Who Will Be In Heaven?
You may have heard about the preacher who asked everyone who wanted to go to heaven to stand. Everyone stood except one old man. The preacher asked him—Don’t you want to go to heaven when you die? To which the man replied that he wanted to go when he died, but he thought the preacher was getting up a load right now!
There are many who think that they can prepare for heaven on a tomb stone, but if we are not ready before death, the epitaph will not help. Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people. The apostle Paul wrote that because of the resurrection of Christ, when He comes again He will “deliver up the kingdom to God the Father” (1 Cor. 15:24). The kingdom of Christ, the universal church, is composed of all the saved of all the world. Those who are saved are expected to assemble with others who are saved to worship and serve God (Heb. 10:24,25). Too many seem to think that they can forsake assembling with God’s people while on earth, but they want to be with them in heaven! Why would a person who does not care about assembling with God’s people while on earth be happy with them in heaven? If we are not interested in worshiping God here and being in the company of other Christians, what makes us confident that we would enjoy being in there presence eternally? What kind of reasoning causes believers to think that they can be absent from the assemblies of Christians here, but be present with them in the hereafter?
Church attendance is essential to eternal salvation because God’s word teaches us not to forsake assembling. The early Christians assembled on the first day of the week to “eat and drink” with Jesus (Mt. 26:26-29; Acts 20:7). If a Christian really believed that Jesus was present when we observe the Lord’s supper each Sunday, would he forsake that opportunity? Those who go to heaven will be those who were faithful on earth!
There are many who think that they can prepare for heaven on a tomb stone, but if we are not ready before death, the epitaph will not help. Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people. The apostle Paul wrote that because of the resurrection of Christ, when He comes again He will “deliver up the kingdom to God the Father” (1 Cor. 15:24). The kingdom of Christ, the universal church, is composed of all the saved of all the world. Those who are saved are expected to assemble with others who are saved to worship and serve God (Heb. 10:24,25). Too many seem to think that they can forsake assembling with God’s people while on earth, but they want to be with them in heaven! Why would a person who does not care about assembling with God’s people while on earth be happy with them in heaven? If we are not interested in worshiping God here and being in the company of other Christians, what makes us confident that we would enjoy being in there presence eternally? What kind of reasoning causes believers to think that they can be absent from the assemblies of Christians here, but be present with them in the hereafter?
Church attendance is essential to eternal salvation because God’s word teaches us not to forsake assembling. The early Christians assembled on the first day of the week to “eat and drink” with Jesus (Mt. 26:26-29; Acts 20:7). If a Christian really believed that Jesus was present when we observe the Lord’s supper each Sunday, would he forsake that opportunity? Those who go to heaven will be those who were faithful on earth!