Let’s Talk About Heaven and Hell (Part 2)

Let’s Talk About Heaven and Hell (Part 2)
By Tommy Franks

Previously, I stated that Christians believe that God created human beings to live eternally in fellowship with Him. The future as described in the Bible includes the resurrection of all people…a judgment, and eternal life in either heaven or hell.
Christians do not always agree on the exact details of how this will happen. Most differences tend to involve “timing”. Since we are created with an eternal destiny, this has a significant impact on our priorities. A time will come when Christians will be resurrected. Most Christians believe that there will be a judgment. Everyone's life will be evaluated. Individuals who have depended upon Christ for salvation can be assured that they will pass the judgment. The caveat to this is: Everything in our lives that was not built on Christ will be purged. The Bible talks about our works being tested with fire.

The Bible only speaks of two different outcomes for eternal life: Heaven or Hell.
These are the only two results of eternity. What about accountability? Are we accountable for our own actions? Yes. Some critics of “judgment” suggest that it is arrogant for Christians to believe that some individuals will go to heaven and some people will go to hell. Either the Bible is true or it is not. Either God exist or He does not. Either Christ died to save us or he did not. If He did die for us, then He would have to continue to initiate “The Rule of Law” which incorporates a “judgment”. God set up a universe that operates under dependable laws. The existence of a Godly universe with dependable laws has consequences. Without Divine Laws, total anarchy (rebellion and chaos) would prevail.

Blaise Pascal’s Wager:
It is possible that God exists.
What if He does not exist?
If we believe that God exist and He does exist, we receive a great reward.
If He does not exist, then we lose nothing.
If one does not believe in God and He does exist, then one receives a great punishment.
If He does not exist, then we lose nothing.
It is better to receive a great reward than it is to receive a great punishment.
It is better to believe in God than it is NOT to believe in God.
If one course of action is better than another, then it is rational to follow that course of action.
Therefore, it is rational to believe in God and irrational not to believe in God.

To some of you, the above “wager” perhaps seems a little adolescent. With that being said, most Christians do believe that salvation is only available through Christ. They also believe…To be in Heaven is to be present with God forever. Most Christians believe that this is fair in God’s scheme of things.

On the other hand, most unbelievers believe that “hell” is unfair. Of course, they would feel this way. Nonbelievers do not believe that anyone who rejects Christ will go to hell. Does this mean that only Christians can be saved? My response is unequivocally “yes”. The caveat to this is as follows: Most Christians believe that God's judgment will take into account the opportunities a person had to learn the truth. For example, God will be the Judge of the person who never heard the Gospel. You can be sure of one thing…God is a God of integrity, justice, fairness, and equality to all.

This is what I do know: Just because someone is relatively good in this life, but does not have faith in Christ, he or she will most likely end up in hell. Yeah, I will probably get some flack for saying this, but this is exactly what the Bible teaches.

In theory, a person could be one of the best people in the world, but if he does not have faith in Christ, he will not have the relationship through which God can take away his sin. Some will say, “Why shouldn't people just go ahead and be evil their whole lives and then repent at the last minute?" The problem with that type of thinking is: Will a person have sufficient time to experience “deathbed repentance”?

The poles tell us that Americans believe in the existence of heaven more now than any other time in history. Most people want to know what heaven is like. We all want to go to heaven. We all expect to go to heaven, do we not? Reinhold Niebuhr once said, "The Bible tells us very little about the temperature of hell or the furniture of heaven." I can tell you this. There is just no way that the human language can capture the full majesty and the grandeur of heaven.

Paul warns the Philippians, “Don't model your life after some Christians inside the church, who call themselves Christians…but who in reality are enemies of the cross. These are men and women within the church, but they are enemies of the cross…not because they deny the existence of heaven…but because they have been perpetrating a myth. The myth is: That there are other ways to heaven other than through the cross of Jesus Christ” (Phil.3).

Some are saying that “there are all kinds of ways other than Christ to get to heaven”. Paul says that their destiny is not heaven but destruction. Their god seems to be their gut. People that say this sort of thing have their minds totally focused on this world. They have forgotten or lost that awe-inspiring vision of a Godly, Christ-centered life. Who was Paul writing to in this passage? Christians!

Paul continues, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body” (Phil.3).

We all want to know about Planet Heaven. Will there be Maryland crab cakes in Heaven. Will Mozart’s music be available? Will there be baseball, football, or NASCAR up there? Will there be shoe stores and glamorous shops in Heaven? What about red or white wine? Are the streets really gold? Probably, a better question is: "Are we ready for what heaven is like?"

Let me reiterate. There is no other way to heaven other than through Jesus Christ. Period! His death on the cross was once and for all sufficient, perfect, and complete. Christ said, “I am the way. I am the road. I am the truth. No one comes to the Father, but by Me” (Jn.14).

Think about this. If we are going to spend eternity with God, we must acknowledge His Son and surrender our lives to Him. Our lives on earth are to be lived in preparation for life in heaven. Our true citizenship is in heaven. This earth is not our real home. In our learning process, we need to seek out men and women of integrity, authenticity, compassion, courage, and faithfulness. This is what Paul was saying.

As Christians, we need to ask ourselves: Are we pioneers or are we homesteaders? True pioneers really never settle in one spot. They are always moving on. They know that wherever they are…is not their home. They are always heading toward a final destination. They are just passing through. They are TDY (on Temporary Duty Assignment). But some Christians have become homesteaders. They have circled the wagons. They have sunk down deep roots. Their time is invested in themselves and the world. Some have almost forgotten where their true home is…Heaven! Our eternal home is not here. You want to talk about true aliens (non-citizens)? As Christians, we are resident aliens. We are sojourners. Planet Earth is not all there is for us. We are earthly tourists…just passing through. We will be here only for a short time…even if it’s over a hundred years.

With that being said, I confess to you my dilemma and predicament. I sort of like this old world. I have gotten comfortable. I have a lot of good things that will eventually perish from rust and corruption. I have a good life. No, I have an incredible life. I am married to one of the most beautiful, wonderful women in the world. We have six beautiful children and good looking grandkids. So, I am torn between the two worlds. Sometimes, I am so clutching when it comes to this world. Currently, I am in no hurry to get to heaven. Please do not send me to hell for saying that. The good that I want to do, I sometimes do not do. Sometimes, I screw up and do the opposite. I am certainly no “goody two-shoes”. However, at the end of the day, I know Whose I am. I know that I have been truly forgiven. I know where I am going eventually…to Planet Heaven. But I sometimes need to be reminded that I am an alien in a strange land…and my true citizenship is not here on Planet Earth.
Paul said, “We know that the law is spiritual. But I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate, I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do…this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God…Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom.7). (Part 3 will follow later.)