EPISODE 51: Heaven and Q&A

Date: 10/14/2020

Lighting Round

  1. Should we consider Catholicism a mission field or fellow Christians?  I had constantly prayed for my children to marry Christian spouses and two of them married Catholics. I felt it was more important for them to be united in Church and avoid mixed church issues where the kids don’t embrace any faith. Recently I’ve been watching YouTube sermons by John MacArthur and he is really critical of Catholic theology, and says  it’s dishonoring all the martyrs of the Reformation to endorse Catholicism. I have to admit that my grandchildren in Catholic schools know the Bible very well, but MacArthur says it’s a serious salvation issue.
    1. There are true believers who are Catholic and those who are just religious.
    2. But the same is true for protestant churches (including Gateway).
    3. Should we make them a mission field? Our community is our mission field and I think the best context, in our day, is to build a relationship first, show people we and God loves them, and then tell them why. 
    4. John MacArthur is critical of a lot of things. 
  1. Would you give us a practical example of the word of religion?
    1. Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers by sociologists Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton
    2. Almost Christian by Kenda Dean
    3. Five core beliefs:
      1. A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.
      2. God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.
      3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.
      4. God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.
      5. Good people go to heaven when they die.
    4. Practical examples:
      1. Sermon series that focus on things like 5 steps to a healthier marriage or 3 steps to manage your finances that don’t get you to the gospel as being the reason why your marriage and your finances matter.
      2. Don’t want to make this a rule of thumb, but generally, when people ask for more “relevant” sermons they’re wanting MTD preaching. Nothing is more relevant to our lives than God’s Word and his gospel preached.

Questions

  1. In a recent sermon Pastor Josh recommended “Heaven” by Randy Alcorn. I started reading it and it has already challenged some of my thinking and has sparked a new level of excitement/longing for Heaven. What would you say to someone who has a view that Heaven might be an everlasting church service in the clouds? Someone who thinks heaven might be better than hell but maybe not all that exciting? 
  1. Corinthians 12:2 “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven.” How many heavens are there? Is there a book that discusses the different heavens?

Heaven by Randy Alcorn

  1. Intro
    1. My (Josh’s) favorite book on Heaven. 
    2. Others who have or are reading it are telling me the same thing.
    3. It will encourage you to long for your eternity.
  2. The author
    1. Randy Alcorn was a pastor in Oregon before turning primarily to a writing ministry.
    2. He’s written over 50 books.
    3. Nonfiction and fiction.
    4. Interesting story as to why he made minimum wage for 20 years despite having numerous best selling books. But you’ll have to find that story on your own.
  3. Book breakdown
    1. Three parts
      1. A Theology of Heaven (the longest part)
      2. Questions and Answers about Heaven
      3. Living in Light of Heaven
  4. Part 1: A Theology of Heaven
    1. Are you looking forward to Heaven? Chapter 1
      1. Edwards resolution “Resolved, to endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness, in the other world, as I possibly can.” – 5 … “Tragically, however, most people do not find their joy in Christ and Heaven. In fact, many people find no joy at all when they think about Heaven.” – 5
      2. Satan need not convince us that Heaven doesn’t exist. He need only convince us that Heaven is a place of boring, unearthly existence. If we believe that lie, we’ll be robbed of our joy and anticipation, we’ll set our minds on this life and not the next, and we won’t be motivated to share our faith. Why should we share the “good news” that people can spend eternity in a boring, ghostly place that even we’re not looking forward to? – 11
    2. Is Heaven beyond our imagination? Chapter 2
      1. “Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1). This is a direct command to set our hearts on Heaven. And to make sure we don’t miss the importance of a heaven-centered life, the next verse says, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” God commands us to set our hearts and minds on Heaven. – 20 … What have you been doing daily to set your mind on things above, to seek Heaven? What should you do differently? – 21
      2. C.S. Lewis quote “If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next.… It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven you will get earth “thrown in”: aim and earth and you will get neither.” – 21
      3. He then tackles topics like:
        1. Is Heaven or Hell our default destination?
        2. Can you know that you’re going to Heaven when you die?
        3. What is the nature of the present Heaven? Will it be physical? What will life be like? (Answers the “how many heavens are there” listener’s question.)
          1. This is where most people reading the book will have their view of Heaven and eternity expanded big time. 
          2. Generally, I think that many of us don’t think about the difference between the Heaven we go to when we die and the Heaven that we will live in after Christ’s Second Coming.
        4. Then after a theology of the present Heaven, he gives a biblical and theological overview of the New Heavens and Earth.
  5. Part 2: Questions and Answers About Heaven
    1. Won’t spend much time on this section, but some of the questions that he tackles — that I know many people wonder about — are:
      1. What will we be like?
      2. What will our bodies be like? 
      3. Will we be us? Meaning will I be Josh and Shaun be Shaun, etc…
      4. Will we eat and drink?
      5. Will we be capable of sinning?
      6. Will we learn new things in Heaven?
      7. What will our relationships with God and other people be like?
      8. What about animals? Will our pets live again in Heaven?
      9. Will Heaven ever be boring?
      10. Will there be arts and sports in Heaven?
      11. And many other questions.
  6. Part 3: Living in Light of Heaven
    1. Though there’s application throughout the book, this final part focuses more on the practical application side of living in light of eternity.
    2. He quotes another theologian who said, “Our great affliction is not anxiety, or even guilt, but rather homesickness — a nostalgia or ineradicable yearning to be at home with God.” – 455
    3. Christ-centered righteous living today is directly affected by knowing where we’re going and what rewards we’ll receive there for serving Christ. – 470
    4. When I’ve meditated on Heaven, sin is terribly unappealing. It’s when my mind drifts from Heaven that sin seems attractive. Thinking of Heaven leads inevitably to pursuing holiness. Our high tolerance for sin testifies of our failure to prepare for Heaven…. [But] when we realize the pleasures that await us in God’s presence, we can forgo lesser pleasures now. – 471