If you are a Christian for any amount of time, you will undoubtedly be confronted with this question. "Do you really believe God will not allow people who are not Christian into heaven?" Usually most Christians may stumble in giving a loving, compassionate truth-filled answer. Oftentimes, we may dance around the question, even try and dodge the question or we may react with an overly heavy-handed response. Is there a better way? I believe there is.
First, we need to clearly define the word heaven. What is heaven? Most people believe heaven is a place of happiness, where there is no pain or suffering. A place of bliss and peace. A place where we escape the trouble and heartaches of this world and enter into a place of continual pleasure and endless celebration. All of which do describe some truthful aspects of heaven.
Some may even go so far as argue that if God truly was a God of love, how could He withhold heaven from people because they failed to believe, trust and follow Jesus. How could this be loving? In all of this, the one crucial thing that people fail to understand and recognize is that what makes heaven, heaven is the presence of God. If we were to boil it all down, we could say that heaven equals forever living and being with God, for all eternity.
I mean if you really think about it, if those people who don't want anything to do with God here on earth, do you really think they could stand living and being with God for all eternity? I really doubt it. In fact, I think heaven would probably be the last place they would want to be because that is where a holy God lives. And heaven is a place for people who have through Jesus Christ died to sin and have become alive to God (Romans 6:11).
I've heard it said that, "the fires of heaven may well be hotter than the fires of hell" (Dallas Willard). In heaven there is no sin, and the bible says that "no one can see God's face and live" (Exodus 33:20). There is a great and grand holy purity that permeates all of heaven because it is a holy God's dwelling place. All through the bible whenever a person encounters an angel from heaven, they faint and fall to the floor like they were dead and this is just an angel. Just imagine what being in the presence of the Almighty Creator and Judge of all things would be like. (If it wasn't for Jesus in my life, I would be absolutely terrified.)
I've also heard it said that "the door to hell is locked from the inside" (C.S. Lewis). Meaning, the people in hell have exiled themselves to be there and in essence what they seek is to lock God out. They've lived there whole life on earth denying God, blaspheming His Name, cursing Him, ignoring Him, etc. because they want nothing to do with Him. You see, what the people who ask the question "Do you really believe God will not allow people who are not Christian into heaven?" fail to understand is that there is no getting away from God in heaven and if a person hated God here on earth, what would make you think that that would change in heaven? For a person like this to be in heaven would probably be eternal torture.
Here's a excerpt from a teaching by John Ortberg which has influenced my own thought, but also further expands on this:
Here's a excerpt from a teaching by John Ortberg which has influenced my own thought, but also further expands on this:
