Gated community
- Gary Fritsch
- May 12
- 2 min read
Over the last seven years, I have run dozens of programs and Bible studies, and I always feature a Q & A at the end of the sessions. One of the areas of question that frequently comes up is 'can my non-Christian friends and family still go to heaven?' The answer is a crystal clear yes AND no.
First off, we have to recognize that God can do anything, so it is possible for God to provide an opportunity for heaven to anyone, regardless of where they have been or what they have believed. However, in the midst of that opportunity will always be Jesus. As Peter tells us in Acts 4:12: "There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.” Jesus is God's mediator with the human race, He is the reconciler, He is the Word of God, and as we hear today: He is the Gate.
God's plan for us is that we would live forever with Him inside the love of the Trinity. Jesus is the only way into the Trinity. He is the Gate into the community of heaven. He is the only Gate. Surprisingly, people sometimes fight this answer. They want to believe that people who are 'good people' can get into heaven without Jesus at all. I actually think this is because they don't want to or know how to share the good news of Jesus with them. If someone is really a good person, wouldn't they like Jesus? Wouldn't they find Him appealing? Wouldn't their life of 'goodness' only get better if they also had a relationship with the Lord?
Once we become comfortable with sharing the Good News, then we find that we don't have to advocate for other ways into heaven, because we would rather just introduce people to The Lord. The Holy Trinity is a gated community - because it is literally perfect there - everyone loves perfectly there - in order to get there, they have to go through The Gate - the one who can teach them to love perfectly and forgive them when they can't. Because NO ONE can earn their way in, we all need Jesus to get in. We should never withhold this gift from anyone, especially if they are a really good person.
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