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Movie Review: “Heaven is For Real”

I have been asked several times about my opinion of the movie Heaven is for Real so I took the time to watch the DVD. I will start out with what I liked about the film. 

Overall I thought the acting was good. I like how the pastor is shown before and after the traumatic event of his son’s near death experience, the local church he pastor’s struggle with the situation, and the fact that the movie raises the question of heaven for those who reject the concept. As I watched the film, I was taken back to an event in my life as my son Asher struggled to breath in a children’s hospital. I was told at one point that he wouldn’t make it. Needless to say this movie pulled at my heart strings. I enjoyed how the pastor was shown in a positive light in the church and community. I also enjoyed seeing how the pastor struggled and wrestled with issues in the Word of God. These aspects are very true to life for all pastors and churches. Pastors are humans who struggle with situations and theology just like everyone else. In addition to this, I also enjoyed seeing how the church leaders struggled with the situation. They had given the pastor room to deal with some of his issues, but most didn’t really seem to truly grasp the struggles of the pastor and his family. It is difficult to describe the unique pressures and struggles that ministry places on individuals and families. I felt the film did a good job of showing the tension of an imperfect pastor leading an imperfect church, and in the end both coming out the better. This is a common and important concept for local churches. In addition, I also enjoyed that the question of the existence of heaven after death was raised for those who don’t believe.

Now I will move on to what I didn’t enjoy about the movie. First off, the images of heaven are not biblically based. When Colton goes to heaven, he finds himself at the church building? The Word of God makes no mention of church buildings in heaven anywhere. Even our most beautiful buildings will not even be close to what God has hand crafted in heaven. Second, the attempt at showing a “beautiful heaven” in the church building was cheesy at best, and downright not helpful. Showing angels as these star things that sing? There are many examples of angels in the Word, but none show them as this movie does. In addition to this, the overarching problem with the vision, is the lack of seeing Jesus as the crown jewel! While Jesus is part of this vision of heaven, Jesus plays more of a side character or like a glorified “table host” of café heaven in Colton’s vision. At no point does Colton worship Jesus or show that Jesus is King, Lord, and worthy of worship (Revelation 5).



My overall opinion, take this movie with a grain of salt, the images of heaven seem more cooked up by an active four year old imagination than based in Biblical reality. I fear that our need and attention to movies and books along this line, only points to the spiritual immaturity and our addiction to “junk food” Christian entertainment instead of healthy biblical truth. Experiences never dictates doctrine, especially the doctrine of heaven. This movie is simply entertainment, not biblical reality. Keeping in mind this is simply entertainment not something to base a bible study on, I would give this a four on a scale of one to ten.

What does Hebrews 6:4-5 Mean?

"4 For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, became companions with the Holy Spirit, 5 tasted God’s good word and the powers of the coming age, 6 and who have fallen away, because, to their own harm, they are recrucifying the Son of God and holding Him up to contempt."

In the above passage the author of Hebrews is giving us what is commonly referred to as a “warning” passage. Other examples of warning passages are found in Hebrews (2:1-4; 5:11-6:12; 10:19-39, 12:1-29) Revelation 2 and 3, James and Galatians 4:8-11. For many years pastors and scholars have spilled a lot of ink in a struggle to understand how the “warning” passages work with the “assurance” passages (like John 10:28-30, Romans 8:28-39, and Philippians 1:6). I think the key to understanding the meaning to this question arises from two questions about this passage:

1. Who does it address? 

2. What is the function of this warning?

When one reads this text, the simplest explanation of who it is written to would be a believer.  If you were to put this passage before a child, they would say it is written to a believer.  The language that is used here of “tasted the heavenly gift, become companions with the Holy Spirit, tasted God’s word and the powers of this coming age,”  all point to the fact that we are dealing with some who have a knowledge and experience of the things of the living God of the universe.  It is also important to note that the author of Hebrews never says anyone has fallen away or in verse six the comma does not follow with the clause, “as some have done” or “since some have fallen away”.  But if that is true, and none have fallen away, what is the function of this passage?

