By: Shawn Hart
Death is that unknown day everyone is touched by.
It is universal, emotional, and often, difficult to talk about.
For many it is a scary day, and even for the person who has full confidence that there is a wonderful life on the other side of death, the topic always involves sadness. The difficult nature of death is what leads people to have trouble finding the right words when it is actually happening.
I am intrigued by death. More precisely, I am intrigued by the things people say around the topic of death. It is not uncommon to hear someone say, “There is no God,” one Monday, and then say at the memorial service that Saturday, “They’re in a better place.”
So what is it about heaven and hell that continues to shape the way people think and speak about death? And how does the Bible actually portray these ideas?
As we explore this question together, my hope is to help uncover why Christians believe in heaven and hell and what those beliefs reveal about eternity, humanity, and the hope of life after death.
What Do You Believe Happens After Death?
As you consider why Christians believe in heaven and hell, I want to first ask you to consider this question: What do you truly believe happens when you die?
Once you answer that question for yourself, consider this next question: what do you long to be true about life after you die? In his book, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis provides what has come to be known as the argument from desire. Lewis writes,
“Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”
Most of us long for life after death to be void of sad things and full of glad things. We long to have more time with people we love, and maybe also to sit by a lake without being bitten by mosquitoes.
Interestingly most people’s longings are very similar to Christians’ expectations of life after death. Is it possible our longings for life after death point to its reality?
What Christians Mean by ‘Heaven and Hell’
Now that you have considered your current beliefs let’s turn to the question: Why do Christians believe in heaven and hell?
The true, but unhelpful, answer to this question is that Christians believe in heaven and hell because it’s what the Bible teaches. However, most people asking this question want to know something deeper. They want to understand the justification that some people will live in a blissful eternity in Heaven while others are left out.
The Bible teaches that to be in heaven is to be in union with God (Rev. 21:1-4). To be in hell is to be outside of this union with God (2 Thes.1:9).
The New Jerusalem
The most common word Jesus used for Hell is “Gehenna” which is a shortened version of an actual location in first century Israel, the “valley of Hinnom.” The important thing to know about this location is that it is outside of the city of Jerusalem. When Jesus spoke about Gehenna, there was an actual location that would come to mind for people, and it is a place that is outside of the city walls.
This is critical for thinking about Heaven and Hell because when speaking about the eternal future for Christians, the Bible talks a lot about the new heavens and new Earth as the place they will dwell with the Lord. This place is a holy city that gets called the new Jerusalem (Rev. 21:1-4).
This city will be a pure place where nothing bad will dwell. It will fulfill our heart’s deep desire for all things to be made right in our world. It will be a place where evil will not be allowed to enter.
So where does evil go? How can anyone dwell with God in this city if mankind is who unleashes the very evil heaven seeks to be a haven from?
What the Bible Says About Sin
Based on Scripture, “evil” goes exactly where Jesus said it would go: to Gehenna, outside the city.
Jesus spoke of the location outside of the city of Jerusalem to help us understand where sin would be for eternity. When the new heavens and new Earth are established forever, it will be an answer to every prayer that God would make things right in the world, and it will be a place of protection from evil forever.
But to enter the city, the sinful source in our hearts must be healed.
And unless that happens, the person who chooses to reject God’s gift of cleansing will have to remain outside the holy city – outside of the presence of God, which is in essence, Hell.
What It Means to Be Saved in Christianity
To enter the holy city and dwell with God forever we must be made pure and cleansed of our sin problem.
Even when we want to do what is right, often our desire to do right is not strong enough to fight the power within us that wants to do wrong.
That is the effects of sin. Sin is the desire to be God and to rule our own life. It is a root that resides in our heart, and it needs to be removed.
Jesus lived the perfect life we couldn’t live, then died on the cross for the sins of all humanity. Then he rose from the dead three days later and told his followers he will always be with them (Mt. 28:20).
In his going to be at the right hand of the Father, he offered a gift to anyone who would accept it. That gift is the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit to come into our hearts and help us live a life for God. It is this “new birth” of the Spirit that Jesus speaks of that gives us citizenship to this place we call heaven (Jn. 3.1-8).
When a person decides to follow Jesus, this person is washed clean of their sin and is a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). Although the battle with sin remains, the Christian is now a citizen of heaven and they can have confidence that they will dwell with God for eternity.
Choosing Your Path to Heaven or Hell
The question of why Christians believe in Heaven or Hell cannot be pondered without forcing us to wrestle with some very serious implications.
God has offered a great gift, that those who follow him will be with him forever.
Will we take hold of this gift? Will we follow Jesus, join the heavenly party, and dwell with God in His city forever? Or will we remain outside the city and deny all that has been offered to us? The choice is ours to make.
Questions for Reflection and Group Discussion
- What do you personally believe happens after death?
- Why do you think people often speak differently about death during difficult moments?
- Do you think our longing for eternity points to something deeper?
- Why do you think Christians place so much importance on Jesus in this conversation?
- What questions about life after death do you still wrestle with?
