In my last post, we tested the "I'm a good person, and God is good, therefore I'll go to heaven " theory. If you haven't read that yet, please take a moment now to do so. At the end, it appeared that the theory leaves us with tons of unanswered questions such as, just how much of our lives has to be good (50%, 10% , 90%)?, what benchmark will we use to measure our goodness on a curve (mother theresa?! eek), how do we know how to be a "good" person if our own morals and values are constantly changing over time, and why on earth was Jesus quoted saying that someone would have to be more 'good' than the Pharisees to get to heaven Matthew 5:20 (ie religious leaders of the time whose job it was to follow the 10 commandments and other laws laid down by Moses) YET when Jesus was lying on the cross about to die, he told the prisoner/criminal on a cross next to him "surely you will be with me in paradise" Luke 23:39-42? HUH?! So if being a good person doesn't get you into heaven, then what does? being a bad person? Well the alternative view, which is the view I hold along with 1/3 of the world's population is that FORGIVEN people go to heaven. Forgiveness is made possible by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. It goes something like this.
1. We are all by nature bad people. GASP! yea that's right I said it. All sin is equal, and it takes just one sin (i.e 1 white lie, 1 time when you idolize something other than God, 1 time when you disobeyed your parents) to separate us from God.
2. The wages of sin is death. Yeah that's right, we're completely screwed at this point. It doesn't matter how many good works we do, or how hard we try to earn our way into heaven, it won't work because we are still separated from God by just 1 sin. "All our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment” (Isaiah 64:6). BLAST!
3. I'll just atone for my sin by offering up a dead lamb, mmm k? It's true, the Old Testament made it abundantly clear that God can't dispense sin without a sacrifice, and sin required death, which is why God allowed a dead animal to temporarily substitute for the death of the sinner. BUT, the death of the lamb did not permanently erase the guilt associated with the sin, it merely atoned for or covered the sin.
3. Jesus to the rescue! Heyyyooooo. Jesus positioned himself as the once-and-for-all sacrifice for sin--the Lamb of God (get it?!) . He died on the cross once for ALL sin, past present and future. His death on the cross made it possible for anyone to restore their relationship with God and spend eternity in heaven.
4. We now have been given a free gift of eternal life. It wasn't anything we deserved, or earned, hence 'gift'. All it takes to accept this gift is to believe that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior.
Is this fair?! heck no! it's more than fair. Fairness would be for us to face the consequences of our sins and be eternally separated from God. But no, Jesus loved us so much that he offered us the chance to go to heaven even though we didn't deserve it
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I'll be a sinner just for questioning what you're saying, but how can all sin be equal? A person who eats a grape at the supermarket without paying for it is the same as a kid toucher?
ReplyDeleteHi Gary, thanks for the question =) .
ReplyDeleteand I agree with you completely! For instance, I think it is much worse to actually murder a person than it is to simply hate them, even though they are both sin in God’s sight. There are degrees to sin. Some sins are worse than others. At the same time, in regards to both eternal consequences and salvation, all sins are the same and that is what I was referring to. Each and every sin will lead to eternal condemnation (Romans 6:23). All sin, no matter how “small,” is against an infinite and eternal God, and is therefore worthy of an infinite and eternal penalty. Further, this is no sin too “big” that God cannot forgive it. Jesus died to pay the penalty for sin (1 John 2:2). Jesus died for ALL of our sins (2 Corinthians 5:21). Are all sins equal to God? Yes and no. In severity? No. In penalty? Yes. In forgivability? Yes.
let me know if you have any more questions!
Chessey-
ReplyDeleteThanks for the invitation to check out your blog.
I mentioned this on Kim's blog, and think it's appropriate for this one as well, that I've been reading Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics. Maybe I'm getting too sucked in by Aristotle, but I find his formulation for ethics to be incredible (note the use of ethics versus morals) and that it shares a number of goals, and, from a certain interpretive school of thought, is very compatible with Christianity.
Aristotle takes opposing forces- example, cowardliness and brashness, and argues for aiming for courage. His outlook isn't binary (in your context: sin or virtue), but rather a spectrum.
There's much more to this, but in the end, he argues the most virtuous people will aim for a mean.
To use an example from your previous post on over drinking, Aristotle's scale goes from licentiousness to boorishness. He finds BOTH to be undesirable, but instead argues to establish a mean.
He stresses that the art of determining how to practically implement this science is imperfect and recommends reason as the best way to map out violations.
A number of religious scholars take this interpretation of moral behavior. While even Aristotle had some forbidden behaviors (murder and adultery are two examples), life consists of any number of little decisions that lead to ethical dilemmas.
This said- where does belief in Jesus constitute as virtue versus sin?
Furthermore, from a metaphysical point of view, where does heaven lie? For those 100% virtuous? 80%? 50+1%?
