Who Cares If Heaven Is Real?

Okay...I do care. Knowing that it is real and that my citizenship is there is of immense comfort.

I find it interesting that some Christians and others tend to deify this movie, as if by "proving" to people that Heaven exists, that will move them closer to eternal life. I find it even more interesting that some of the same people who deify it were likely some of the same people who demonized Noah. We blast one movie for twisting Scripture, but celebrate another movie that doesn't even deal with Scripture and is just as likely to promote Universalism. So Heaven is real...

Will that make any difference for you?

Nope. Not if you don't know how to get there. A number of religions ultimately profess that Heaven in some form or another is real. Even folks who consider themselves "spiritual, but not religious" believe in a Heaven where they will be accepted because their good deeds outweigh their bad deeds. So believing in Heaven will not save you.

In fact, it may further breed in you a sense of false hope. In the greater span of human history, convincing someone of Heaven has not proven difficult. Why? Because even in our unbelief, we still bear witness to the power and glory of God in Creation and in the law written upon our hearts (Rom. 1-2). We all believe in God (even the demons--James 2!) and would naturally suppose that He would have a heavenly abode. We just suppress the truth in unrighteousness and refuse to recognize our need for His saving work. So believing in Heaven is just as likely to condemn as save.

Is someone's experience a reliable guide for truth?

Nope. Lots of people experienced the miracles and perfect life of Jesus Christ as He walked this earth. Many of them never believed. Why? Because we are saved by faith, which comes through hearing the Word, not by sight. The hubris of Western society in the past couple of centuries has been this pernicious belief in the power of the senses, reason, or experience to uncover truth. In other words, the ability to man in and of himself to uncover truth. We cannot do that. Truth must be divinely given. A creature cannot fathom the mind of his Creator.

For ultimate truth--saving truth--we are dependent solely on God's supreme revelation to mankind, which is the Bible. While the senses and reason and experience all deceive and bring condemnation, the Bible makes us wise unto salvation. This does not mean that the human pursuit of knowledge is purely vain, but it only gains true and significant meaning under the light of Scripture. So some kid claims to have an experience of Heaven. We all have experiences. We don't all have truth.

Bottom line: There is no ladder that we can ascend to Heaven--neither logical proofs nor scientific formulas nor mystical experiences nor moral goodness. There is a great big gulf between us and God, one that can't be bridged by intelligence, emotions, or morality. It is a gulf of sin. The human race is in rebellion against God, and human overtures of peace are impossible when they continue to carry the traitor's flag. Our only hope we have is that God sent His Son down the ladder, so to speak, to rectify this sin problem and reconcile sinners to a holy and just God.

The fact that Heaven is for real provides no hope if that is not your eternal abode. What you need to believe is that Jesus is for real--that He is truly, eternally God and man, and that He lived the perfect life and died an accursed death in our place. We can only be raised to Heaven if we are raised with Christ in His resurrection.

Who cares if Heaven is real if you don't have access to it. I care about it because I call it home, by the grace of God in Jesus Christ my Savior and Lord. And if I care about you, I will not get distracted by such abstractions and distractions as whether Heaven exists. Instead, I will ask if you have encountered the risen Christ, revealed in His Word, who alone can prepare a place for you.