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Some thirty years ago when I was in college, one of my professors blew me away with a statement he made in class one day. It was a passing comment on some subject the content of which I don't remember. In his comment he mentioned some Christians friends of his who were amillennialists. (Nevermind what an amillennialist is. It's simply some one who has a certain view of the "end times.")
I was shocked when he called them Christians! As a relatively new believer at the time, I couldn't imagine how one could come to the conclusion about the end times that amillennialists do, and still be a Christian!
Of course my immaturity in things theological was showing through in my thinking. But my professor's comment started me on a process of thought that led me to an even more startling conclusion:
There are tons of things we can be wrong about when it comes to our beliefs about God, even very important things, and still be headed for heaven.
That may not seem like a great revelation to you, but believe me it was to me. For example--and this may be a shock to someone who hasn't thought this through--we can be wrong in our belief about the virgin birth or the inerrancy of the Bible or when or if there will be a rapture and so on, and still be "saved" people headed for heaven.
You see, it is what we believe about and do about Jesus that gets us to heaven. It isn't what we believe about the Bible, as important as that is. We could believe that the entire Old and New Testaments are filled with human errors, but if we believe correctly about Jesus and respond to that belief correctly, we'll be headed for heaven one day.
Certainly if we don't believe the Bible is trustworthy we'll have problems along the way in living life in a way that is pleasing to God. So I'm not advocating such a position! My point is simple: We can be wrong about lots of things...even important things...and still be headed for heaven.
By the way there is a corollary thought about all this that works in the other direction as well:
There are some things we just can't be wrong about, no matter how right we are about everything else.
We can't be wrong about who Jesus is and still be headed for heaven. If we think he was just a good man with good teaching, but not the Son of God whose death on the cross paid for our sins, then no matter what else we may be right about, we are still lost.
We can't be wrong about salvation being a free gift from God through Christ. If we think that even one little part of God's forgiveness is "earned" by us through us being good or doing good deeds, then we are still in a lost condition.
We can't believe that going to church and being a nice person or just believing that God exists is going to get us to heaven, and still actually be going to heaven...no matter how right we are about everything else.
I could go on and one with illustrations, but I think you get the point I am making. Ok, but, "So what?" you say, "What difference does it make to come to these conclusions?"
It makes a great deal of difference.
Understanding this concept can help narrow minded or judgmental Christians relax a bit. Not everyone has to believe everything exactly the same way to be headed for heaven. Certain things yes! But not everything. "Getting it" will help people relax a bit and be able to see others more positively who may disagree with them on subjects they hold near and dear to their theological hearts.
Understanding this concept can help people who have wrong ideas about salvation but right ideas about lots of other things, examine their position on salvation. It isn't enough to be right about many or most things. What matters is being right about the right things.
So, are you sure that you are right about the right things when it comes to salvation?
This post is already long, but here are some bullet points for you regarding salvation. Check'em out to see where you are at. If you want to be sure you are headed for heaven, I've included a prayer at the end for you to pray to take care of that with God.
Salvation bullet points:
- All people have sinned, including you.
- God requires a remedy for sin.
- There is only one remedy: The death and resurrection of the Son of God, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
- Salvation comes by putting our faith in God's remedy (see previous bullet point).
- You can't earn any part of your forgiveness. It's a gift from God.
- Repentance is required at your salvation step, not just an intellectual belief in the truth.
- Even the demons believe, so just "believing" isn't enough. You must respond to God's call to repent, putting your faith in Christ as your Lord and Savior.
Ok, there you go. There may be some other ways to phrase things, but this gives you the idea.
If as you have read this today, you aren't sure whether you are headed for heaven, I've included a prayer for you to pray so you can be sure. Sincerely pray this prayer and you are on your way to heaven. Yes, that will only be the start of things, including changing your mind about some things you have been wrong about up until now. But you'll be able to do that "mind-changing" without worrying about where you are going to end up when you die.
Here you go:
"Heavenly Father, I realize today that there is only one way to heaven, and that that way is through Jesus Christ. I may have done this before, but today I want to be clear about it in my own mind. Today I put my faith in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and as my only hope for heaven. I ask that my sins be forgiven on the basis of what Christ did for me by dying on the cross and being raised from the dead. I offer you nothing for my forgiveness but Jesus and what he did for me in paying for my sins.
I ask that you give me the eternal life you promised. Today I surrender my life to you. Though I don't know where it will lead, today I give you control of my life, repenting of my sin.
Thank you for forgiving me. I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen."
Ok, did you pray that prayer? If you did, and you meant it, you are on your way to heaven. Yes, there will be things to relearn and change your mind about along the way...important things...things that make a difference. But today you took care of the main thing.
Go grab a cup of coffee and have a talk with God. He's smiling right now. Oh ya, and welcome to the family!
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