Faith On The Line - Stress, Stress Go Away Vol 19 | Page 8

What
will Keep You out of Heaven?

by Pastor Dan Wilson

Everyone goes to heaven or
a better place when they die.

I

n our quasi-Christian North American culture, this expectation runs
rampant. But what if we’re not all going
to heaven or a better place?

We have high
expectations,
but what if our
expectations
hinge on the
choices we’re
making now?

Jesus Himself said the
road to heaven is narrow and few find it. Just
recently I attended a
funeral for a lady who
was so turned off by religion and angry at God
that, when dying of
cancer, she would not
even permit the hospital chaplain to visit her
or let her Christian friends pray with
her. Despite all this, her family held a
Christian funeral for her where we were
assured that not only was she going to
heaven, she was already there.
We have high expectations, but what if
our expectations hinge on the choices
we’re making now? What if they hinge
on a choice that we as Christians aren’t
even considering?

“Jesus looked at him and loved him.
‘One thing you lack,’ He said. ‘Go, sell
everything you have and give to the
poor, and you will have treasure in
heaven. Then come, follow Me.’ ”
In other words, the rich young ruler’s
thinking went something like this,
“I’m religious, so I should be good to
go. I’m a good person, yet something
doesn’t seem right.”

Abram’s Example

Abram, like the rich young ruler,
also had everything. He was wealthy
and successful. He lived in the most
developed part of the world. Archaeologists tell us that he may have
even lived in a two-storey home with
indoor plumbing. His wife, Sarai, was
so beautiful that two kings wanted
her (Genesis 12:14; 20:1).
In addition, Abram had servants
to spare. He lacked only one thing,
a son. Despite his success, he was
childless in a culture that valued children (especially a male heir) higher
than anything else. It was precisely
on this point that God tried him.

The Rich Young Ruler

God said, “Go from your country, your
people and your father’s household
to the land I will show you. I will
make you into a great nation, and I
will bless you” (Genesis 12:1-2).

Jesus responded, “You know the commandments.…”

Decades passed and Abram had
followed God’s instructions, but
God appeared to not be fulfilling
His promise. On several occasions,
Abram attempted to accomplish

In Mark 10:17-22, the rich young ruler
asked Jesus the question that many of
us ponder today,