I believe there is a weightiness involved in Hebrews 6 that is often overlooked and slighted in an effort to defend the eternal security of a believer.  I would submit to you that this passages is more than a hypothetical situation, but that this is a warning passage that is used as a means of preservation for God’s people.  For example,   if you were driving up towards Butler Bridge and you saw a sign in the middle of the road that says, “Bridge Out Ahead!”  Those of us who are able to read, would turn our cars around and take another route to preserve out life, avoiding the eighty foot plus drop into Watauga Lake.  Or if you were on a tour of the Biltmore in Ashville, North Carolina, and the guide said, please do not go down into the cellar there is poison gas down there that will surely kill you.  You would heed the warning of the guide, and be very careful not to go near that cellar!  The warning is more than a hypothetical, the warning is a means that the guide used to save your life.  It is important to remember that only those who belong to God will be able to heed the warning passages God gives.  It is impossible to warn those who don’t know the power of God to be preserved (1 Peter 1:5).  There is a call from Hebrews six to be careful and take heed!  

For futher study on this passage and other warning passages click HERE!

Is the Bible Reliable?

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable…” -1 Timothy 3:16

While there are several historical documents tests to determine the historical reliability of a document, I would like to highlight just a few for you today.  One test is called the bibliographical test. This test looks at several aspects of ancient manuscripts like how many exist right now.  In order for a document to take this test, the originals must no longer exist.  Today, we have close to, if not more than 25,000 copies of the New Testament either in part or whole.  The document that comes closest to this is Homer’s Iliad which has around 643 copies.  Another test looks at the time gap between the oldest surviving copy and the original manuscript.  Again in second place is Homer’s Iliad with a time gap of 400 years from penning of the original manuscript until the oldest surviving copy.  The New Testament has a gap of only fifty years.  There is no other ancient book that matches the textual availability and integrity of the Bible.   Time would fail me if I went on to tell you about how non-Christian historians, like Tacitus, Suetonius, Josephus, and many others document and validate the existence of the Word of God.  If you haven’t given the Bible much attention lately, I would encourage you to give the most historically reliable book of all time another look!

Are All Christians Hypocrites?

"If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” – 1 John 1:8

In the English language the word hypocrite gets a lot of mileage! A hypocrite is a person’s whose public statements and life are inconsistent with their private life. The word "hypocrite" evokes a certain level of distain and distrust in everyone. What many point to as inconsistency among professing Christians is what it appears to be. Even Jesus made the point that hypocrites exist among God’s people. For example Jesus taught us the importance of prayer, fasting, and giving for kingdom advancement. Jesus also gave his harshest warnings and correction to those who did pray, fast, and give for the wrong reasons and for earthly rewards. Jesus discourages his followers from making long public prayers, making sure that our fasting draws attention to our self-righteousness, and parading our gifts at church and to the poor (Matthew 6:2, 5, 16). Jesus calls these people out for being real hypocrites among God’s people (Matthew 23:13-33; Mark 7:20-23). While Jesus never called his disciples hypocrites, our Lord did make it clear that there will always be hypocrites mixed in among true disciples (Matthew 13:24-30).

So the real question is, how can we know the difference between a true believer and a hypocrite? Both true disciples and hypocrites have sin and inconsistencies in their life. I would encourage you to remember that perfection is the final step in the life of a believer (Romans 8:30). We are reminded by the Apostle Paul that we are being “transformed into the same image (the image of Jesus Christ) from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18).” For a true disciple, one is continuing to change each day to become more like Christ. The Apostle Paul reminds us that while we are changing, we will still “stumble in many ways (James 3:2).” I think we must ask ourselves the following questions in order to think correctly about ourselves (Romans 12:3):

• Do we agree with God about the sin in our life? (1 John 1:9)
• Are we seeking to fight the sin in our life? (1 Peter 5:4-11)

In World War II, the bloodiest battles for our troops was between D-Day, on June 8, 1944, when we broke the enemies back by taking the beaches at Normandy, France and VE-Day, on May 8, 1945, when we finally defeated the axis of evil. In the same way, Christians will lose many battles and the battles will often be most difficult after trusting Jesus Christ. But if we repent of our sins and truly trust Jesus we will be victorious. So no, not all Christians are hypocrites, when we are honest in our struggle to be more like our perfect, Holy, King Jesus!

