The Finished Work Of Christ: Our Access To Heaven

Feature 3 – April 2010 – Grace & Truth Magazine

AN ALLEGORY

The Finished Work Of Christ –
OUR ACCESS TO HEAVEN

The Scene
There is a knock at your door. You open it and see a person with suitcases. He is a foreigner, a complete stranger who says, “Hi! I’m here and I’m moving in.”

“I beg your pardon,” you say.

“I’m moving in!” is his emphatic reply.

“But this is my house, you don’t live here.”

“I do now. So tell me where my room is,” says the stranger.

“But I don’t know you. You have no right to come here demanding a room.”

“You have to let me in.” He pushes past you, sets his suitcases down and demands, “Where’s my room? You can show me around later. When’s dinner?”

You say again, “I don’t know you. What gives you the right to be here?”

“Oh, come on” is his reply. “I’ve known about you for a long time, and I heard about your son. He’s a preacher, right? Everybody comes here when it’s time.”

“What?” you say. “I suggest that you leave.”

“No way, man. I’m staying here from now on.”

To verify your point, you ask, “Do you have a deed to this property?”

“Of course not,” he replies, “but I’ve been good all my life. And I’ve given to the poor. My good works are well known back in my old country, so I have a right to be here. So, where’s my room? What’s for dinner?”

“Please leave now!” you demand.

“But you have lots of other people living here don’t you?”

“Yes, but they’re my children and you’re not. Were you born into my family?”

“No,” he retorts, “but I know about your son and have visited his place a couple of times, especially at Christmas and Easter.”

“Get out!” is your most reasonable response.

A Reaction
So, how would you feel if a stranger tried to move into your house? Does he have the right? Of course not! But isn’t this just what most people think they can do when they die – go to heaven, move into God’s house?

Yes, God has a big house with lots of rooms. Jesus said, “In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (Jn. 14: 2-3 KJV). But because it’s His house, only He can set the standard by which one is invited in.

In fact, a person should really examine if he really wants to live there! First, God lives there, and He is holy (1 Pet. 1:16). An unrepentant sinner wouldn’t want to be in the presence of a holy God; Adam and Eve didn’t after their sin (Gen. 3:8-10), and neither did Simon Peter when he realized who Jesus was (Lk. 5:8). To be able to live with God in His house, one must be holy. And second, God is love (1 Jn. 4:8). That sounds a bit better doesn’t it? But would anyone be comfortable in the presence of one whose love he’s shunned? No! That person would be totally embarrassed, especially if he had shunned the greatest gift ever offered to man (Jn. 3:18).

The Requirements
Then, there’s the next question that needs to be addressed. If someone did want to go to heaven, in spite of the conditions mentioned above, what gives him the right to go? Heaven is God’s house. It’s where He lives. He alone has the right of entry and the power over who is invited to live there. On the other hand, if respect for another’s dwelling doesn’t persuade a person from trying to get in, it should be noted that there is a door that prevents unauthorized entry. God, in the person of His son, Jesus Christ, has said that anyone who enters His house must enter through the door (Jn. 10:9).

Only God has the right to say who enters heaven, how he can be made fit to enter, and how he can enjoy living there forever. What are God’s criteria? God the Father and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, invite all to come (Mt. 11:28) and live with Them. But to do so each one must be made absolutely righteous and holy. That’s the criteria for entering God’s dwelling place! But here’s the problem: We aren’t righteous and holy (Rom. 3:23), and we can’t become so by our own efforts (Prov. 20:9). A good name, good works and reli-gious activities are traps that allow us to think we’re good enough to enter (Isa. 64:6). And we can’t buy our way into heaven either (1 Pet. 1:18; Mk. 8:37).

His Way
So how can we ever get there? Our holy and loving God has made a way for us. He said, “Come now, and let us reason together ... though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isa. 1:18).

To get rid of the sins that separate man from God’s presence and to be fit for His home, He had a plan that would maintain His holiness while demonstrating His love. Our sins demanded punishment – death and separation from God (Rom. 6:23); our holy God cannot remove the sin without the penalty being paid. So He provided a substitute to die for us – His one and only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He became a man (Lk. 1:35), and lived a sinless life (1 Pet. 2:22) to prove Himself a capable substitute, “a lamb without blemish” (1 Pet. 1:19; Ex. 12:5). He paid the penalty for our sins when He died on the cross (Col. 2:14). To show that God was satisfied with His full payment, He raised Jesus from the grave (Acts 10:40) and gave Him a special place in heaven!

This then is the finished work of Christ: He “was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification” (Rom. 4:25). This is why His death on the cross is so important. God said that only through his Son (Jn. 3:16) could a sinner be made holy, righteous and fit for His presence: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (Jn. 14:6).

Your Choice
If you want to go to heaven, ask Jesus to forgive your sins and be your Savior. His finished work made Him the only One who can make you a holy, righteous child of God (Jn. 1:12). He is the One who gives you the right to get to heaven, and to live in peace and joy in the presence of a holy God (Ps. 16:11).

By Hank Blok