"Why Should I Let You Into Heaven? Is That Your Final Answer?"

Someone once asked me how would I respond if after I died God asked me the question, “Why should I let you into heaven?”

It would be hard to imagine the heart-pounding magnitude of that moment. At the risk of trivializing this most serious of questions that will ever be asked of me, I can best describe this feeling by picturing myself as a contestant who has successfully reached the final question on “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” There’s only one correct answer standing in my way from the jackpot! I’ve used up all my lifelines getting there. Then God asks me “Why should I let you into heaven?” The clock starts ticking!

How would you feel being in that situation? What would you say?

If God asked me that question, maybe I should say, “I should be allowed into heaven because I’m a Christian.” Then God says in a Regis Philbin-like way, “IS THAT YOUR FINAL ANSWER?!” I realize at that exact moment that I’m not just talking to some TV personality, but the Creator of the Universe! And it isn’t just a million dollars that I’m trying to win on some game show. No. Instead, my eternal destiny is what is on the line! As I stand at the doorsteps of both heaven and hell, I weigh my final answer very carefully.

Just then I feel a presence of confusion envelop me as doubt begins to mount up within me. “Am I correct?” I pose to myself. I feel as though a battle is waging inside in which the victor receives the spoils of my soul! I hesitate in providing a final answer. Beads of sweat begin to perspire on my forehead and upper lip. In desperation, I look for a lifeline. I’m then reminded by the Heavenly Host of the show that I’ve already used up all my lifelines. I grimace in response. The Host then advises me to talk it out. I pray for a miracle of insight and wisdom.

I attempt to logically think it through. I tell myself, “My answer wasn’t from me, but from Jesus Himself. They’re not my words, but His. If He indeed is God, then my answer is correct.” But then I thought, “What if He isn’t God and there’s some other way to heaven or what if He is God and all that’s true, however I find out that I’m not really a Christian?” [i] I offer up another prayer.

Suddenly, a most unusual thing happens. In what seems like a lifetime, but what was actually less than a minute, my life flashes before my eyes. Specific instances from my past play out in my mind with great clarity and focus, as if I was re-living them.

I first find myself in a church pew listening to the minister share about how one can be adopted into God’s family. Even though I’m only eight, the message that morning makes a lot of sense. I understood that I was a sinner; and I so much wanted a father to love me. So I made a decision right there to believe in this God – this Heavenly Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – and accepted Jesus into my heart for the forgiveness of my sins. But what all did that really mean?

On the basis of what the Bible reveals about the nature of God and His patience and grace, one can say that this was when I became a Christian. On the other hand, the Bible also describes what a life looks like that has been touch by the hand of God. And as I began re-tracing my steps through the rest of my adolescence and into early adulthood, my life did not resemble outward signs of any significant, real inward change.

While growing up in a fairly nominal “Christian” environment, I viewed my faith as an inconsistent, “only-when-convenient” approach to living, comprised of nothing more than a compartmentalized seasonal ritual of going to church, singing songs, and dropping a few dollars in the plate. If I gave an honest answer at the time, I would’ve said my faith was more a function of what I said I believed than in what I really believed. I naïvely and simply accepted hand-me-down ideas and opinions of what others thought of Jesus and the Bible. Jesus was nothing more to me than a fire insurance policy I could stuff in my hip pocket and use some day if necessary. Based on the evidence of my lifestyle and my lips, a case could be strongly argued that the decision I made back then in my youth was not a true, saving faith decision to believe in Jesus (John 1:12), but just a religious acquiescence at best (James 2:19).

Not until my junior year in college, were my ignorant and quite dangerous half-baked spiritual conjectures ever really tested. Despite a strong willingness to succeed, it was at this time in my life, that focused and disciplined determination gave way to frustration and hopelessness. Instead of attaining a higher degree of satisfaction from my successful accomplishments, I became increasingly aware of my own moral depravity. Also during this year, I witnessed firsthand the death of a fellow student whose life ended horrifically in a tragic car-train accident. Soon after this, someone challenged me to ask myself what it was that I really believed, and whether I was willing to live based on that belief. While all this was happening, the truth of God was consistently being displayed to me by a Christian on my track team. Unaware at the time, God was building a crescendo of life’s experiences together to reveal to me some important truths, which I gradually began to recognize.

These events compelled me to not only re-examine myself, but to seriously question – for the first time in my life – whether it was worth it to continue placing my hope in myself or in anything of this world. As a result, I started exploring the possibility of God again. Profound questions began to surface such as “Does God really exist?” and “If He does, is Jesus Christ really Him?” I thought to myself, “If God was to be found, then church was where I would find Him.” So I set a personal goal after returning to campus for my last year of school, to go to church every Sunday until I figured out if this God was real and whether Jesus was indeed who He claimed to be.

