Do all go to a better place?

I recently read a story where a father asked his young son, “ Do you know where you are going when you die?” The son replied, “Yes. I would go to heaven.” The Father asked his son a second question, “If you were to die tonight and God asked you why should I let you into my heaven what would be your answer?” The son answered immediately, “Because I’m dead!”

Do we see the logic in the child’s response? From his understanding of these questions, he believed that a person automatically goes to heaven when they die. Why did the son respond the way he did? It would be safe to say the reality of hell had never been taught to him.

This boy like most people (this includes many in the church) believe in what someone called Justification by death.  A more popular way to say it is Universalism – meaning that everyone is automatically saved when they die.  This is a novel idea, an emotionally comforting one especially when loved ones and friends die. It makes us feel better to believe that they are with their maker because we are now bereaved of them in this life. The pain of their loss is tragic so we take comfort that they are now in the arms of Jesus (we believe/hope).

Those loved ones who have passed on that genuinely professed Jesus Christ, loved him, and loved God’s people, and served the Lord in Spirit and truth, remained faithful to the call of God in their lives, bore visible fruit are definitely in heaven casting down their crown(s) before God Almighty and their Messiah Jesus Christ (Rev 4:10). Praise God for those warriors!

But, this will not be the testimony of most people who will ever walk this earth. Let me prove it.

These are the words of Jesus when preaching his sermon on the mountain, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life and there are few  who find it” - Matt 7:13-14 (italics are mine).

In laymen’s terms, Jesus is giving us two pictures here. The first picture is the person that tries to get to heaven on their own. They go to church, they feed the poor, visit the sick, they are in the choir, they tithe. They are what some would call a religious fanatic. Others would say they are a dedicated Christian. So what is their problem? They appear to be doing all the right things. They are kind to people, they have a smile that lights up the room.

Their problem is that they are a modern day Pharisee. Everything they do is for the praise of men (Matt 6:5-8a). They love to be seen by men and love their adulation (praise of men). They are self righteous. They have no humility. All their activity is religious externalism. They are deed-oriented. They figure if they do enough “good deeds” as juxtapose to their sins, they will earn God’s favor and make it into heaven (i.e. the wide gate that’s marked “heaven”).

This person’s heart is not right before God. We can’t see it, but God does. What is important to realize is that not everyone going to hell is as rotten as they can possibly be. Multitudes go that are law abiding, caring, generous, thoughtful souls who wouldn’t harm a butterfly. Some of these people have better ethics than some Christians sad to say. It even seems disrespectful to describe them in these terms; that they will be eternally lost.

                This will be most of the world. We just heard Jesus tell us (Matt 7:13).

As much as we may hate to humanly admit it, “good religious people”  go to hell everyday, and irreligious, scandalous, adulterers  murderers, thieves, liars, prostitutes and homosexuals go to heaven.

                Now that doesn’t seem fair at all does it?

Obviously I am not advocating that all the people mentioned above always fit into these same categories in the way I described them, but what I am trying to show is that those who we believe are “good”  are  often evil in God's eyes. And those who are actually evil definitely are not good, but they have been declared righteous by their faith in Jesus Christ ( 2 Cor 5:21). Those wicked people mentioned above know they are wicked, sinful, and lost and are in need of salvation so God saves them and forgives them of their sins (Eph 2:8-9).

They are that tax collector who went to the temple broken and contrite in spirit and said, ‘God be merciful to me a sinner!” (Luke 18:13).

                These like the tax collector are the few (i.e. that enter the narrow gate).

Simply put, in Jesus own words, there will be more people headed to hell than those headed to heaven.       

                Tragic yet true.

                                                                   In the final Analysis

This idea of everyone going to heaven when they die is untrue. As we read in scripture most people will go to hell. Very discomforting thought.

Why even write a morbid article like this especially at this time of the year? Some may see this as extremely offensive and insensitive. That certainly was not my intent. The Bible commands us to speak the truth in love which is what I have endeavored to do with all my articles (Eph 4:15). Often times the truth hurts, it cuts like a knife, but the truth of the Word of God is what sets men free (John 8:32).

The antithesis of this is bondage and lies. When someone believes in justification by death, then they are bound by the lie of Universalism; believing that all will go to heaven. Only those that truly put their trust in Jesus Christ will see the kingdom of God (John 3:3).  Those that put their trust in their own abilities will  NEVER get to heaven for  by no works of the law will no man be justified in His sight (Gal 2:16-17; Rom 4:2; Titus 3:4-6).

Concluding, the scripture plainly tells us many do not go to a better place when they die. Why? “Because men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19b).

It’s also a fallacy  I believe that those loved ones who have actually gone on to glory are looking down from heaven watching over us. There is no biblical support for that type of belief. Think about it? If they are in heaven where there is perfect bliss, why would they want to look down on the life of sin they just left? They are in the very presence of the Father and Jesus Christ! There is nothing they can do for their living relatives anyway. If you are in Christ, you will definitely see them again (I Thess 4:13-18).