As far as I know, the only description of "heaven" comes from the apocryphal Book of Enoch, which leads to the question of the goal of Heaven/Hell as a binary option.
In a metaphysical sense, couldn't "heaven" be interpreted as happiness? That by acting ethically, one is living a better life? And those living an unethical life live a worse life? If you take the reasonable view that life is finite, could there be a worse "punishment" than a wasted, detestable life?
Food for thought.
Hi Michael,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate all of your thought provoking comments and questions. I can tell that you are very intellectual. Sure one could think heaven is just a state of mind and not an actual place, but I believe the Bible to be the Word of God, and that is where I go for answers. The bible describes heaven as a real place. For further reading please go here : http://www.gotquestions.org/is-Heaven-real.html
I'm sure you are asking how do I know the Bible is the Word of God and the Truth? Well, there are a lot of reasons, but primarily because it has radically changed and transformed my life, my brothers life (previously atheist for his life) and tons of other people. I am not the same person I was 4 years ago when I did not have a personal relationship with God. And what's so comforting for me is that God promises to reveal himself to anyone who seeks Him (Deuteronomy 4:29) so I am confident the truth will be revealed, whether through prayer, reading the bible, church, etc to anyone who is in search of it. Hope this helps!
Here's the problem: the Bible doesn't really describe Heaven. Very few intelligent theologians would describe Heaven as "real". Can you get me directions there? Get me a pamphlet?
ReplyDeleteSo, if it isn't a destination (take a right off exit 3), then it would very likely be described in allegorical/metaphorical terms. Do you sit in Heaven strumming a harp? Do all dogs go there? Is grandma there? It's an incredibly childish way to discuss something that would be so important.
As any serious understanding of Heaven is inherently metaphysical, the next consideration is where to classify the gradients of souls. Is there a clear dividing line between damned and saved? Is the soul determining factor faith in Jesus? Is so, how would this fit into a wider moral/ethical frame work? Behave like a saint your entire life and be denied salvation? Behave like a scoundrel your entire life, convert on your deathbed, and be saved (see: Constantine)?
The problem with absolute lines is that most people cannot attain these benchmarks 100% of the time, so are prone to covering up short-comings or simply giving up.
Considering the nature of these questions, is a strict reading of the Bible the most sensible way to understand its moral/ethical teachings?
Yes, the bible is the best way to understand not only its moral/ethical teachings, but also to learn about the character of God, and get to know Him. If you would like a bible, I would be more than happy to send you one. Just send me an email with your address. =)
ReplyDeleteAlso, in terms of the bible describing heaven and your other questions I'd recommend going here in the interim. http://www.gotquestions.org/heaven-like.html It gives a lot of scripture references to what heaven will be like. But in all honesty, yeah we don't know many details about it, but we do know it is a physical place, once again this is from the first link i sent you showing
1) Heaven is indeed a real place. The Bible tells us that heaven is God’s throne (Isaiah 66:1; Acts 7:48-49; Matthew 5:34-35). After Jesus’ resurrection and appearance on earth to His disciples, “He was taken up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God” (Mark 16:19; Acts 7:55-56). “Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; He entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence“ (Hebrews 9:24). Jesus not only went before us, entering on our behalf, but He is alive and has a present ministry in heaven, serving as our high priest in the true tabernacle made by God (Hebrews 6:19-20; 8:1-2). We are also told by Jesus Himself that there are many rooms in God’s house and that He has gone before us to prepare a place for us. We have the assurance of His word that He will one day come back to earth and take us to where He is in heaven (John 14:1-4). Our belief in an eternal home in heaven is based on an explicit promise of Jesus. Heaven is most definitely a real place. Heaven truly does exist.
2) What heaven is like
The Apostle John was privileged to see and report on the heavenly city (Revelation 21:10-27). John witnessed that heaven possesses the "glory of God" (Revelation 21:11). This is the Shekinah glory or the presence of God. Because heaven has no night and the Lord is the light, the sun and moon are no longer needed (Revelation 22:5).
The city is filled with the brilliance of costly stones and crystal-clear jasper. Heaven has 12 gates (Revelation 21:12) and 12 foundations (Revelation 21:14). The paradise of the Garden of Eden is restored: the river of the water of life flows freely and the tree of life is available once again, yielding fruit monthly with leaves that "heal the nations" (Revelation 22:1-2). However eloquent John was in his description of heaven, the reality of heaven is beyond the ability of finite man to describe (1 Corinthians 2:9). Yet it is more real than this earth, which will pass away.
Heaven is a place of "no mores." There will be no more tears, no more pain, and no more sorrow (Revelation 21:4). There will be no more separation because death will be conquered (Revelation 20:6). The best thing about heaven is the presence of our Lord and Savior. We will be face to face with the Lamb of God Who loved us and sacrificed Himself so that we can enjoy His presence for eternity.