Heaven. The word alone sounds like comfort. Endless peace. Reunions. Rest. Joy without sorrow. Life without loss. Every funeral reminds us of it. Every aching heart hopes for it.
If you asked the average person today what they believe about eternity, most would say something like, “Oh, sure, I believe in heaven.” And if you asked whether they expect to be there someday? The answer is usually, “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
We live in a culture that thinks heaven is the default destination. Good people go there. Nice people go there. Religious people go there. Decent people go there. Basically…anyone except the absolute worst.
Yet the Bible says something radically different.
Jesus Himself said:
> “For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
Matthew 7:13–14
Few.
Not many.
Few.
That is not because God is stingy with His grace. It’s because the human heart is too easily satisfied with this world.
The tragedy is this:
People want heaven.
They just don’t want it to be holy.
They want paradise without purity.
Joy without Jesus.
Comfort without surrender.
A kingdom without a King.
Yet heaven, real heaven, is not defined by golf courses and grandkids or mansions and golden streets. Heaven is defined by one breathtaking reality:
God is there.
Not dimly. Not partially.
But fully—gloriously—unfiltered.
He is the atmosphere.
He is the Light.
He is the song.
He is the joy.
He is the center of everything.
The Bible describes heaven like this:
> “…the dwelling place of God.”
Psalm 33:13
> “The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.”
Revelation 22:3
So here is the great question:
Do you want God Himself?
Or do you just want the perks?
Because if your heart doesn’t delight in God now, how could you possibly delight in Him forever?
Holiness is not optional in heaven.
It is the very oxygen of that world.
A Fish Out of Water
Imagine a fish lifted out of the sea and placed high on a mountaintop. The sun shines beautifully. The view stretches for miles. The air is crisp and clean.
People would say, “Isn’t this glorious? Isn’t this paradise?”
But the fish would be dying.
Not because the mountain is flawed.
Not because anyone is cruel.
But because the fish was never transformed for that environment.
Likewise, the sinner unchanged would find heaven unbearable.
Not because heaven has fire.
But because heaven has holiness.
Jonathan Edwards once said heaven would be “no heaven to the unholy.”
He meant that the presence of God, which is pure joy to the redeemed, is pure agony to those who love their sin.
So here is the sobering reality:
Heaven may not be heaven to everyone.
For some, heaven would be hell.
God does not need to add flames or punishment.
Holiness itself would torment the unrepentant soul.
Why?
Because: What you love today reveals where you belong tomorrow.
Jesus said:
> “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:21
If your treasure—your delight, your ultimate love—is anchored in the pleasures and pride of this world, then heaven would rip away everything you cherish. No ego. No idols. No applause. No indulgence. No sin.
Heaven is the place where the worship of God never stops. Where humility is the native language. Where self takes the lowest seat.
And some people would hate that.
Not everyone wants a forever of worship.
Not everyone wants a forever of righteousness.
Not everyone wants a forever of God’s will over their own.
We must face this staggering truth:
Heaven is a place of perfect holiness…
and holiness is the one thing the sinful heart cannot stand.
The Atmosphere of Heaven
Scripture says:
> “Without holiness no one will see the Lord.”
Hebrews 12:14
Holiness is not the ticket into heaven.
Holiness is the nature of heaven.
God will not adapt heaven to suit the sinner.
He will transform sinners to enjoy heaven.
That is salvation.
Not just forgiveness.
Not just escape from hell.
Transformation into the likeness of Jesus.
So here is the hard truth:
Heaven would be hell to a person who never learned to love God.
Imagine: • Someone who never prayed in this life…placed into eternal communion
• Someone who avoided Scripture…filled with the Word forever
• Someone who found holiness boring…surrounded by saints singing God’s glory
• Someone who resented obedience…now bowing joyfully before the throne
It would feel like suffocation.
Not because heaven is wrong.
Because the heart is wrong.
The Real Work of Grace
Jesus did not die simply to get you to heaven.
Jesus died to get you ready for heaven.
Heaven is not the reward for good behavior.
Heaven is the home of the forgiven and transformed.
Ezekiel 36:26 says:
> “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.”
God changes what you want.
What you crave.
What thrills you.
What breaks you.
Grace does not help us tolerate holiness.
Grace helps us love holiness.
The greatest blessing of the gospel is not a place.
It is a Person.
If you love Jesus here…you will love His home there.
A Divine Diagnosis
Let’s ask the diagnostic question that cuts right to the heart:
Would you want heaven if Jesus wasn’t there?
Would you want: • Peace without purity?
• Joy without Jesus?
• Comfort without surrender?
• Eternal life without eternal worship?
If the answer is yes…
Then what you desire is not heaven.
It is idolatry stretched into eternity.
Paul warns:
> “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh…”
Romans 8:5
Where the mind rests
reveals where the heart belongs.
The Good News
All of this could feel crushing.
