3. Pie In The Sky Religion Won't Cut It

By Thomas M. Parsons

What Christian Religion Teaches
Christian religion does believe in Heaven, and Hell for that matter. They are, after all, both taught in the Scriptures. Jesus spoke about both.

But how important is the concept of Heaven to those who subscribe to Christian religion?

Concentrating on “pie-in-the-sky” religion is not good for people who must live in a world of potholes, politics and problems. Thinking about a future, far-off Heaven may prevent us helping solve the problems this world faces. Trying to convince others about Heaven when they are facing gut-wrenching situations in the here and now is an unproductive activity.

It is better to try to make this world a better place to live. We need to preach peace, love, security, and work to prevent war, famine and pestilence.

It is better for a Christian to be working to end abortion and homosexual marriage than to be preaching about a better life to come. It is not that we doubt there is a better life to come, but rather that we should concentrate on where we are now and the real needs people have in this life.

The best time to talk about Heaven is at a funeral. It helps people to hear that their loved one is in “a better place.”

The rest of the time, it is better to focus on what is going on here and now. Don’t talk about living a life of suffering now to be rewarded later in Heaven. Don’t talk about future blessing; help people find blessing in their circumstances now by helping them to change those circumstances for the better.

Pie-in-the-sky religion just doesn’t cut it.

What the Bible Actually Says
Paul said his focus in ministry was an open and honest proclaiming of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He knew that this gospel would be “veiled” to some, but he also knew that those who would not clearly see the gospel truth would be those whom Satan has blinded.

Paul decided his ministry would be one of preaching the Lord Jesus Christ rather than himself. He would shine the Light of Christ in this dark and evil world.

Of course, ministry always takes place in a human life and body, a “jar of clay.” God takes a feeble human life and turns it into a powerhouse of truth. Paul recognized that in every way and from every side, believers are hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted and struck down. “We always,” he said, “carry around in our body the death of Jesus.” Paul explained that because of the suffering a believer endures in his or her life, Christ and the life He offers to sinners is portrayed publicly. Death is always at work in us.

Paul proclaims that his faith enables him to speak the truth of Christ. The power of his speech was the fact that he proclaimed the risen Christ who gives resurrection to eternal life to all who believe in Him.

Because of the message he preached, Paul did not lose heart. He knew that outwardly, both he and the world in which he lived were “wasting away.” But inside his heart, Paul felt the renewal of God every day. He said, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”

Where should we focus our attention? On the problems of this old and broken world? No. “We fix our eyes not on what is seen,” Paul said, but un what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Paul correctly understood something we in our modern world sometimes forget. We live in a dying world. It is a world of temporary things. We live in an earthly “tent” this is going to be destroyed. We live in a world that often causes us to groan as we long for something better. It is a world of burdens, a world of loss, a world of suffering, of disease and death. Who wouldn’t groan under the burden life on earth is.

But wait a minute! Doesn’t God want us to be happy? Doesn’t He want us to enjoy life? He doesn’t want us walking around and groaning all the time, does He? Of course He does not want us to be miserable all the time we are on earth. That is not the point here. But He does want us to be mindful of the temporariness of our lives here on earth.

Sep 6 - Problems Are For Losers 2 Cor 1:1-2:4
Sep 13 - The Old Ways Are Better 2 Cor 2:5-3:18
Sep 20 - Pie-In-The-Sky Religion Won’t Cut It 2 Cor 4:1-5:10
Sep 27 - I Have To Do It Myself 2 Cor 5:11-6:2
Oct 4 - God Doesn’t Want Me To Suffer 2 Cor 6:3-7:1
Oct 11 - Don’t Judge Me 2 Cor 7:2-16
Oct 18 - I Don’t Have Enough To Give It Away 2 Cor 8:1-9:5
Oct 25 - God Gave It To Me For Me 2 Cor 9:6-15
Nov 1 - I Take Pride in Myself 2 Cor 10:1-18
Nov 8 - You’re Okay, I’m Okay 2 Cor 11:1-15
Nov 15 - My Heritage Is Important 2 Cor 11:16-12:10
Nov 22 - Don’t Make a Fool of Yourself 2 Cor 12:11-21
Nov 29 - Don’t Tell Me What Not to Do 2 Cor 13:1-14
Classes taught by Tom Parsons at Maranatha Baptist church in Columbus, Ohio Sunday mornings at 9:30 am.

We have a desire, Paul said, to be freed from the bonds of earth, not simply because of the burdens earth tends to lay on us, but because the best part is yet to come. When our earthly tent is destroyed, “we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.” We look forward to the time when we are no longer on earth, but “clothed with our heavenly dwelling.” This longing has been put within us by God. He made us for the purpose of dwelling with Him in perfection, not for dwelling without Him on a broken planet called earth. God gave us the Holy Spirit “as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come.”

Sometimes things are fixable; sometimes they are not. Most of us have at one time or another owned a car that came to the point where it was necessary to put it out of its misery. Too old, too broken, too much wrong with it, the only thing possible to do was to sell it for scrap. It was too broken to fix.

This world is just like that. It is too broken to fix. Sin has ruined it. Everything that is bad about this world is the result of sin. Wars. Pollution. Crime. Disease. Death. All the evils of this world come out of the human heart and its selfish pursuit of what “I” want.

Because God now lives in us who believe, we have access to God’s heart. He gives us the desire to be free from this broken world. He reminds us He is not going to fix it ultimately, but destroy it, just like the cars we have destroyed because they could no longer be repaired.

When we did get rid of an old vehicle, we usually acquired a newer one as a replacement, one that did not need a lot repairs, one we could be happy driving. What a blessing it was to get rid of a car that could not be trusted to get you where you wanted to go, and replace it with a car you were reasonably certain would take you places.

“Therefore,” Paul says, “we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.” Our preference is to be with the Lord. Our confidence in what is coming motivates us to live for Him here.

Instead of trying to improve the to-be-destroyed world, our focus is to be on living by faith, not by sight. Our goal is to please God, not to improve the world. We are to please God ultimately when we are finally with Him in Heaven, but we are also to please God while we are here “at home in the body.” Between us and our eternal home is the judgment seat of Christ where we give an account of our lives, and are rewarded, or not, according to what we did while in our bodies, whether good or bad. But then comes eternity.

This is a great motivator for believers. Should I try to help people live better lives on earth? Or should I help people to realize they can have a better life in Heaven if they trust Jesus while on earth? It is what is coming in the future that makes the present on earth endurable. God wants us to be happy because of Him, not happy because of the things of the world. We groan because of the many unpleasantries of earth. We rejoice because of the mighty blessings our God bestows on us.

“Pie-in-the-sky,” it turns out, is the only reality there is. Knowing what is coming, I want to serve Him while I am here. Knowing what I am going to have for eternity, I want to expend my energies on earth helping as many people as possible come to faith in Christ so that they can enjoy God forever.

Next: I HAVE TO DO IT MYSELF