Hope to Get There

Jesus taught on the subject of heaven, saying that He would go to prepare a place for us.  He also said that He was the resurrection and the life, the way to the Father - the Bible is clear, He is the only way through which we can experience eternal life in heaven with Him.  And, it's not by doing enough good works to outweigh our bad - and certainly not based on our own righteousness.  We can be assured of going to heaven because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, who is risen from the dead and enables to live with Him in eternity.   In John 14, Jesus stated:
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
4 And you know the way to where I am going. ”
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way? ”
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Not even Christians share the Biblical consensus about who goes to heaven.  Pew Research stated: "About three-in-ten U.S. Christians (31%) say that their religion is the one true faith leading to eternal life in heaven, while nearly twice as many (58%) say that there are multiple religions that can lead to heaven."  And, as The Christian Post reported in 2020: "The American Worldview Inventory 2020 survey conducted by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University found that a majority of people who describe themselves as Christian (52%) accept a “works-oriented” means to God’s acceptance."

So, even though the Bible is clear that we go to heaven because of faith in Jesus Christ, not by our own good works, there is rampant confusion about who goes and how they get there.

When a high-profile person discusses something theological, such as heaven, it gives us as believers a chance to set the record straight.  Now, even though a significant number of Christians have supported President Donald Trump for his policies and his solidarity with the Christian faith and pledge to protect religious freedom, theologically, you can find some deficiency.

While the President has repeatedly stated that he believes that God saved him from an assassination attempt in Butler, PA in last year's campaign, he will make statements that are, well, theologically incorrect.

Take, for instance, a recent declaration regarding peace between Russia and Ukraine. The Christian Post reported: "President Donald Trump's recent comments suggesting he could earn his way to Heaven by ending the Ukraine-Russia war prompted a flurry of theological debate on social media regarding good works, salvation and the state of the president's soul." The article went on to say, "'I want to try and get to Heaven if possible,' Trump told 'Fox & Friends' during a phone interview...'I'm hearing I'm not doing well. I hear I'm really at the bottom of the totem pole."'  The article continued to quote the President, "'But if I can get to Heaven, this will be one of the reasons,' he added, referring to potentially helping to secure an end to the bloodshed in Ukraine."

The article went on to quote from well-known evangelist Franklin Graham:

"President [Trump] brought up the topic of Heaven on Fox News yesterday morning, and I'm glad he did because many people struggle with the question of how we can get there," Graham wrote.

"We do get to Heaven by good works — not by our own good works, but by the perfect work of God's Son, Jesus Christ, when He came to earth, took our sins to the cross, shed His blood, died, was buried, and God raised Him to life on the third day. We all have the promise of eternal life if we repent of our sins, trust Him by faith, and make Him the Lord of our lives."

Trump's latest comments may indicate a shift from his first Presidential campaign, the article points out, stating:

Some pointed out that, regardless of potential theological error, Trump's rhetoric regarding eternity and his own unworthiness before God may indicate a change of heart in the billionaire who famously said in 2015 he was unsure if he had ever asked God for forgiveness.

"I'm not sure I have [asked God to forgive me]," he told pollster Frank Luntz at the time. "I just go on and try and do a better job from there. I don't think so. If I do something wrong, I think I just try and make it right. I don't bring God into that picture."

William Wolfe of the Center for Baptist Leadership chided Christians who have criticized the President for his most recent example of flawed theology, stating: "Donald Trump is publicly voicing introspection about his soul, his eternal future, and his desire to go to Heaven...He sid that Christians were calling him out and "counter-signaling it because he didn't get the 'theology right.' Why not just renew your prayers for him?"

President Trump desires to "try" to get to heaven.  That's a noble goal - but somehow He has missed the point about how to get there, or even what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. There does appear to be some newfound openness, and the President does have a number of evangelical Christian leaders who surround him.

But, for all of us, our desire to please God has to result in concrete action.  We can want to serve God, but we have to actually take the step - believe on Jesus, and allow Him to take control, to be the Lord of our lives.  The Bible instructs us to proclaim His Lordship and believe that God has raised Jesus from the dead in order to be saved.

Trump is not alone; professing Christians seem to be confused about how to get to heaven. Franklin Graham is right, this high-profile declaration gives Christians an opportunity to educate fellow believers, as well as unbelievers, to the truth about heaven and how to get there.  And, even though we may have believed on Jesus and He resides in our hearts, we can sometimes pattern our lives in a way that indicates that we still think it's up to us, it's up to our good works or self-righteousness to get to heaven - it's called legalism.  The Bible teaches we are not to pursue good works in our own strength, but to allow the Spirit of God to produce His fruit through us.