"You think you're the only ones going to heaven!"

"You think you're the only ones going to heaven!"

A friend of mine was recently accepted to attend the Bear Valley Bible Institute, based in Denver, Colorado.  Most of our conversations have been positive, filled with excitement and anticipation of the good things Robert will learn at school.  The other night, however, he was troubled.  He told me that he had logged his last day at work before he leaves for Denver, and that his boss who serves as a "pastor" (the meaning of "pastor" makes this a word that ought not be used for preachers, but that is for a different post) had delivered quite a parting shot.  "Just so you know, the church of Christ thinks they're the only ones going to heaven," he began, then continued for some time in what Robert relayed as "running down the church."  This is a criticism that the churches of Christ have endured for generations, now, and it is time for logic and truth to take their roles in the discussion.

FIRST, note the absolute lack of forethought in such a statement.  It is spat out as a condemnation and accusation.  Why would it be wrong to claim correctness?  Why would it be wrong to claim exclusivity?  How many products on today's market claim just exactly that?  Countless companies put forth the idea that their product is "the best," and they express in their advertisements why their product should be chosen over all the others that are similar to it, yet no one condemns these companies as elitist.  Nobody slings venomous accusations at the company for making the claim of superiority.  Why does it happen with the church?

SECOND, realize that this is worldly thinking that has crept into the minds of people who are seeking spiritual improvement.  James 1:27 describes pure and undefiled religion before the Lord as "visiting orphans and widows in their distress, and keeping oneself unstained from the world."  This last element of God-approved religion is a necessity for anyone seeking to truly follow God, and all too often we fail in carrying it out.  "World-stains," as one great instructor put it, happen almost without us realizing it.  A prominent world-stain that finds its way into the church is the post-modern, subjective attack upon any standard.  In our emotionally-based society, no one likes to be told they are wrong.  Condemnation of anything is strongly discouraged, and the liberal mindset presses this point at every turn.  It follows naturally that if no one likes to be wrong, the concept of anyone being right must be obliterated.  How...backward...is that?  No one can be right, so that no one will be wrong.  Really?  So that no one feels inferior, let's remove the standard, and give everyone a participation trophy, right?  So that no child feels like they are academically inferior, let's remove the grading system, right?  Do we see the absolute perversity of such notions?  Now as standards are being removed in our society, the trend is continuing into religion.  Now, if a church claims to be the one that Jesus promised, people attack!  Why?  Because a standard means that some people will not meet the standard.  Because if anyone is right, it means that someone must be wrong.  Please allow me to very simply show the importance of standards.  If a person takes their check to the bank and fills out a deposit slip for 900 dollars, they would react quite poorly if they received a receipt for 90 dollars, would they not?  "Hey, I gave you my check for 900 dollars!  Why did you print the receipt saying I only gave you 90?!?"  Imagine the outrage and legal pursuit if the teller said, "Well, from YOUR point of view, you gave us 900 dollars.  OUR truth is that you only gave us 90, and you can't push your beliefs on us."  Yet standards are being attacked everywhere!  What if a pharmacist decided to give a man estrogen supplements rather than blood-pressure medication, citing that the medical standards cannot be imposed upon him because they do not fit into his world view?  What if a waitress decided to put antifreeze in your coffee rather than creamer, stating that food health standards cannot be used to oppress her individuality and expression?  A tiny bit of thought and logic shows that this worldly, subjective attack on standards is dysfunctional at best.
THIRD, the answer to such a poorly thought out accusation is simple:  "Why don't you believe you're the only ones going to heaven?"  Follow this line of reasoning.
1) Denominations exist because people do not agree on how religion should be practiced.  If the disagreements are potent enough that people cannot worship together, it only goes to reason that someone believes they are right where someone else is wrong.  The very existence of denominations shows this to be true, and that these denominations believe in a standard.
2) LOGICAL LINE OF THOUGHT:
          - Because denominations vary in teaching from group to group concerning how a person is justified before God, how we are to worship, and who is to lead in the church, they cannot all be right!
          - If they cannot all be right, why does anyone attend, study, and practice in association with the denomination they do?  They must believe that they are right, while others are wrong.
          - If they believe that they are right while others are wrong, it is hypocritical, unfair, and irrational to condemn a church for claiming the same thing.  Would it not be wiser to examine the biblical standard for the Church that Jesus promised, compare the teachings of each group, and adopt the teachings that are aligned with what the Bible teaches?

FOURTH, the Bible is not unclear about this.

1) Jesus promised ONE CHURCH, in Matthew 16:18.
2) There is ONE body (the church, in context), ONE Spirit, ONE hope, ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism, and ONE God, according to Ephesians 4:4-6.
3) Any gospel (means of salvation) that differs from the message preached by the apostles renders the teachers as "accursed," according to Galatians 1:8-9.  This means that there is ONE way for people to be justified before God, not "many paths to one end," as so many love to phrase it. In fact, preaching “many paths to one end” results in the preacher being accursed.
4) The Bible can only be correctly understood ONE WAY, according to 2 Peter 1:20-21, thus the popular argument of "well, that's just YOUR interpretation, and MY interpretation is just fine, too," falls lamely flat.  God intended His word to be understood ONE WAY.
5) To say that it is impossible to correctly understand what God desires for His church (as many retreat to saying once “many paths to one end” is disproven) is to say that God is either incapable or unwilling to communicate His will in a clear and understandable manner.  If He is incapable, then He is not all-powerful.  If He is unwilling, then He is unfair, unjust, and just plain cruel.  Both of these notions are erroneous, to say the least, and the mountain of scripture that contradicts them would take hours simply to list. Any who make this assertion have serious theological issues with which they must contend before attempting to convert people to this philosophy.
6) Christians are supposed to be confident in their salvation, according to 1 John 5:13.  We are to "know we have eternal life," just as a chemist is to "know" that they have correctly compounded a formula.  We "know" we have eternal life by the things written in the Bible, just as a chemist "knows" he has correctly combined the formula by the written instructions and equations.  If anyone has a problem with that, they have a problem with God, not with the Christian who follows His word.

7) Hebrews 11:7 speaks of Noah, and that through the reverence he showed God “condemned the world” by doing what was right. The entire population of the world, with the exception of 8 people – Noah, his wife, his 3 sons and their wives – was faced with the doom of drowning. Was the answer to sit on the highest place one could reach and call Noah an elitist, or was the answer to realize that the only way to survive was to repent, listen to Noah, and to get into the ark?  The people had 100 years to listen to Noah as he built the ark, but when the rain began falling God closed the door of the ark and it was too late. How long will the people of our day revile those who submit to God rather than listening to what is right?

The next time that someone throws the accusation of "You think you're the only ones going to heaven," at bare minimum print this article out for them.  At best, know these scriptures and the line of reasoning contained in this article, and answer them yourself.  There is no reason for this backward, subjective slam to continue gaining traction against the people of God.
-J-