I was asked recently if I thought that “they” could go to Heaven. (Fill in the blank with any individual or group that — to you — seems especially undeserving.) The question surprised me, but after a moment of thought my answer was “Yes, if they are depending on Jesus to carry them there.”
On further thought, both the question and the answer are more complicated but also more simple than it first seems.
The question really meant “Aren’t they so bad that God will reject them?” The implied follow-up was “Aren’t they so much worse than we are?”
My answer meant that “No one can get to Heaven without Jesus..not even us. But anyone can get to Heaven with Jesus…even us.” Not a one of us, anywhere or at any time on earth, is good enough to justify a relationship with God on our own. Not a one of us, anywhere or at any time on earth, is bad enough for Jesus to be unable or unwilling to save us.
Embedded in the question was the thought that anyone who is a Christian could not possibly behave like “they” do. Is that true?
Certainly, some behaviors are contrary to God’s will and are not honoring to our Savior. But do only “they” behave in contrary or dishonoring ways? Don’t I do that also? Why should I think that I am still a Christian bound for Heaven, and “they” cannot possibly be? Are their sins more disqualifying than mine?
This has to be balanced against “By their fruits, you will know them.” Those who are following Christ should be naturally moving toward becoming more like Him. Those who are acting contrary to His character are not following Him, obviously…at least not at that moment.
But when does that mean “not a Christian” vs “Christian but still a sinner like all of us”? Let’s explore.
Is anyone too bad for God?
What about…
- Matthew and Zaccheus, the tax collectors?
- After Jesus invited Himself to dinner, Zaccheus had a change of heart. He vowed to give half his possessions to the poor, and to repay fourfold to anyone he had defrauded. Jesus’ response: “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:1-9)
- Jesus called Matthew from his tax-collecting booth to become His disciple (and eventual author of one of the Gospels). Again sharing a meal with Matthew and his fellow collectors, Jesus responded to criticism with “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:9-13)
- Those crucifying Jesus?
- Jesus prayed forgiveness for those who were in the process of torturing Him to death. (Luke 23:33-34)
- The thief on the next cross?
- When asked, Jesus promised Paradise to the criminal justly condemned to execution. (Luke 23:39-43)
To believe that anyone, no matter how badly they behave, is beyond hope is to believe that Jesus is inadequate: Either He is unwilling to save them because He doesn’t love them enough, or He is unable to because His death and resurrection are not sufficient to cover them. The very thought is so wrong that it is unimaginable!
Is anyone good enough to be a shoo-in?
What about…
- The Pharisees?
- These are the people who were the most sure that they were keeping God’s law perfectly. They weren’t the only ones who thought so, either. To the common people, Pharisees were the epitome of “righteous”. They were the ones held up as the goal, unattainable by most people.
- Yet, Jesus reserved His harshest condemnation for them. He called them “whitewashed tombs”, “sons of the devil”, and “brood of vipers”! (Matthew 23:13-36) He taught “…unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20)
- The Jewish — “chosen” — people as a whole?
- The Jewish people prided themselves on being “children of Abraham” to whom God had promised a great nation. They were the ones who inherited the covenant as God’s own special, chosen people. They just knew that they were already “in”, due to their bloodline.
- But Jesus said “…many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness…” (Matthew 8:11-12)
- The rich and privileged?
- The “rich young ruler” of Mark 10:17-27 was asking whether he had checked all the boxes correctly. After all, not only was he wealthy, but he had also kept all the law “from his youth”.
- He was disappointed to learn that the boxes weren’t enough. He needed to drop everything and follow Jesus. That is so difficult that Jesus said it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle!
To think that anyone gets to Heaven based on their behavior is to misunderstand the problem of sin. Acting badly is not the problem. Being, by nature, born with an instinct to oppose God is the real issue. The actions are only a result of that inherent sinful nature — a nature that we all share.
Jesus’ classic teaching on this is from Matthew 5:21-48, part of the Sermon on the Mount. He repeatedly said that good actions, or refraining from bad actions, are insufficient. Our internal thoughts are just as “real” and just as sinful as any external behavior.
Are there some behaviors that always equate to “eternally lost” and some that are “wrong but OK”?
What about…
- Idolatry, a biggie in the Old Testament?
- Sexual perversions?
- Mass murder?
- Cruelty to the innocent?
versus…
- Lying?
- Lust?
- Gluttony?
- Angry outbursts?
- Selfishness?
Look at Paul’s list of behaviors of those who “will not inherit the kingdom of God” in 1 Corinthian 6:9-10. It includes fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, homosexuals, thieves and swindlers. But before you get to feeling too cocky and safe, realize that it also includes the covetous, drunkards and revilers (and what are we doing when we look down on someone else but “reviling”?). Similarly, Galatians 5:19-21 has a list of “deeds of the flesh” that includes immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery. So far, so good. But the list also includes enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and “things like these”. Finally, Romans 1:28-32 lists behaviors that are “worthy of death“. They include not only being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, evil, murder and haters of God. They also include being full of envy, strife, deceit, malice as well as being gossips, slanderers, insolent, arrogant, boastful, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful.
Oops!
But check out the next Corinthian verse, 1 Corinthians 6:11: “Such were some of you [Paul’s readers from the church at Corinth]; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” Those who can’t naturally inherit the kingdom of God can still receive it after all, thanks to Jesus.
But doesn’t it matter how we behave?
Of course, behavior matters. Jesus taught that our actions are a result of what is in the heart (Matthew 15:17-20). When warning against false prophets, He said that “You will know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:15-20) He was explaining that, just as a thorn bush can’t produce ripe grapes, outer actions are an indicator of the inner person. He said “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15); the corollary is that not obeying His commands is an indication that we don’t love Him.
But He also said for us to love one another, and that this is how everyone can recognize His disciples. When we are condemning anyone else, even “them”, we are not showing His love.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
John 13:34-35
Bottom Line
It may very well be that “they”, whoever they are, are not currently on their way to Heaven. Their sinful behavior, especially when it is very defiantly sinful, may indeed indicate that they are still alienated from God.
But that doesn’t mean that they cannot be redeemed and turned toward Heaven. It is not cause for abandoning them, or, even worse, for gloating over them. It is cause for great urgency to reach them!
“They” are no more lost than I once was. And the same Jesus who found and saved me is willing and able, even anxious, to find and save them also. I am called to let them know that.
Another word for that is “Gospel“. Let’s share it…even with “them”!
Note: A couple of similar articles on this site are “Outcasts” and “To Judge or Not to Judge“.
