Bible affirms it, we do not need the Bible to tell us that we fall far short of that expectation. On our own we have no hope. God in His nature is required to judge us according to His holiness. He must punish sin, for anything less would demonstrate gross injustice.

However, God in His love and mercy has chosen to give us complete forgiveness. It did not come by "looking the other way" and "letting us off the hook," it came at a great cost to Himself. He sent His son, Jesus Christ to the cross to receive the penalty for our sins. Justice fulfilled. Wrath removed. Salvation available. And we receive this gift of grace simply by believing on Jesus and committing our lives to Him. Only Jesus Christ made salvation possible because only He died on the cross to take away our sin.

So to answer the question, those who go to heaven are only those who have received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

There is a lot of confusion today because people are still basing their salvation on good works. Paul said in Ephesians, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Eph. 2:8-9). Therefore they totally misunderstand grace. Yet they still ask, how can a moral person not stand a better chance of going to heaven than a wicked person?

Maybe this illustration will help: Suppose you and I wanted to go to a concert where the admission was twenty dollars. Let's pretend I had fifteen dollars and you had nothing. Which of us will get in? Neither of us! But let's also pretend that a generous man offers to give each of us a free ticket. You accept it, but since I believe I am close, I refuse his offer. Who's going to that concert? You are!

What an insult to God's loving gift when we think as sinners we can make it to heaven based on our own efforts and rejecting Jesus Christ! In Galatians 2:21 we read, "I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly."

Let go a little further. So does that mean I just believe in Jesus and I'm a lock for heaven regardless of how I live my life? Absolutely not! We are saved by our faith alone, but evidence that we truly believe, evidence that we are truly saved, evidence that God is really working in our hearts will be a transformed life!

Consider the following verses and draw your own conclusions: Matthew 4:17, "From that time Jesus began to preach and say, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'" Matthew 5:3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:10, "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:20, "For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 7:21, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter." Matthew 10:32-33, "Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven." Matthew 18:3, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven" (cf. Mt. 19:14).

The moment we give our lives to God by believing on Jesus Christ for our salvation, the Bible teaches that He through the power of the Holy Spirit begins to take up residence in our hearts (2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13). He begins to change our desires and our attitude and our character whereby He makes us more like Himself.

Why does God do this? Ultimately it is so we can glorify Him by living the rest of our lives as His servants. He progressively gives us greater meaning in life and molds us and shapes us to be more effective as His ambassadors. Yet in another sense, God is preparing us for our future home of heaven. We learned last week that heaven is a place where "righteousness dwells" (2 Pet. 3:13). It is a place of holiness where sin is not "in" and the inhabitants there take great delight in praising our holy Creator in perfect holiness.

Despite its imperfections, the church is a small foretaste. Despite our struggle with sin, the Christlikeness we attain here is a small foretaste. Christians are a work in progress. God is preparing us on earth. Heaven is the culmination. Salvation is desiring Christ above all, both His presence and His character in us. Heaven is fully satisfying that desire. Heaven is reserved for these people alone.

The flip side is also true. Why would an unholy person desire heaven?

Listen to what the puritan Thomas Books said back in the sixteen hundreds. "Heaven would be a very hell to an unholy heart. If now, the presence of God in His servants, and the presence of God in His ordinances, is such a hell to unholy souls; ah, what a hell would the presence of God in heaven be, to unholy hearts! To desire heaven as it is a place of purity, a place of grace, a place of holiness, a place of enjoying God. It is above the reach of an unholy heart. The company of heaven are all holy, the employments of heaven are all holy, the enjoyments of heaven are all holy - therefore heaven would be a most undesirable thing to unholy hearts" (The Crown and Glory of Christianity).

J.C Ryle in the eighteen hundreds said, "I know not what others may think, but to me it does seem clear that heaven would be a miserable place to an unholy man. It cannot be otherwise. People may say, in a vague way, they 'hope to go to heaven,' but they do not consider what they say... We must be heavenly-minded, and have heavenly tastes, in the life that now is, or else we shall never find ourselves in heaven, in the life to come" (Suppose An Unholy Man Went To Heaven).

In another work he said, "If you cannot give your heart to God now, how is it possible you could enjoy God's heaven hereafter? Heaven is unceasing godliness; it is to be in the presence of God and His Christ for evermore. God is the light, the food, the air of heaven. It is an eternal Sabbath. To serve God is heaven's employment, to talk with God is heaven's occupation. Oh, sinners, sinners, could you be happy there? To which of all the saints would you join yourselves? By whose side would you go and sit down, with whom of all the prophets and apostles would you love to converse? Surely it would be a wearisome thing to you; surely you would soon want to go forth and join your friends outside (Home at Last!).

Frederick the Great invited the unbelieving philosopher, Voltaire, to his palace for dinner. When the meal was served, Voltaire began casting insults on the many Christians present. Finally he said, "Why I would sell my seat in heaven for a Prussian dollar." One of the guests at the banquet, a distinguished counselor and devout believer in the Lord Jesus Christ was shocked at the remark. He rose from his seat and said, "Sir, you are in Prussia where we have a law which requires that one who wishes to sell anything must first prove ownership. Are you prepared to establish the fact that you have a seat in heaven?"

So we cannot go to the Lord's Table without me asking you that question. "Do you have a seat in heaven?" Have you believed entirely in Jesus Christ to have made the sufficient payment for your sin? John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." And is there evidence of God's grace in your life by an increasing desire for personal holiness and yearning for it in the eternal place called heaven? 2 Peter 3:13, "But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells."

I have been told there is a cemetery in Indiana that has an old tombstone bearing this epitaph:

Pause, stranger when you pass me by

As you are now, so one was I.

As I am now, so you will be

So prepare for death and follow me.

An unknown passerby read these words and underneath scratched his reply:

To follow you I'm not content

Until I know which way you went.