Your Religion Can’t Get You to Heaven

What if I told you that your religion, even if you are sincere, can never get you to Heaven?

All human religion seems to be very much the same. If you can, imagine looking at your religion from the outside. There are people claiming to know the way to heaven and give strict rules to follow as a kind-of pathway. If you haven’t grown up within the context of that religious point of view or haven’t been forced to observe the tenets, you are going to be very skeptical. Why? By common observation, it’s not immediately clear why observing a certain set of practices could ever get you to a final destination like Heaven. Look up to the sky, and what do you see? You see the sky, a sun, moon, and stars. You don’t see what people typically refer to as Heaven. You don’t see a paradise in the clouds. You can’t see any way to really know that there is a Heaven for sure. It’s certainly not obvious how to get there.

People have observed many different religions over the years either to lord their authority over other people or to try to figure out ways to live forever. I’m afraid the atheists have it right, here. There is no empirical evidence that even suggests the existence of Heaven as an ethereal plane or far destination. There is no empirical evidence that God is. There is no empirical evidence that the human consciousness, or soul, continues to exist after the body dies. We have 8 billion people lost in this quite beautiful mess of religious perspective, and most everyone seems to be sincere in their faith and bold in their confessions. Yet, people in different religious perspectives disagree with one another about metaphysical realities. Most everyone believes that there is something beyond our current comprehension or observation. Scientists are trying to see more and more. I’m convinced that even if they believe there is a God, they are slow to simply conclude on a scientific level that God did it because they are afraid to stop pursuing knowledge. The pursuit of knowledge is their religion, and it can be admirable. Atheists take that too far, I think, to disbelieve in God based only on what is observable. It is foolish to try to measure what is unobservable only by what can be observed. Some people make up origin stories and claim to have secret knowledge about the metaphysical, which is not as admirable. Some people believe the testimony that has been handed down to them in what they call sacred scriptures, the Bible is mine. This is admirable so long as we are humble in our belief, but I don’t think most people are. Humanity is a quite prideful species. Just look at the development of our religious texts. People claimed to see the metaphysical reality, wrote some words, and somehow persuaded entire civilizations to believe them. Why should we? No one can see metaphysical reality. Can they?

In Sunday’s sermon at ASBC, I mentioned this observation. Here’s the sermon if you want to listen:

There is a reason people develop different religious perspectives, practices, and theories about metaphysical realities. There is a reason people who disagree with one another fight and start holy wars to try ensuring their perspective reigns supreme. Since we can’t see metaphysical realities, we are insecure about our beliefs. So, we develop systems, rituals, practices, and sacrament to depict what we think—to make it feel real. We practice our flavor of religion with sincerity, and the practice truly makes us feel like we have connected with something beyond. I’m afraid this is a trick of the mind. Our brains are great at fooling us into confirming things that are not observable based on our desires and misunderstood experiences. In this, we are all the same. Confirmation bias is a ruthless master. By stating the obvious question, “Have you actually observed what you believe?” the need for great humility about our metaphysical beliefs becomes clear. I have not seen what my eyes can’t see. I can’t confirm what I think about metaphysical realities by plain observation. Therefore, I must conclude that I don’t know very much at all despite how sincere I am in my faith.

Pilate asked the correct question of Jesus, “What is truth?” Jesus was honest with Nicodemus when He revealed that Nicodemus could not see the kingdom of heaven. In fact, of all the religious texts I have read, the collection of literature we have in the Bible is the only sacred text that seems to be honest with people about how impossible it is to see God, know His ways, or get to Heaven.

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! (Romans 11:33).

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable (Isaiah 40:28).

Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty? It is higher than heaven—what can you do? Deeper than Sheol—what can you know? Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea (Job 11:7-9).

In John 3, not only did Jesus reveal Nicodemus could not see the kingdom of heaven. He also claimed that one must be born of the Spirit to see or enter the kingdom of heaven and followed by claiming that Nicodemus could not make that happen. The Spirit did this by the Spirit’s will. Nicodemus was a Jew and a Pharisee. He believed the Bible (at his time the Old Testament). He was sincere, offering sacrifices according to the Law, practicing his equivalent to the sacraments, the prayers, and regularly attending synagogue. Nicodemus was sincere in his faith and bold in his biblical knowledge. Yet, Jesus revealed how impossible it was for him to see. If it was impossible for Nicodemus. It’s impossible for me.

This is a call to humility in what we think concerning metaphysical reality. By the middle of Jesus’s conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus was essentially calling Nicodemus to trust Him. Jesus came from Heaven. He knew the way to the Father. Instead of trusting in our own senses and intellect, Jesus was promising to get Nicodemus there. It is not for us to understand God like we try to understand created things. It appears that, according to the Bible, God cannot be found out by employing either scientific or religious disciplines. I think that merits some skepticism toward anyone who claims to be able to reveal God to us or tell us exactly how to get to heaven or maintain our salvation.

It also adjusts our understanding of proper Christian faith. Proper Christian belief is the recognition that we can’t get to God and trust that the only one who came from Heaven will also get us there as we believe in Him. We have a great hope for the future because we believe Jesus. Proper biblical and Christian faith does not reject the scientific discipline. It doesn’t mean we have to stop pushing to understand more. It does mean that we are incapable of seeing God with our natural eyes. The scientific discipline doesn’t get to God. It is good to continue striving to learn about what can be observed. More surprisingly, religion doesn’t get us to God according to the Bible. It never has. Even the Old Testament sacrificial systems and ritual law wasn’t purposed to get the people to God. It was given as a way for the nation of Israel to have long life and prosperity in the promised land (cf. Deuteronomy 4:40).

This revelation greatly changes the way we think about religion. Religion is not a means of getting close to or remaining close to God. Religion serves a different purpose. Only puffed up, prideful religion claims to get us close to God or maintain our closeness to Him. Since most human religion is this way, I conclude that the vast majority is puffed up and prideful. No wonder there is so much conflict in the world today. The Bible claims about the religion handed to us therein that those who abide by the Law will be blessed in what they do. Those whose religion requires them to speak or demand much have a worthless religion. Pure and undefiled religion is to treat others well in their time of need. I’ve paraphrased this from James 1:25-27.

The purpose of religion, then, is to show us how to treat others well such that we live long and prosper. There has been no change in purpose from the Old Testament. We trust God to save regardless of religion. Pure religion leads us to healthy welfare and prosperity for all people.

If our religion glorifies or promotes one person because of his teaching or authority, it is bad religion. If our religion requires us to sacrifice to get close to God, it is a manipulative and false religion. No one can see the way to God. If our religion teaches us to treat others well, promote peace, and not take advantage of others and facilitates an environment in which we can practice such mutual service to one another. There is a pure and undefiled religion—not about sacraments but about loving others.

Jesus’s revelation in John 3 means very much for us. There are many religions that are false. It seems there are even many versions of Christianity that wreak of bad religion. Being conformed to the image of Christ isn’t about making ourselves look holy or better than anyone else. Our religion is about being conformed to the image of Christ such that we are always seeking others’ good. We have a childlike faith in Christ such that God will deliver us to heaven. We don’t have to work to get there. That is not a worry of ours because we can’t see the way anyway. Let us have a worthwhile religion on this earth. Let us seek to adhere to the biblical law such that we all get to experience long life and prosperity. Amen.