Ask John Piper: Is Heaven a Free Gift or a Reward?

Just when you thought that the Christian message was the good news of what God has done for us (Rom. 5:8) and how He sent His Son to give us Heaven as an absolutely free gift, we now have a “Christian” minister telling us that although justification is by faith alone, you still have to pay to get to heaven!

In an article on the Desiring God website titled “Does God Really Save Us by Faith Alone?”[1], John Piper argues that while justification gives us a right standing with God, it’s not enough to get us to heaven! In regards to this, Piper writes:

“In final salvation at the last judgment, faith is confirmed by the sanctifying fruit it has born, and we are saved through that fruit and that faith....So, we should not speak of getting to heaven by faith alone in the same way we are justified by faith alone.”[2]

What exactly does Piper mean by this? Let’s take a look at some other statements he’s made that clarify more “precisely” what he means. In the Foreword that Piper wrote to Thomas Schreiner’s book Faith Alone: The Doctrine of Justification, Piper writes the following on page 11:

“‘how can a person be right with God?’ The stunning Christian answer is: sola fide — faith alone. But be sure you hear this carefully and precisely: He says right with God by faith alone, not attain heaven by faith alone. There are other conditions for attaining heaven, but no others for entering a right relationship to God. In fact, one must already be in a right relationship with God by faith alone in order to meet the other conditions.”[3] 

In effect, Piper is saying that we have to earn our way to heaven! Is this biblical Christianity? How is that message different from any of the religions of the world? What sets Christianity apart is that in contrast to all the other religions that tell us to “do” something to earn our way to heaven, Christianity says it’s all been “done” by Christ for us! Did Christ make a full payment for our sins on the cross, or just a down payment?

Is heaven a reward for good people or a free gift for undeserving sinners? What does the Bible say? Notice the following Scriptures:

• “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH ON HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE.” (John 3:16, KJV) Have everlasting life where? “IN HEAVEN”! (See vv. 12-13.) Notice John 3:16 doesn’t say you also have to do A through Z and then maybe you’ll attain heaven. Instead it says to simply “believe”. John Piper has distorted the Word of God! Beware of this wolf in sheep’s clothing!

• “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know. Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME.’” (John 14:1-6, NKJV) Notice that what Piper says doesn’t line up with what Jesus says: Piper says that you attain heaven at least partly “through the sanctifying fruit [in your life]”, but Jesus says that the only way to get to heaven is “through Me” — not through Christ plus your fruit, but through Christ alone! (Acts 4:12)

• “For the wages of sin is death, but THE FREE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE in Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23, ESV) 

• “But the city of Jerusalem in HEAVEN IS FREE, and that is our mother.” (Galatians 4:26, Worldwide English NT)

• “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to THE SPRINKLED BLOOD, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.” (Hebrews 12:22-24, NASB)

• “And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ And He said, ‘Write, for these words are faithful and true.’ Then He said to me, ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I WILL GIVE water to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life, WITHOUT COST.” (Revelation 21:5-6, NASB)

• “I, Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. AND WHOSOEVER WILL, LET HIM TAKE THE WATER OF LIFE FREELY.” (Revelation 22:16-17, KJV)

Who paid for your ticket to heaven? My ticket in “PAID IN FULL” (Jn. 19:30) by the blood of the Lamb!

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References:

[1] John Piper, “Does God Really Save Us by Faith Alone?” (Sept 25, 2017), desiringgod.org website. Note: In regards to the question posed by Piper in the title of his post, it reminds me of how Satan similarly questioned God’s Word when he said to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden: “Did God really say....?” (Gen. 3:1).

[2] John Piper, “Does God Really Save Us by Faith Alone?” (Sept 25, 2017), desiringgod.org website, italics his, ellipsis added.

[3] John Piper, from the Foreword to Thomas R. Schreiner’s book Faith Alone: The Doctrine of Justification (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015), p. 11, italics his.