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SCRIPT
Heaven-aimed Christianity rests on false ideas. It often leads you to live a sub-Christian life, and it is very likely that whether you follow Jesus or merely have a 10-minute concept of Christianity, one or all of these false ideas are affecting you.
Heaven-aimed Christianity teaches that God sent Jesus to save you. It teaches that Jesus wants to take you to heaven to live with him there forever when you die. Earth isn’t in the future picture. God’s earth project will be done one day. Therefore, God wants all people to have heaven as their aim in life. Now, Heaven-aimed Christianity is right in saying that you must look to Jesus for forgiveness. Only Jesus can deliver you from God’s coming judgment. Only Jesus can restore you to a good relationship with God. Heaven-aimed Christianity is right when it says Jesus is the source of eternal joy and our only hope of eternal life. All of that is biblically true and accurate. But heaven-aimed Christianity is inaccurate when it says the Christian will live in heaven forever and that an earth is not in the Christian’s future. And here’s my point: by hoping for a non-earthly heaven, you’ll live a different kind of life than if you hope for a newly-made earth.
Heaven-aimed Christianity typically creates false assumptions. Here’re a few: Christianity helps you suffer, but it doesn’t help you thrive. Christianity benefits you after death, but it lacks relevance before death. Christianity looks for the life to come, but it downplays life today. It’s as though Jesus and the Bible help you more when: a) you lose a job than when you have a job b) you’re serving others than when you’re leading others c) you’re going through a divorce than when you’re starting your marriage d) you’ve lost a child than when you’re raising one e) you’re sick than when you’re healthy f) you’re poor than when you’re rich g) you’re running non-stop in life’s responsibilities than when you have loads of leisure time. These are all false assumptions because these are all only half true.
These false assumptions are unbiblical. They create a Christianity that only points your eyes and heart to look for the life to come. But this kind of Christianity doesn’t offer a foretaste of the future. It gives you hope to make it through this life but not direction for navigating through it. For now and for the most part, you have to figure it out on your own. Wrong!
Heaven-aimed Christianity very easily leads people down two very different, but also dangerous roads. These aren’t the only roads, but they’re quite common. I’ve actually walked a bit of them both myself. Road 1: Jesus is like pill in a pill box to be taken when you need a dose of happiness or strength. These people pay lip service to Jesus as Lord, but, in reality, they use their own map to steer their ship. Jesus is a wise option like exercising, but he’s not a necessity like oxygen. Road 2: These folks are spiritual spartans. They wouldn’t mind getting killed for their faith. They separate themselves as much as they can from culture and society. They refuse to laugh at jokes. They try to care as little as possible for their earthly futures. And they avoid anything that might give the slightest impression of evil. These people think a separatist and monkish lifestyle is what God wants.
Thankfully, these two roads aren’t our only options. Thankfully, God has something far better for us.