Answers to Questions about Heaven

I mentioned on Sunday that at church we discussed some pretty interesting questions regarding Heaven and the afterlife. I thought I would share with you some of those today. These answers were given to us by our Pastor, based on scripture, but I would certainly love to hear your thoughts on them if you have any.

1. Will people be married or have sex in Heaven?

Matthew 22:30 says that at the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage, so we can conclude that there will be no marriage in Heaven, but we will still know our spouses. Our Pastor joked around and said he was going to at least request that he and his wife be roommates. LOL! This makes sense that we wouldn't be married, because think about situations like my Dad losing his wife and then remarrying. That would be kind of awkward in Heaven. don't you think, if marriage still existed?!

As for sex, we talked about how if there is no marriage, then there will most likely be no sex. There will be eternal pleasure in Heaven, thus we won't desire sex. Our Pastor said that if any of the guys needed counseling after hearing this, he would be available. Ha!!

2. Should we try to contact the dead?

Deuteronomy 18:10-12 talks about those who practice divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. It specifically says anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord.

I found that very interesting. I had no idea the Bible specifically says these things are detestable to the Lord. I think about these famous people who claim to contact the dead. I've seen them on TV and read some of their books. I just had no idea.

3. Can a person who commits suicide go to Heaven?

We talked about several people in the Bible who committed suicide. Our Pastor said that nowhere in the Bible does it say that suicide is an unpardonable sin. The only unforgiveable sin is when you reject God. Suicide is a sin, but it is not unforgiveable. Even Jesus gave up his life. In Romans 8:1 it says there is now no condemnation for those who are in Jesus Christ. Yes, suicide is a horribly selfish act, but if you have given your life to Jesus, the Bible says there is no sin that will not be forgiven.

I found this fascinating. I had always been taught that if you committed suicide, you would not go to Heaven. I don't know where that idea came from, as far as why my parents felt that way, and I never really agreed with it, but that's what I was taught.

4. Will we remember our lives when we're in Heaven?

In Luke 16, the rich man was in torment in Hell and he remembered Lazarus that he had known before. He begged the Lord to send Lazarus to warn his brothers so that they would not suffer as he now was. The Bible also says that we will be judged according to our works, so you can conclude that we will probably remember what those works were that we had done while here on Earth.

5. Can people in Heaven see what is happening on Earth?

I was very interested in this one. I would've asked it, had it not already been on his list. I remember reading "90 Minutes in Heaven" by Don Piper after my Mom died and in that book, he says that once he got to Heaven, it was so awesome that he never once looked back or thought about those he left behind. That devestated me at the time. I was so sad to think that my Mom never once would think about the fact that she left me behind. I thought, so we go to Heaven and just never think twice about all of our loved ones? I did not like that idea. But, I realize now that was just a very self-centered way of looking at things because I was grieving.

We know that Heaven is eternal pleasure with no sadness and no pain. If our loved ones could see what was going on here, it would probably cause them pain. Heaven is so wonderful and they have so much more better things going on, that it is highly unlikely that they will be able to see us. So, our Pastor concluded that they probably do not see what's happening here.

This is just my opinion, but I try to look at it this way. The Bible says our life is but a vapor, so what seems like so long to us while we're here on Earth, really isn't that long in Heaven for our loved ones to live without us. I know that there have been times in my life when I was having so much fun that I didn't think about anything else but that moment and enjoying it. I can imagine if I was in the Lord's presence, nothing else would matter to me either! I think our loved ones remember us, and they know we will join them in time, and they will be overjoyed to meet us at the gate, but I don't believe that they are looking down on us wondering what we're doing or watching us, because I believe they have such a greater understanding of things and what seems like forever to us to meet them in Heaven is no time at all to them, as they are dealing in terms of eternity. Now that I am not grieving, I can definitely say that I sure hope my Mom isn't in Heaven spending all her time wondering about me! I know she is having the time of her life! I bet even if they do see what we're doing, they have such a greater understanding of why the things happen like they do on Earth, that things that would make a human sad or cause them pain would not do the same to someone who now sees things from an eternal perspective.

What do y'all think about this?

6. Is there more than one way to get to Heaven?

This one was definitely the most important one! I think the statistic the Pastor gave was that 60% of people involved in evangelical churches actually believe that Jesus is one of many ways to get to Heaven! That is very incredible! Did anyone see that clip from the Oprah show, where Oprah said she didn't believe Jesus was the only way, and a lady in the audience flat out told her that she was wrong and the lady was amazed that Oprah would say that!

The Bible is very specific on this. John 14:6 says:
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. NO ONE comes to the Father except through me."

I don't think he left this topic open for debate. He said NO ONE will come to the Father, unless you go through Him (Jesus Christ). He didn't say he will make an exception for those who have been taught otherwise. He didn't say that he will make an exception for those who live in remote areas of the world. He said NO ONE. By believing that Jesus is not the only way, you are basically saying that Jesus died for nothing. Jesus died to save us from our sins, because nothing we do on Earth can ever be good enough to earn our way into Heaven. He took every sin that we have committed upon His sinless self, so that we could have a way through Him to come to the Father. The most incredible thing about what Jesus did for us is that He did it because He loves us that much. He suffered unimaginably to offer us this free gift of salvation. All we have to do is accept it.

Every week the kids get a flyer that explains what they talked about during church that Sunday. I think the flyer from this week best explains how to accept this free gift of salvation. It's as simple as A, B, C:

A: Admit to God that you have sinned.
B: Believe in Him and His son Jesus.
C: Choose to ask for forgiveness, accept Jesus into your life, and follow Him.

The Bible specifically says that this is the only way to get to Heaven. It's not some magical prayer that you have to say just right. It's not something you will earn by attending church or being "religious." It's as simple as accepting this free gift and choosing to follow Him. There is never any other decision in your life that you could possible make that is more important than the decision to give your life to Jesus. I thought our Pastor did an amazing job of explaining to us how important this decision is. We cannot get so caught up in our short time here on Earth and storing up Earthly treasures that we forget that we were created to live eternally, and the choice that we make while here on Earth (to either accept or reject Jesus) will affect us for eternity.



So, do y'all have anything to add? I am learning so much in church and I absolutely loved this afterlife series!