Sin. Will It Ever Really End?
Sin. Will It Ever Really End?
by Dan Chambers
It’s pretty common for people to ask me questions about the afterlife, and one of the most frequently asked questions is, “Will we be able to sin in heaven?” I’m sure some ask that question because, if the answer is “Yes,” they’re more than a little worried that they might end up being tossed out of “the sweet by and by” because of a potential sinful slip up.
If you’ve ever worried about that, let me put your mind and heart at ease. It ain’t gonna happen. The definitive answer is “No, we absolutely, positively will not be able to sin in Heaven.” While “once saved, always saved” isn’t true on this present earth, it most definitely will be true on the new earth.
Let’s connect a few of the dots from Scripture and you’ll see why I’m so dogmatic about that. There are actually a lot of dots I could toss out and connect, but I’ll limit it to three—one from each of the last three chapters of the Bible.
First dot: God’s prophetic announcement about Satan’s destiny. It goes like this: “the devil who had deceived them [the saints] was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Rev 20:10; also Matt 25:41). God obviously permitted Satan to have some level of access to His people in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:1ff), but this prophecy makes it crystal clear that the clock is ticking on Satan’s access to God’s people. When Christ comes back, Satan’s time is up. God will then permanently lock him up in the bowels of Hell and he’ll never be able to deceive anyone again.
Second dot: God’s pronouncement that “nothing unclean will ever enter it [our eternal home], nor anyone who does what is detestable or false” (Rev 21:27). Think about the significance of those words for a moment. It’s a statement of absolute certainty. Nothing unclean—that means sin—will ever enter Heaven. Period. There is no exception clause in this verse. In other words, it doesn’t say, “nothing unclean will ever enter it except when someone sins.” So, it seems to me like we have to decide whether this pronouncement is truth or fiction. If we can sin in Heaven, then it’s fiction because something unclean can enter. This pronouncement can only be true if sin is no longer a possibly. Well, I believe with every ounce of my being that it’s true—and I know you do too—and that means our war with sin will be over for good in Heaven. Don’t doubt the glorious promise of this verse. Believe it. Embrace it. Rejoice in it.
Third dot: God’s declaration that the curse will forever be gone and we’ll worship in His presence and reign on the new earth forever and ever. Check it out: “No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face . . . and they will reign forever and ever” (Rev 22:4-5). Again, think about these words and their implication. I’m going to use the same logic here. These are statements of absolute certainty. There are no “unless” addendums attached. That is, it doesn’t say, “No longer will there be anything accursed unless sin shows back up.” And it doesn’t say that the saints of God “will reign forever and ever unless they sin again.” So, again, we have to decide whether this declaration is truth or fiction. If we’ll still be able to sin in Heaven, then its fiction because the curse won’t be forever gone and we might not be able to reign forever and ever. Well, I know we both believe this promise is as true as the previous one. Please don’t doubt this one either. Believe it. Embrace it. Rejoice in it. Rejoice in the truth that one day we’ll have face-to-face fellowship with our Savior and we’ll reign as sin-free people over a sin-free earth forever and ever.
Like I said earlier, there are plenty of other dots we could add, but it’s not really necessary. These three are sufficient to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the risk of us sinning in Heaven is a big fat zero. These are three ironclad guarantees straight from the Spirit of God that our eternal home will be forever sin-free and that Satan will never again have access to us. Rest easy in the knowledge that our struggle with temptation will be forever finished when this life is over.
by Dan Chambers
It’s pretty common for people to ask me questions about the afterlife, and one of the most frequently asked questions is, “Will we be able to sin in heaven?” I’m sure some ask that question because, if the answer is “Yes,” they’re more than a little worried that they might end up being tossed out of “the sweet by and by” because of a potential sinful slip up.
If you’ve ever worried about that, let me put your mind and heart at ease. It ain’t gonna happen. The definitive answer is “No, we absolutely, positively will not be able to sin in Heaven.” While “once saved, always saved” isn’t true on this present earth, it most definitely will be true on the new earth.
Let’s connect a few of the dots from Scripture and you’ll see why I’m so dogmatic about that. There are actually a lot of dots I could toss out and connect, but I’ll limit it to three—one from each of the last three chapters of the Bible.
First dot: God’s prophetic announcement about Satan’s destiny. It goes like this: “the devil who had deceived them [the saints] was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Rev 20:10; also Matt 25:41). God obviously permitted Satan to have some level of access to His people in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:1ff), but this prophecy makes it crystal clear that the clock is ticking on Satan’s access to God’s people. When Christ comes back, Satan’s time is up. God will then permanently lock him up in the bowels of Hell and he’ll never be able to deceive anyone again.
Second dot: God’s pronouncement that “nothing unclean will ever enter it [our eternal home], nor anyone who does what is detestable or false” (Rev 21:27). Think about the significance of those words for a moment. It’s a statement of absolute certainty. Nothing unclean—that means sin—will ever enter Heaven. Period. There is no exception clause in this verse. In other words, it doesn’t say, “nothing unclean will ever enter it except when someone sins.” So, it seems to me like we have to decide whether this pronouncement is truth or fiction. If we can sin in Heaven, then it’s fiction because something unclean can enter. This pronouncement can only be true if sin is no longer a possibly. Well, I believe with every ounce of my being that it’s true—and I know you do too—and that means our war with sin will be over for good in Heaven. Don’t doubt the glorious promise of this verse. Believe it. Embrace it. Rejoice in it.
Third dot: God’s declaration that the curse will forever be gone and we’ll worship in His presence and reign on the new earth forever and ever. Check it out: “No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face . . . and they will reign forever and ever” (Rev 22:4-5). Again, think about these words and their implication. I’m going to use the same logic here. These are statements of absolute certainty. There are no “unless” addendums attached. That is, it doesn’t say, “No longer will there be anything accursed unless sin shows back up.” And it doesn’t say that the saints of God “will reign forever and ever unless they sin again.” So, again, we have to decide whether this declaration is truth or fiction. If we’ll still be able to sin in Heaven, then its fiction because the curse won’t be forever gone and we might not be able to reign forever and ever. Well, I know we both believe this promise is as true as the previous one. Please don’t doubt this one either. Believe it. Embrace it. Rejoice in it. Rejoice in the truth that one day we’ll have face-to-face fellowship with our Savior and we’ll reign as sin-free people over a sin-free earth forever and ever.
Like I said earlier, there are plenty of other dots we could add, but it’s not really necessary. These three are sufficient to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the risk of us sinning in Heaven is a big fat zero. These are three ironclad guarantees straight from the Spirit of God that our eternal home will be forever sin-free and that Satan will never again have access to us. Rest easy in the knowledge that our struggle with temptation will be forever finished when this life is over.
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