Q: When Christians die, how will Jesus bring them up to heaven?

...Is it through some kind of spiritual realm or do they wait for a specified time until he brings them up to heaven?

This is a question that has been debated over many years. In Revelation 20:4-5, the Apostle John tells us that certain people "came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. " This is known as the Millennium. Now, if you read verse 3, you also find out that an angel of God came down from heaven and "And cast [the devil] into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season."

How do we interpret this passage? Traditionally, there have been three accepted views. To be clear, each view has its merits. Because of the diverse views among many Jesus-loving, Bible-loving Christians, all three of the following views are acceptable.

1. Amillennialism: In this view, the church is already living in the millennium (i.e. there is no future thousand years). In fact, the "thousand years" is simply a figure of speech (i.e. should not be interpreted literally). The present age will continue until the return of Jesus, when there will be a resurrection of both believers and unbelievers. The bodies of believers will rise to be reunited with their spirits and enter into heaven forever. Unbelievers, however, will be raised to face final judgment. As I mentioned in my last sermon ("Servant - Part 2" Luke 22:24-30), believers will also stand judgment, but this judgment will be a judgment of service. God will judge how well and how hard we labored for his kingdom and give rewards accordingly.

2. Postmillennialism: In this view, Christ will return AFTER one thousand years. The present age of the church will continue as the power of the gospel gradually increases. More and more of the world's population will be Christians and subsequently, society itself will function more and more according to God's standards. This will usher humankind into a millennial age of peace on earth. Once this thousand years is over, Christ will return & believers and unbelievers will be resurrected to be judged accordingly.

3. Premillennialism: This view states that Christ will return BEFORE the millennium. When Jesus does return, he will bind Satan and rule on earth for 1000 years. At the end of this time, Satan will let loose, only to be destroyed by Jesus. Then comes the final judgment where believers and unbelievers are judged with the judgment of service and salvation respectively.

So there you have it. 3 views. If you're really serious about this topic, I'd recommend this site, which shows these views in graphic form. Also, use the search bar and type in "millennium."

Summarily, as a Christian, you can hold to any of the three views. There are both positive and negative results from holding to each of these views. For example, if you hold to the postmillennial view, one of the positive results is that you are optimistic about the power of the gospel to make personal and societal changes to the world. For the record, our church (RH3C) holds to the last view: premillennialism.

The last thing I will say is that - what is most crucial is not which view you believe in; it's whether or not you possess salvation in Christ. That's the most important thing: To repent of your sin and trust in Jesus. Whatever happens in the future, two things are for certain: Heaven is a glorious place free from sin, suffering and heartache. It is reserved for Christ-followers. Hell, on the other hand, is a place void of any good or beauty or love, because it is a place utterly removed of God's presence. It is reserved for those who do not have salvation.

I implore you to consider this heavily in your heart, and to receive God's salvation now, because your eternal destination depends on it. How we get there isn't so important. It's where we're going that is.

[Answered by Pastor HM]

References: Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Nottingham: IVP, 1994), 1109ff.

Q: Is it possible to be a bisexual and a Christian at the same time? Is a bisexual expected to suppress their feelings for the same sex to please God?

Many principles of a previous answer applies to this question. Take a look! Check out Pastor HM's answer too and watch the Mark Driscoll video.

In a nutshell: Any sexual orientation and action outside heterosexual male-female relationships is considered sinful. Other preferences are the result of the Fall (sin). Bisexuality would fall under this category. It is not what God intended for the purpose of sexuality.

So the answer in short depends on what do you mean by the word 'suppress'? If you intend to turn away from sinfulness, struggle against those feelings through His strength, and pray and seek out earnest healing and redemption from God, then yes, this is what God calls us to do. If by 'suppress', you mean ignore, then this would probably not be very helpful. You can't deny the feelings you have, whether light or strong; rather acknowledge that we still have sin that needs to be purged from our lives and fight against giving into them. God calls us to His will of holiness for our lives and to put away the desires of the flesh so that we may glorify Him. Trust in the Lord to get you through periods of temptation and believe that He is in the process of healing and redeeming us. Because these are deeply personal sins and hard to beat on our own, find an accountability partner to encourage and support you through these times.

[Answered by Jon]

Q: If a homosexual accepts Jesus, and everything but still doesn't want to change who they are, will they still end up in heaven?

This one is a toughie, indeed. Maybe you were reading 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 and this question popped up into your head. It's pretty hard language. I think this question has a bunch of layers, so I will try to unpack them as they come along.