During one of those first church services I attended, the gospel message became personally relevant to me. I finally realized what I was longing for was not found in what I could do or get, but rather in what God had already done and what He freely offered. God had worked through those past events and people to prepare my heart and mind not only to hear the truth again, but as well, to truly receive it. As a result, Jesus’ love pierced my heart to the core of my soul. It was then, after years of trying everything else to bring real meaning and satisfaction to my life, did a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ become real.

Many nights thereafter, I found myself alone in my room, emotionally awestruck, as I attempted to grasp the enormity of God’s love for me. I responded to this new-found discovery by getting involved in a small group bible study, regularly attending a bible-believing church, and receiving mentorship from that close friend who was a central witness in my life.

Like all new Christians, though, I had not instantly grasped all truths about God. I did not know much, for example, about the holiness of God or the destructive nature of sin in my life.[ii] All I remember knowing for sure was that Jesus loved me and I needed that love. While my lifestyle began to change as I matured in my faith, there were also occasions I took my focus off following Jesus and experienced firsthand the damaging effects of not living God’s way.[iii] One such memorable occasion stemmed from a discontented heart that looked to money for answers during some difficult financial times. As a result, I wandered away from the straight and narrow road and found myself in significant debt.[iv]

Yet, through this trial, God was still beside me. The healing process began as I turned back to Him. In addition to beginning to repay the money I owed creditors, part of the repentance from that ordeal involved humbly asking for help. I was blessed as I received love, encouragement and guidance from other followers of God. In so doing, I found a new church home.

While the struggles still continued, the constant realigning of myself back into God’s way of living always brought about healing and growth. The lessons learned by my mistakes led not only to a better appreciation of God’s continued forgiveness in my life, but also a deepened desire to point others to Jesus.

God used all the events of my life – both good and bad – to reveal His love to me. Through the circumstances of life, I was brought to a place where I could truly trust Jesus with my present as well as my future.

I’m now awoken from my pensive retrospection by the sound of God’s voice. The Host of the show leans forward in His chair and summons, “it’s time for your final answer.” While my answer remained the same, my confidence in that answer had changed. I now knew my answer was correct and that it applied directly to me: “Dear Lord,” I said, “I should be allowed into heaven because I am a Christian.”

How could I be so confident in my final answer?

I’m certain my answer is right because Jesus said it is so. And I’m confident He is right because He has demonstrated His trustworthiness.[v] Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.” [vi] The Bible tells us that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.[vii] And Jesus’ blood, it says, is the only acceptable sacrifice that can appease God’s perfect justice and remove the stain of sin in my life.[viii] I could never merit entrance into heaven on my own. But Jesus adequately paid for my sin debt with His blood when He died that horrible death 2000 years ago, on a hill called Calvary. And it is through Jesus’ resurrection that He displayed His power over death, which brings me hope and confidence in the promises of God.

While I may not know for sure when I became a Christian, I do know I’m a child of God now. I’m confident of this not because of some feeling, or because of something I do to show what or who I am, but because I simply trust, by faith, the gift of Jesus. I’ve received His blood. I’ve received His promises of what He has already done and will do. I’ve received Him. Being a Christian simply means I’ve received God’s righteousness in exchange for my unrighteousness.[ix] That’s what makes me a Christian. That’s why I’m sure of my inheritance of heaven. The Bible says:

“this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” [x]

For this reason, I can humbly punctuate my answer to God with the words: “…and THAT is my final answer.”

We all will be in the “hot seat” at some appointed time in our future.[xi] Nobody is certain when God will lean to us individually and require a final answer to that eternal question. Yet, we can be certain of one thing; that day will come. What will be your final answer?

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[i] For an answer to the former question, see the book “I’m Glad You Asked” by Ken Boa & Larry Moody, chapter 8.
For the significance of the latter question from a biblical perspective, see the Bible: 2 Corinthians 13:5.

[ii] I feel even now, over 10 years later, I’m just beginning to understand these things.

[iii] See Hebrews 12:2.

[iv] See 1 Timothy 6:6-10.

[v] For a Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence of Jesus, read “The Case for Christ” by Lee Strobel.

[vi] See John 14:6.

[vii] See Hebrews 9:22.

[viii] See Ephesians 2:13.

[ix] See 2 Corinthians 5:21.

[x] 1 John 5:11-13 (NIV)

[xi] See Hebrews 9:27.