By Hank Hanegraaff
To assert that we are not capable of sinning in heaven would seem to suggest that we will not have free will in heaven. Yet to claim that we could start sinning again in heaven raises the possibility of another fall—this time in paradise restored. How, then, can we be certain that the problem of sin is resolved in eternity?
First, we can be absolutely certain that we will not sin in heaven because that is what the Scriptures teach. In this life our position in Christ is one of righteousness. In the life to come, we will be righteous in practice as well. Christ’s ultimate purpose for His bride is “to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Ephesians 5:27).
Furthermore, where there is no temptation, there likewise will be no sin. While in the present we are bombarded by the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil, in paradise restored the problem of sin and Satan is forever resolved.
Finally, in heaven we will be actualized in righteousness, free to be what God made us to be. Far from robbing us of freedom, such actualization is the quintessence of freedom. We freely give up the freedom to sin in exchange for freedom from sin.
In His infinite wisdom, the Holy Spirit inspired the human authors of Scripture to illustrate this unwaveringly faithful relationship between the Lord Jesus and the church with the analogy of marriage. Jesus is the church’s singularly sinless and freely faithful bridegroom. Likewise, in heaven the church will be His “holy and blameless” bride. A bride freed forever from enslavement to sin. Freed to enjoy paradise restored.
In part adapted from AfterLife
There shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Revelation 21:27 NKJV
For further study, see Hank Hanegraaff, AfterLife: What You Need to Know About Heaven, the Hereafter, and Near-Death Experiences (Brentwood, TN: Worthy, 2013).
***Note the preceding text is adapted from The Complete Bible Answer Book: Collector’s Edition: Revised and Expanded (2024). To receive for your partnering gift please click here. ***