First, take a look at THIS: Pastor Ho-Ming answered a question on the Biblical perspective on homosexuality. Here's another article from a Christian Apologetic website. It'll put things into perspective. According to Scriptures, homosexuality is considered a sin and is condemned. It is not considered higher or lower than other sins, as certain groups may have blown it up to be, but it is still a serious rebellion against God and the way He created humanity.

Secondly, the two premises that make up the first part of this question don't seem to follow each other. If considering what it means to truly accept Christ into our lives, this becomes somewhat of a non-question. (Kind of like - Skittles' slogan, 'Taste the rainbow'... How can we taste the refracted light off water particles?!?!) That being said: we can't on the one hand say that we follow Jesus and on the other hand, not strive to do what He calls us to do! Take a look at 1 John 2:4. Saying that we believe in God and rebelliously and purposely not doing what He commands makes us liars and hypocrites; we wouldn't have ACTUALLY been following Jesus. Being saved means freedom from the consequence of sin, the new life, the struggle to take off the old self (desires of the world and flesh) and put on the new self (holiness), and the continual healing and transformation of the Holy Spirit. Change goes hand in hand with accepting Jesus; that's all part of the 'everything' that comes along with it.

Check out this resource on whether it is possible or not to be a practicing homosexual and a Christian. This is another one that discusses the tension between homosexuality and following Jesus.

To clarify, it possible to be Christian AND struggle against homosexual desires and temptations. Treat this as any sin, whether lying, cheating, stealing, or slandering. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are to continually repent of our sins, resist temptation, and strive to be more like Him. The journey may be hard and we may fall many times, but we look faithfully to Jesus for our salvation, strength, forgiveness, and renewal. It is NOT possible, however, to be a Christian and just willingly and unrepentantly keep sinning. This person has not felt the conviction of God, nor the power of the cross.

As for the last part of the question: will they still end up in heaven? If a person has truly accepted and believed in Jesus, repented of their sin, and decided to follow Him, then yes, they will spend eternity with God in heaven. But THAT person is in the process of being changed by the Holy Spirit and actively trying not to sin. If they just say they accept Jesus by words only and do not live it out and struggle to turn from their sin, then no, they will not be going to heaven since they do not know Jesus and are actually rebelling against Him.

This article by Dawson McAllister sums it up much better than I can. I love his quote, "No Jesus, no change. Know Jesus, know change.”

[Answered by Jon]

Q: Is it a sin to think about stealing, lying, sexual thoughts, etc. but NOT doing it?

I talked about this briefly in another post. But let me talk about this again in regards to your question. There have been many thoughts about how the mind, body, essence of how a human being really works. For instance, Dallas Willard breaks down a person into "elements." Think about an onion with many layers, with the spirit being the innermost layer and the social relationships a person has as the outermost layer:

         Elements of a Person: spirit --> mind --> body --> social 

For Willard, the Spirit of a person is the inner core of being from which actions flow (this is what many would consider “the will”). Our spirit is the power to do what is good or evil. So the spirit is where sin first arises. 

Think of it this way: You are confronted with a temptation to sin. Let's say your friends are talking badly about another friend behind her back (i.e. gossip). In order for you to commit sin, your spirit (your "will") must say “yes” to that sin. If there is no inner yes, there is no sin. Even if you think about sin, that’s not a sin (that’s not even temptation!). Remember, temptation is the thought plus the inclination to sin. It's when you linger over the thought. Sin is when we inwardly say yes to the temptation; when we decide to do it. 

So summarily, NO - it is not a sin to think about stealing, lying and sexual thoughts. It is not even temptation. It is when you inwardly say yes to an action (and this includes thinking sinfully about something such as lusting over a person in your mind) and then decide to do it - that's when it becomes a sin. That is why the Bible tells us we must resist and run from temptation when we see it, rather than allowing our fascination to draw us closer. God provides for this in 1 Corinthians 10:13: "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

[Answered by Pastor HM]

Q: What about salvation in the Old Testament?

Recently, we answered this question. Here is what Pastor John MacArthur from California says. 

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This will be posted on the SPLAT site soon.

Q: God sent Jesus, His son to bear the consequences of our sins. Why did God have to send someone ELSE down to do it?

...Couldn't He have taken the wrath upon Himself?

Actually, God did take on the wrath Himself.

When Jesus died on the cross, that WAS God dying for us. It's often confusing to think about God as three persons (this is what is known as the Trinity; God in 3 persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit). This means that Jesus and the Father are one in the same. You can find out more by reading this post here about the Trinity, answered by Pastor HM.

When Christ came down to earth, He came as a human being. This was the only way in which Jesus could have taken the sin for us. Jesus was a SINLESS man that died for SINFUL people. He died on the cross, in our place, for our sin, thereby taking the wrath of God away from us.

[answered by Pastor KJT]