I Want To Get To Heaven...
- Andrew Fouts
- Aug 20
- 4 min read
A recent trending news item caught my eye yesterday. The President was once again in the news, but this time, something was different. It caught my eye, not because of the typical political reasons, but instead, this time, I saw in the headlines and social media posts, another example of how the cultural message of the American church misses the mark completely. Let me be clear, this is not a political piece at all. This is not even an indictment on the president. No, this is a full indictment and a call for change in the American Church, regarding how we approach Soteriology and Evangelism.
“If I can save 7,000 people a week from being killed, I think that’s pretty-- I want to try to get to heaven if possible, I’m hearing that I’m not doing well. I am really at the bottom of the totem pole, but if I can get to heaven, this will be one of the reasons.”
President Donald Trump made this statement during an interview with Fox and Friends about his recent meetings regarding Russia and Ukraine. It was met with laughter by the Fox News hosts, but later that day, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked if the President was joking or not, and she replied that she believed the President was serious and that “all of us in this room want to get heaven.” This all has been met by a wide variety of responses, from Christian Influencers calling out Paula White for her prosperity gospel teachings influencing the President, to Fox News correspondent Jesse Watters making a correction about faith alone being the key to salvation, and the President's critics citing the other atrocities of his presidency. But I think these all are missing the mark as well. This is not an indictment of the President or a place for a Political shouting match. This highlights how poor the cultural soteriological view is within the United States.
“I WANT TO GET HEAVEN”
What we are seeing this week is the fruit of how we have taught salvation as a culture over the past century, if not longer, in this nation. The Hellcentric gospel is what has provided the framework for these events. Press Secretary Leavitt’s words highlight this perfectly “We all want to get to heaven”. This is what we have painted salvation to be. It is all about the final destination and meeting a standard that we are comfortable with. Even when it is veiled as a desire for heaven, the reality is that the view of salvation is nothing more than an escape of judgment.
HEAVEN IS AN IDOL, SALVATION IS AN IDOL, HELL IS AN IDOL
The unfortunate reality that the current situation highlights is that Heaven is an idol, Salvation is an idol, and Hell is an idol. All three of these things have become the sole focus of how we talk about the afterlife. Everything is defined by the destination and the efforts to get there, even when those efforts are positioned as Faith Alone. But where is Jesus? Where is Jesus in these conversations?
We talk about faith in Jesus, but then continue to talk about shame and what we are not to do now that we have a new life. We talk about Heaven, but only as our reward for believing right. We talk about Hell as the enemy and place of judgment, and something to be feared. But this is not the picture we see in Scripture. Heaven is the Kingdom of God, a kingdom that is not focused on individual accomplishments but by those bearing Christ’s Image, experiencing Him here and now. Salvation is defined not by shame, but by the realization that Christ’s Grace is Sufficient. Hell is not a kingdom of evil or place of judgment, but instead a weak rebellion that has already been crushed by the King of All. Christ is what should be at the center of our discussions on the afterlife, not the outcomes.
CHRISTOCENTRIC THEOLOGY
Our theology must remain Christocentric. The moment we shift our focus even a little bit, we fall into this trap of idolatry and a confusing message for the world around us. Our desire should not be heaven, but should be Jesus. Jesus is enough. His grace is sufficient. His Spirit is peace. His heart is for those that are hurting. His throne is everlasting. Christ at the center is how we are supposed to live, and the message that we preach.
I think the President has highlighted the reality of our current state and this should provide us with a chance to make the internal corrections about the message we are preaching. That the answer to the President's desire is found in basking in the beauty of Christ Jesus. A beauty that penetrates our shame, and changes our desire to see peace come here and now to all mankind. Not because we think we will receive a reward when we die, but because we already are experiencing the greatest possible thing we ever could now.
For our full episode on Heaven and Hell: https://www.ministrymisfits.com/podcast/episode/7ca8c959/ministry-misfits-episode-50-sin-and-punishment
For our full episode on The Gospel: https://www.ministrymisfits.com/podcast/episode/7ed5a7d2/ministry-misfits-episode-91-the-gospel
For our full episode on Atonement Theories: https://www.ministrymisfits.com/podcast/episode/7aac9065/ministry-misfits-episode-115-theologizin-bigger-about-atonement-theory-with-trey-ferguson
For our full episode on this discussion tune in August 26th!
This post was written by Andrew Fouts. The founder and main content creator for Ministry Misfits. He is also one of the writers for the Overwhelming Victory Blog, as well as one of the directors and writers for KFM Broadcasting Network.
This post was edited by Joseph Dea. Joe is a writer for his own blog at https://kfmbroadcasting.wixstudio.com/buddywalkwithjesus and is one of the directors and writers for KFM Broadcasting. Find out more about Joe Dea and his other projects at
This blog is being crossposted to our network blog at www.kfmbroadcasting.com/blog. If you have found this or other Misfits Resources helpful, check out the network of resources available through KFM!
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