Great Question

Great question left on the blog this week. My response will be after the question.

If Satan and other angels were in heaven and got thrown out b/c of their sin (thinking they were better than GOD), what assurance do I have that I will not be thrown out of heaven? Now Jesus bought my ticket to heaven because of his death, however, I don't want to get there and to be hurled away from heaven, like Satan and his followers. So when we say that Jesus died for my sins are we talking about the time I live here on Earth? Or does this include time on Earth and Heaven? And if your response to me is that it covers both, does God wire up an anti-sinning filter in our heads? I am assuming that we have free will in Heaven, which scares me b/c I know of my sinful nature here on Earth.

Perhaps it is helpful here to talk about sin and human nature and human beings. While all human beings are corrupted by sin, sin is not a part of the creation of human beings. Humans were not originally created as sinful, nor where they created with sin. Sin was something that came into the creation after everything was created. It was never meant to be a part of the picture.

However, because of pride, doubt and the desire to be God, sin did enter the picture. And ever since this fall into sin, human beings have been born corrupted by sin. So while a human being is sinful, a human being is not sin. Since sin was not part of the original creation, then sin will also not be part of the new creation. Of course this is not because of anything that we do or have done to deserve it. But this is because of what Jesus did on the cross. His death earned for you and me the forgiveness of sins, life everlasting and salvation. Our sin is removed from us as far as the east is from the west.

While we experience our own sinfulness on this side of things, and we daily struggle with sin, when Jesus returns and the resurrection takes place, then our bodies will be raised and they will no longer be corrupted by sin. And if you are lucky enough to still be alive when Jesus returns then your body will be changed in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye and you will no longer be tainted and corrupted by sin. So when we get to heaven, we will be there, but without the sin. Thus there will be no need for an anti-sinning filter, because there will be no sin.

So while I would also assume that there is free will in Heaven, I also believe that we will still have memories from earth and an understanding of all that had happen to get us there, and therefore we won't have to worry about sin re-entering into the picture.

Great question! Thanks for posting it. I'm looking forward to continuing this conversation in the weeks to come. God's blessings, peace and resurrection joy be yours now and always.

 

Sincerely,

Pastor CJ