Who Really Goes to Heaven? Grace, Faith, and the Truth of Salvation

We live in a time in American history when people seem more divided than ever, even while loudly proclaiming messages of diversity and inclusion.

This division is especially evident in our political scene. Whether you like him or not, Donald Trump, the current president of the United States, is deeply loved by many and just as deeply despised by others. Regardless of where you fall on that spectrum, or whether you even knew this was a thing, I recently came across a headline that read: “WATCH: Trump says he ‘probably should make it’ to heaven in wide-ranging remarks at National Prayer Breakfast.”

Admittedly, I neither read the article nor watched the video clip. What struck me most was not the context, but the claim itself, whether true or not, that someone “probably should make it to heaven.”

That sentiment is widespread in America and around the world. Many people, Christians and those of other faiths alike, share this belief. People hope they are good enough to make it to heaven. They hope their good deeds outweigh their bad ones. They think that social justice and community service somehow solidify their place in eternity with the Father. They think church attendance and Bible memorization awards will catapult them into heaven.

The reality couldn’t be more different.

The Bible makes clear in multiple places and in a variety of contexts that ritualistic traditions, worship, sacrifice, and service by themselves are not what God wants. In Isaiah, it even says that our “good deeds are like filthy rags” in His sight.

So if He doesn’t want our proverbial community service sign-off sheet, what does He want?

That part is simple.

He wants us. He wants our hearts. He wants a deep, loving relationship with us.

How do enter into this relationship? How do spend eternity with Him?

That is simple too.

Romans 10:9 says, “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

But let me take a moment to clarify two important things.

First, declaring with your faith that Jesus is Lord is more than speaking about Him, acknowledging that He exists, or saying He was a good or cool guy. "Jesus is Lord" means He is the master of your life. He is in control now, not you. You are submitting authority over your life, including your thoughts and behavior, to Him.

Second, believing in your heart that God raised Him from the dead is essential to proper Christian faith and doctrine. Salvation, being saved from our sin, and knowing that you will make it to heaven (not “probably should”) comes as a result of His death, burial, and resurrection. Without the resurrection, you cannot be a Christian.

Spending eternity with God and “making it to heaven” has nothing to do with merit. There is never a situation where any person: Donald Trump, Billy Graham, Adolf Hitler, you, or me deserves heaven.

Jesus made the way for us. It is through Him that we make it to heaven. There is nothing you can do to earn it or merit it. This isn’t a scholarship awarded to the most worthy applicant.

Heaven is for those who know they don’t deserve it, who love Jesus, and who are grateful for the gift He provides.

As we go through this weekend, let us remember that we are all sinners, but some of us are saved by grace — those who confess with their mouth and believe in their heart that God raised Him from the dead. It is those people who will make it to heaven.

Are you one of those people who know you will spend eternity with the Father, or are you still thinking you probably should make it?

Anyway, I was just thinking…