“Would you spend time in Heaven with your rapist?”

With a Subtitle: A reader's question offering both insight and opportunity for a Biblical Christian response.

A brief Excerpt: A reader's question offering both insight and opportunity for a Biblical Christian response.

The Author is: Jeff Hilles

This one statement by a reader touches on at least a dozen major points of Biblical Christian theology that understandably challenges secular logic. For purposes of this specific question, a response can be seen from both God and mankind’s perspectives. 

1. Does God forgive horrific sins. 
2. Can and should Christians forgive horrific sins?

God and the Forgiveness of Sins

Of course, the whole premise of the Christian faith is based on the idea that God has the power, authority, and willingness to forgive the bad behavior of mankind. It is not automatic, but, at the same time, it is not based on our efforts or “works”. 

Not Automatic – Romans 10:9 - If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Not based on our Efforts - Ephesians 2:8-9 - For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 

All Biblical Christians fully understand and accept the core beliefs (details here) that God sent His Son to live a perfect life on earth and die a sacrificial death for the sins of those who accept Him as both our Savior and the Lord of our lives. And, it is the Bible that provides an instruction manual for our life on earth and the faith we have in an eternity in Heaven. 

However, one cannot just “accept Christ as Savior and Lord” and show no sign of a changed life. That would be disingenuous, creating a false sense of security not supported by true and honest faith. 

James 2:14,17 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?… So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 

For the true Biblical Christian, God forgives sinful behavior, even horrific sins such as rape. The Lord forgives the born-again Christian, regardless of all his/her past deeds while on earth, and it is that forgiveness that allows for entrance into Heaven. Further, God recognizes that the Christian continues to sin after salvation and, through repentance of those bad behaviors, He continues to cleans the believer to the point of death.

2 Corinthians 5:8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body [death] and at home with the Lord [Heaven]. 

So, the answer to the first half of the reader’s question would be, yes, there will be rapists in Heaven. 

Christians and the Forgiveness of Sins

We are called by God to be Christlike, forgiving those times when others do harm to us. Though we can never achieve this ideal, the Lord calls each Christian to strive toward being an image of Christ to those around us.

Ephesians 4:24 Put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Of course, this is easier said than done, but regardless, it is both a command and a goal of sanctification (details here). 

To the question of can we, as true Christians, forgive those who have harmed us, the honest answer is, it depends…

It depends on who we are in Christ. When the Lord calls us to be Christlike in the forgiveness of others, we know from the Bible that God is asking a lot. Jesus was persecuted to the point of being crucified, yet never sinned (1 Corinthians 5:21). For the believer, our ability to forgive others is based on the internal struggles we have between our own sin nature (which seeks revenge) and the Holy Spirit (which seeks a desire to forgive). For most of us, forgiveness is difficult, especially in the case of horrific behavior such as rape. 

Those who don’t understand the battle that rages within the believer between our sin nature and the Holy Spirit, understandably challenge us on simple questions like how we could ever forgive one who raped us. Logically, from a human perspective, forgiveness would seem both unnecessary and nearly impossible. What they miss is that God is calling us to be different from the world with a recognition that His ways are above our (sin nature) ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). 

What is even more illuminating in the question posed by this reader is the timing of forgiveness. 

Mankind, without an understanding of Heaven naturally assumes that human nature on earth is equivalent to our new nature in Heaven (2 Peter 3:13). Born-again Christians of today are not the same as the fully sanctified and glorified people we will be on the other side of the grave. Without a sin nature to battle against, we will live in harmony with all those like-minded believers, joining in fellowship and the worship of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, in Heaven. 

The reader who titled this post with his question, “Would you spend time in Heaven with your rapist?”, ended by saying…

“God is unjust. It’s better to be honest with yourself than have faith in a cruel God. I don’t want to spend eternity with criminals.”

My ending response was, “Hell will be full of unforgiven criminals. Heaven will be filled with forgiven criminals.”