It could feel like I’m saying, “Be holy or else!”
“Assemble your righteousness like armor!”
“Earn your place!”
That is not the gospel.
The gospel does not say: Try harder to deserve heaven.
The gospel says: Come to Jesus…
so He can make heaven your joy.
He does the transforming.
He reshapes our loves.
He purifies our desires.
He trains our hearts to breathe holiness like air.
Grace does not push you into heaven.
Grace prepares you for heaven.
Grace doesn’t say: “You’d better act like you like holiness.”
Grace says: “I will teach you to love what God loves.”
Heaven becomes home…
when Jesus becomes Lord.
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When What You Love Is What You Become
There is a law written into the human soul: We become like what we worship.
If we love the world, we grow more worldly.
If we love sin, we harden to righteousness.
If we love self, we become our own tiny god, trapped in a shrinking universe.
But if we love Jesus…
if we set Him as our treasure…
our hearts enlarge, our joy deepens, our desires purify.
Paul said:
> “We all…are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.”
2 Corinthians 3:18
That is salvation.
That is preparation for heaven.
Heaven is not a place where we arrive unchanged and learn to cope.
Heaven is the culmination of the heart Jesus has already begun to shape.
God doesn’t want to force you into worship.
He wants to form you for worship.
Anything less would be cruelty.
Picture Two Doors
Door #1:
A world where God is everything.
Where righteousness is the atmosphere.
Where worship never ends.
Where sin cannot even exist.
Door #2:
A world where you are everything.
Where your desires are central.
Where pride reigns.
Where God is optional…or absent.
That is hell disguised as paradise.
And here is what Scripture says:
We choose the door now.
One step at a time.
One love at a time.
One preference at a time.
Every affection today is a rehearsal for eternity.
Why God Cannot Allow Sin Into Heaven
Not because He is harsh.
Not because He is selective.
Not because He is unfair.
But because He is loving.
The presence of one sin would spread corruption like infection in a newborn body.
Heaven would become earth again.
The world would once more fill with tears and violence and death.
God is not withholding pleasure by excluding sin.
He is safeguarding joy.
Protecting eternal delight.
Holiness is heaven’s security system.
Without it, heaven would not be heaven.
The Day Heaven Reveals Hearts
Revelation 22:11 contains one of the most shocking statements in Scripture:
> “Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
On that day, it will be too late to switch loves.
Judgment does not change people.
Judgment reveals people.
Heaven will expose the truth of every heart: • If you loved God…joy.
• If you loved sin…misery.
• If you loved yourself above all…torment.
Not because God rejected you.
But because your own heart rejected God.
A Heaven You Can Love
So here is the good news every sinner needs to hear:
Jesus gives a heart that can love what heaven is.
He does not say: “Make yourself worthy and then come.”
Jesus says: “Come…and let Me make you ready.”
Forgiveness is when God removes the penalty of sin.
Holiness is when God removes the power and pleasure of sin.
We are not saved by works.
We are saved for good works
because we have been reborn (Ephesians 2:8–10).
Heaven is not earned.
Heaven is inherited.
Heaven is the family home.
So the question shifts from: “Will I be good enough for heaven?”
to: “Do I truly want the God of heaven to be my delight?”
The Miracle of New Desires
Grace changes what the heart wants.
Suddenly • His Word becomes food
• His presence becomes joy
• His commands become freedom
• His character becomes beautiful
David said:
> “Whom have I in heaven but you?”
Psalm 73:25
Catch that:
Heaven isn’t heaven because it lasts forever.
Heaven is heaven because God is there.
The redeemed do not endure eternal worship.
They enjoy eternal worship
because their souls have been healed of sin’s addiction.
The Warning That Saves
Jesus was not timid about exposing divided hearts.
He said:
> “No one can serve two masters…”
Matthew 6:24
You cannot adore Jesus
and idolize self
at the same time.
One will conquer the other.
If we cling to sin now, we are choosing the environment where sin lives forever.
If we cling to Jesus now, we are choosing the environment where holiness lives forever.
Eternity is the expansion of today’s affection.
Heaven is love perfected.
Hell is love perverted.
We do not live neutral.
We live becoming.
Hope’s Final Word
This message might feel heavy.
It is meant to.
Sin deserves no softness.
But I want to leave you with hope that roars louder than the warning:
If you can say, even through weakness: “Lord, I want You more than anything,”
then heaven is already your future.
Because Jesus Himself is preparing a place
for those He is preparing a heart.
He is not just the Door to heaven.
He is the delight of heaven.
What would make heaven hell?
A heart that refuses the God who dwells there.
What makes heaven home?
Jesus changing the heart that once refused Him.
Today, He offers exactly that grace.
Come to Him.
Trust Him.
Surrender every rival love.
Let Him make heaven your joy.
The invitation is open.
The entrance is narrow.
The Savior is ready.
