God clearly says in many, many ways in the Bible that believers will go to heaven. It is a fact all Christians believe: believers will be in heaven with God and unbelievers will be in hell for eternity after we all die. The purpose of the Bible is to turn unbelievers into believers, to save souls for God by Jesus’ works and words. But Jesus often repeats that being a believer is hard. Some Christian churches say that faith is a part of how we are saved, but Christians must do more than just faith. Some Christian churches say believers don’t need to do anything to get to heaven. So will all Christians actually go to heaven when we die?
How Do Christians Get To Heaven?
Humans want to earn things. If you’re given a hundred dollars as a birthday gift as a kid, you’re grateful. How do you feel as an adult when you have to work to earn that extra hundred dollars? Free stuff is harder to be grateful for than stuff you feel you struggle for. It makes sense that Christians feel that they need to earn heaven by being good. The Bible says it the other way. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 is clear. It is one of many verse in the Bible that says heaven is a gift from God, not something we earn. Jesus was perfect since we can’t be and paid our way into heaven. We can’t earn it. All we have to do is believe, also called having faith, and we try to be good people as a thank you for that free gift. Getting such a huge gift for free doesn’t make sense to our human brains, but God says it repeatedly in the Bible, so we know it must be true.
But does that mean every Christian will go to heaven? Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount has some good examples.
Sermon on the Mount
The earliest sermon recorded in the New Testament is in Matthew 5-7 which has been called the Sermon on the Mount. It is where Jesus started to explain that he was teaching a return to following the intent on God’s commands, instead of following the man-made rituals people had made up as a checklist to follow God.
He started with what is called the Beatitudes, which was a huge shock factor to his listeners. The well-respected people of that time, the super pious or influential people, showed off their faith by obvious acts. They prayed loudly in public or made huge shows of donating money to the temple. Jesus said that the meek, the humble, and the troubled people would be blessed. He then went on to say that humility would be rewarded in heaven, not earthly honor. He explained the Beatitudes by the rest of his sermon, where he said that those who lived their faith without seeking admiration for themselves would be highly rewarded in heaven.
Not Everyone Who Claims To Be Christian Is One
Christians can lose their faith. Jesus tells the parable of the sower and the seed in Luke 8:5-8 and explains it in Luke 8:11-15. I’ll focus on the explanation:
“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among the thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasure, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” -Luke 8: 11-15
That sounds sad but is true. I went to a Christian grade school and high school. We had religion class and had homework based on the Bible every day. Yet so many of my classmates no longer go to a church or only go once or twice a year. Romans 10:17 says “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” If people aren’t going to church regularly, they might be feeding their faith by daily Bible readings. These days people can get church or daily devotions through video streaming or podcasts. Not going to church doesn’t mean not having faith, but it is an indicator of how important feeding our faith is. My pastor talks of meeting people who say that since their parents went to church, they themselves will go to heaven. Unfortunately, that isn’t what the Bible says.
Don’t Judge Faith By Actions
Going to church every week also doesn’t prove faith in God’s promise. Have you ever heard of Pharisees? They were considered some of the most religious people in the New Testament times. Pharisees proudly gave their offering and prayed loudly in their churches. They always went beyond the requirements of God’s law and told other people what they should be doing.
Jesus talks about how the Pharisees and important people made shows of their faith for others to see. He says that what is rewarded on earth won’t be rewarded in heaven. Why is that? Throughout the New Testament, Jesus said that the Pharisees didn’t have faith. They were so focused on showing off their rituals and being praised by their neighbors that they lost the meaning of those actions. Jesus repeatedly says that our actions should glorify God, not ourselves. Our lives are meant to lead people to God, not store up earthly honor and riches.
Some people today are like the Pharisees. Some may have believed in God’s promise, but gotten so distracted by good works and being praised that their pride took over. They forgot that their actions should glorify God and their pride in themselves choked out their faith. Others may have done the deeds to look great without starting from faith.
We can’t tell if actions are motivated by hidden pride or true gratefulness to God. We can’t judge, only God sees hearts and faith. That means that people who call themselves Christians may not actually be true believers.
The Narrow Gate
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it. -Matthew 7:13-14
Life is full of lots of decisions. There are many roads you can take to get to the same place. You can go the scenic way, or you can go the direct way, you can decide what you want. But there is only one way to heaven, through Jesus Christ. The Bible is the map he gave us to heaven. In some places he talks in parable, which are metaphors of daily occurrences to show abstract concepts. Other places he is brutally clear on what is sin and what is expected. Some churches teach some parts of the Bible but don’t care about other sections. Some people say that God didn’t really mean that or that a teaching was relevant then but not today. There are so many paths we can take, so many guides that claim to lead us on paths to heaven, but Jesus clearly says that only he is the guide that can get us through the gates to heaven and our father’s throne within. It’s a narrow, focused, and demanding path that requires true believers to avoid temptation and misdirection, but it is the only way to heaven.
False Teachers can teach the Bible too.
Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. -Matthew 7:15-20
Did you know that the devil can quote the Bible? He does it twice in the section about Jesus’ temptation in the desert. (Matthew 4:1-11) Throughout history there have been people who claimed they were helping God by doing something that ultimately helped themselves. The Crusades are a big example. The church of the time and royal families in Europe claimed that they were doing God’s will by reclaiming the Holy Land from the pagans. History remembers that time as massacres and looting done by everyone involved. Did God want the non-Christians removed from those lands? I don’t know, but I do know how a lot of gold and gems made wealthy people even more wealthy and many “holy relics” are now family heirlooms in families far from the Holy Lands.
How many times have you heard about cults recently? How many criminal television shows have people starting cults in order to have multiple wives or to convince a group of people to give their money to the leaders? I don’t know how many real cult leaders like that call themselves Christian, but I’m sure there are a few. That is an extreme example of people who use the Christian faith for their advantage without having real faith.
Jesus tells us to test a teacher by their fruits. A person sent by God will produce good results through their actions. A person motivated by greed or glory will ultimately create chaos and distract people from true faith.
Not all Christians are Believers
Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?” Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers.”- Matthew 7:21-23
What do you think it means to be Christian? Some of the examples I gave above sound like good lives. The Pharisees lived by a list of rules to get to heaven. Other people think that simply saying they’re Christian will get them to heaven. All they need to do is to be nice or help people occasionally, correct?
As a true believer in God, we’re going to want to get to know the God who loved us enough to take our sins upon himself and take our punishment in our place so we could be his. We’re going to want to spend time with him, worshiping him, reading the Bible, encouraging each other in Christ, and applying God’s word and will to our life. It’s about making God our focus in life, not gaining rewards and respect on earth. That is why it’s a narrow gate, not the broad path that gets believers in heaven.
