Jesus is where heaven and earth meet. Most Christians hear about heaven in connection with an evangelistic sermon. We decide it is preferable to the alternative and jump on board the train bound for Glory. Yet, life after life misses the real message of Christianity. We were created to dwell with God, but sin messed that up. So, he devised a plan to reconcile us to him and will eventually make his home in our midst. Dwelling with humankind began with the Exodus tabernacle. Sadly, his people rejected him and he departed for a time. Four hundred years later he took on the form of a man and again made his tabernacle among us. (John 1:14) One day God will again dwell with us. Until that happens, we are expected to reflect heaven on earth. That is the job of true disciples and the real Christian message of heaven.

“How you think about heaven affects everything in life—how you prioritize love, how willing you are to sacrifice for the long term, how you view suffering, what you fear or don’t fear.” (John Burke, Imagine Heaven, (Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing, 2015). The writer of Ecclesiastes observed, “He has also set eternity in the human heart . . .” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) According to Randy Alcorn (Heaven, Tyndall House Publishers, 2004), “the unifying testimony of the human heart throughout history is belief in life after death. Anthropological evidence suggests that every culture has a God-given innate sense of the eternal—that this world is not all there is.” (Kindle Location 272)

Don Nix wrote a song entitled, “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven, but Nobody Wants to Die;” first recorded by blues artist, Albert King in 1986. There is a lot of truth in that sentiment. If you ask someone if they believe in heaven and hell, there is a chance they will say “no.” But, if you ask those same people where they expect to go when they die, they will likely say, “heaven.” In an article entitled “Next Stop, the Pearly Gates . . . or Hell?” published in the Los Angeles Times on October 24, 2003, K. Connie Kang asserted, “For every American who believes he’s going to Hell, there are 120 who believe they’re going to Heaven.”

A Barna Research Group poll, disclosed an overwhelming majority of Americans believe in life after life and that both heaven and hell exist. Perhaps the reason we hear so little about heaven is because the enemy of our souls doesn’t want us living like we are there now. He would prefer we reject Jesus while believing in heaven. The easiest way to do that is by pushing the nearly universal belief that all good people go to heaven. That belief might be widely accepted but it is a gross misconception. It simply provides a false sense of security for those on the wide road to destruction.

The words for heaven (Hebrew: shamim and Greek: ouranos) are translated God’s dwelling place. (Psalm 33:13) Jesus is there now (Acts 1:11) While on this earth he not only believed heaven is a place, he said he was going there and would return to take his followers there, too. (John 14:1-3) According to the apostle Paul, Christians are citizens of heaven and that is where Jesus will be until he returns for his Church. (Philippians 3:20) Revelation 21 describes heaven, but I suspect it will be even better than the apostle John’s description. We will get a new body suited for our eternal home in a new heaven and a new earth. (1 Corinthians 15:40-49) God’s dwelling place will be on earth with his people. Some people interpret 1 Corinthians 13:12 as proof we will know each other in heaven, perhaps as a friends or family members. It also appears that we will be given jobs to do in heaven. There will be no death, pain or tears. (Revelation 21:4) and we will likely eat and drink there. (Matthew 26:29)

Based on the promise Jesus made on the cross, believers will go into the presence of the Lord immediately after they die. (Luke 23:43) Exactly where that will be is uncertain. Some maintain we will sleep until Jesus returns while others hold that we will occupy an “intermediate” heaven, perhaps the “paradise” Jesus promised the thief. According to them the heaven that exists now is not where we will spend eternity, and the body we will be clothed in there will not be our forever body. It would seem, given what the apostle John reported, an intermediate heaven is the most likely place where we will await the Lord’s return. Regardless of whether we go to an intermediate heaven or sleep until the good times roll, when we open our eyes on the other side, it’s going to exceed our wildest imagination.

“Discipleship is the process of becoming who Jesus would be if he were you,” says Dallas Willard. A disciple has no higher ambition than to glorify God with their life. Jesus instructed all believers to make disciples. (Matthew 28:19-20) But we can’t make disciples unless we are disciples ourselves. The concept of discipleship is what built the church—mature disciples reproducing other disciples who are mature in Christ. (Colossians 1:28) A disciple is more than a fan or a Jesus groupie. He or she is one who knows Jesus, not one who simply knows about Jesus. Discipleship is more than showing up on Sunday morning to learn even more, but never putting it into practice. Christianity without discipleship is like a car without an engine. It might look good, but isn’t going anywhere.

Discipleship is characterized by sacrifice. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Like 9:23 | NIV) It takes death to self to walk with Jesus. It requires listening to and obeying the leading of the Holy Spirit in all things, not just those that are convenient. A true disciple surrenders his or her life, every facet of it, every day to follow Jesus.

Jesus did not call any Sunday morning disciples. For those who accepted his invitation it was a 24/7/365 commitment. They left everything to respond to his, “Follow me.” And nothing has changed. We cannot be disciples without faith and we cannot have faith without obedience. The heart of discipleship is obedience. Bonhoeffer said, “For faith is only real when there is obedience, never without it, and faith only becomes faith in the act of obedience.”

Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15 | NIV). In another place he asked his disciples, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46 | NIV) He followed up by comparing such people to a man who builds his house on the sand. When the torrent came it was destroyed. People who call themselves Christians, but who have not sold out completely to Jesus have built on a faulty foundation.

It takes more than a hand raised in response to a passionate church “invitation” or being a member of the “cool” church at the top of the hill. A disciple acts and thinks like Jesus. A disciple is a different person from what she or he was before. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). That is what Jesus meant when he told Nicodemus he must be born again. If we are not being discipled and we are not making disciples, we would be hard pressed to prove that we are, in fact, disciples.

When Christians speak of the “church” we are referring to both people and a building. If that isn’t complicated enough, there are two different churches. The visible or local church and the invisible or universal church. The visible church is the buildings and their members. The invisible or universal church refers to all believers everywhere no matter what local body they attend. All true believers belong to the invisible church, but the same cannot be said about members of the visible church, which is why some churches fall short of Christ’s expectations. Regardless, the role of the church is worship, edification and evangelism. When we speak of “going to church” we are talking about the local church. That concept harkens back to a derivative of a Greek word found in the Old Testament that is translated “the house of the Lord.” In the Septuagint, LXX, a Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, it referred to Israelites gathered together for religious purposes. Later, it was used for those who gathered to worship the Lord in secret to avoid persecution. Church, as a gathering of God-worshippers, remains a visual bridge between the old and new covenants. 

In the New Testament, a different Greek word, ἐκκλησίᾳ (ekklesia), is translated as church. In the time of Jesus, one of five variations of it, ekklesua, was used to describe people assembled in response to a herald’s summons—essentially a public gathering at the direction of an official. That is appropriate. Jesus is the head of the church (Colossians1:18). He gave himself for it (Ephesians 5:25).  And he expects us to worship as a body (Hebrews 10:25). A form of ekklesia appears 114 times in the New Testament. It only appears in the gospels twice, both times in Matthew. The first time is during a conversation between Jesus and the apostle Peter. “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18 | NIV). Close reading of the New Testament reveals the church is the supernatural family of God created by the Holy Spirit; working together to expand the Kingdom of God under Christ’s leadership. As with any family, there will be disagreements over non-essential issues (doctrine), but total agreement on the essentials. Soon that won’t matter. When Jesus returns the universal, invisible church will consist of one people worshipping at God’s throne. Petty differences will have been forgotten. Whether we use it to describe believers or a building, the church stands as a testament to God’s people’s desire to corporately worship him.

Calvinism is a Protestant denominational position that adheres to the theological traditions and teachings of John Calvin (1509-1604), along with other preachers of the Reformation era. Although he was a second generation Protestant Reformer, John Calvin was the first to systematically organize Reformed doctrine. His Institutes of the Christian Religion, contributed significantly to Reformed religious thought. What He wrote from a pastor’s perspective, rather than that of a scholar and has often been misrepresented. The purpose of his hermeneutical writing was to edify the Christian church. Consequently, his influence continues today in most Reformed and Presbyterian churches. 

Like Martin Luther his theologic beliefs were derived from Scripture alone (sola Scriptura). He Believed the Bible meant what it said and and was the final authority for Christians as revealed by the Holy Spirit. He believed in an all powerful, sovereign, triune God with each person of the trinity equal in power and substance. God continues to engage with his creation and, from the beginning, had selected (predestined) a certain number of people (the elect) to be reconciled to himself. 

He sent Jesus to pay the penalty of sin for the elect, to whom the Holy Spirit would be given to open their eyes to the gospel. Then God would grant them the ability to accept the good news by faith, which would save them (sola fidei). From that point on, they would live as God’s covenant people, fulfilling what has been termed the Calvinist covenant of works. Calvin believed the elect could be identified by exhibiting three characteristics: a profession of faith, exemplary moral character and love of the Lord’s Supper. For Calvinists, baptism of both adults and children, which is not to be repeated, signifies entry into the visible body of Christ, the church.

The theological stance for which he is remembered has been called the Five Points of Calvinism and is represented by the acronym, TULIP. Each point builds on the one it follows. Those five points are:

1. Total Depravity. Sin infects all aspects of human life. All are sinners who are unable to save themselves or choose to follow Jesus without divine intervention. God does all the work leading to a person’s salvation.

2. Unconditional Election. God chooses who will be saved (elect) through his sovereign will. Anyone God has not chosen will be damned, destined for an eternity in hell.

3. Limited Atonement. Jesus died for the elect, alone, rather than for the sin of the world.

4. Irresistible Grace. The elect cannot resist the call of the Holy Spirit to come to faith in Jesus.

5. Perseverance of the Saints. Salvation, eternal security, cannot be lost. Once an elect person is saved he or she remains saved.

For a divergent view, see Arminianism.