What Does Our Crown Referred To in Revelation 3:11 and Can We Lose our Crown?

“I am coming quickly. Hold on to what you have, so that no one takes your crown.” 

–Revelation 3:11

The above passage is given by Jesus to one of the seven churches in the opening of revelation, namely Philadelphia. This is one of only two churches that Jesus does not rebuke. While this passage contains no rebuke, Revelation 3:11 is a warning passage. I believe that the crown here symbolizes eternal life, it is the same idea as someone who has competed in an Olympic challenge and crowned at the end with victory (also see 1 Corinthians 9:24-25). One thing that is helpful when you read a warning passage is to read them in light of other warning passages, because each helps us understand the other. I would like to point one particular passage out to you that is of great help for understanding Revelation 3:11, namely 1 John 2:19:

“They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us.”

In 1 John 2: 19, the warning is that any who depart from us, though a lifestyle of sin, were actually not saved before they left us! And while true Christians may depart for a time, they will eventually come back to the flock. Think of the examples that are contrasted in Peter’s defection vs. Judas’ defection. Both Peter and Judas denied Christ, but only Peter came back to Christ and God’s people, the church! So if that is true, you may be asking yourself the question, “Why is this passage and other warning passages given to believers if we can’t fall truly fall away?” In God’s wisdom, The Lord had placed warning passages as a means to preserve God’s people. When I was a teenager up through the first part of Seminary, I would work for my father on brick and block mason crews. At times we would have to build scaffolding that was three to four stories or more high. We always had to put up safety rails on the completed scaffolding. The newer scaffolding we would crank up and it was much easier, but the older kind had to be changed out by hand! We hand to put on a safety harness, go under the walking boards at these heights and change them out. To be honest, I dreaded this task most of all, because the thought of the fall to the ground terrified me. As I would slowly climb down to assist the other laborer, I moved slow and cautiously to make the change. I would often look down at the ground, which seemed miles away, and imagine my fall and the splat that followed as I hit the ground. Of all the times I built and changed out scaffolding, I never slipped and needed my harness, nor safety rails to preserver me. The safety harness and rails were a means to provide confidence and remind me that I needed to be cautions as I did my job. In a similar manor, warning passages such as Revelation 3:11 lets us see what our fall from grace could be like, reminding us to do our work with care and caution, all while we look from the safety and security of God’s strong hands (John 10:29).

Why Does Satan Appear with the Sons of God in Job 1:6?

"One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them." -Job 1:6

Recently a church member who is reading the Bible on the one year recommended plan came to me with this question. This passage seems to be contradictory, to Satan being cast out of heaven until it is put into perspective with the larger redemptive narrative. Lucifer is his given name and he is described as having great beauty and wisdom (see Isaiah 14:12-14 & Ezekiel 28:12-18). In the book of Job, we get a peek into the high court of the universe as God's sons, aka his angels are gathering to give account of their ministries (see Hebrews 1:14 & 1 Kings 22:19). I am not sure if the other angels recognized him for who he was, because he can disguise himself as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). It is important to note that wherever there is a gathering of the servants of God, there will always be at least one, sent by Satan, who will appear among them to cause trouble and division. The apostle Paul knew this when he gave a warning against "False Brothers" in the local church (Galatians 2:4). When Lucifer rebelled and took a third of heaven with him, the battle left heaven marred by his sin (Rev. 12:4). Lucifer will try one more time to take the place of God, but his plan will fail (Rev. 12:7-13). This is why there is a need for a NEW HEAVEN as well as a new earth in Revelation 21:1. As one reads Job, it becomes clear that Satan is both called into account for what he is doing and given restraints on what he can or cannot do. We are informed that he sits night and day and accuses the people of God in Revelation 12:10. This ancient story points out the fact that Satan is no threat to the throne of Heaven. When Satan is through serving God's proposes for the redemption of mankind, bringing God ultimate Glory, Satan will be rendered completely useless in influence and power (Hebrews 2:14). In fact the Bible tells us we will sit in judgment over the angels, which includes Satan. (1 Corinthians 6:3).