There is a lot said in culture and in the church about heaven, but what does the Bible say?
Pastor and bible teacher Chip Ingram dispels some of the common misconceptions about heaven and points us to what Scripture tells us.
We can’t know much about it.
“People misinterpret 1 Corinthians 2:9, where it says, ‘for eye hasn’t seen, or ear has heard, or entered into the heart of man all that God has prepared for those who love him.'”
“If they would read verse 10 they would realize, ‘but, we have the mind of Christ.’ The Bible really does say a lot about heaven.”
It’s boring.
Chip alludes to the fact that many people confuse an intermediate heaven with the real heaven. He draws our attention to the snapshot of intermediate heaven in Revelation 4-5.
“There is an amazing worship service going on; that’s the intermediate heaven, the moment we would die. There is a new heaven and a new earth where we will be with the Lord forever.”
Heaven is a concept, instead of a real concrete place.
Jesus references heaven on several occasions in the New Testament as a real place. Chip points us to Matthew 6:19.
“He said outrageous things that we sort of lose sight of. He said things like, ‘don’t store up for yourself treasures on earth,’ and it’s logical, ‘where moths can get in, where thieves can steal, whether it’s metal it can corrode.’ But he says, ‘store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.’
“He actually is communicating in teaching there’s a real place that you can send things on ahead; your time, your energy and your money.”
Everyone who dies will go to heaven.
How we live today has bearing on your eternal status.
“We somehow think that heaven will be sort of the ‘equal opportunity experience.’
We can make reference to the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30.
“Jesus taught very clearly about the talents of the five, the three, and the one. He talked about reward, he talked about what you do with your life.”
Getting into heaven is a combination of God’s grace mixed with our faith. Chip elaborates on the gift of eternal life,
“Getting there is completely based on grace, the work of Christ, His resurrection and me trusting in his work for me. That’s all of us; that’s how we get in, it’s a gift.”
“My experience and the qualitative aspects of what I experience are directly related to my faithfulness on earth.”
