Chapter 4
Inbred Sin Removed Before We Enter Heaven
It is hardly necessary to dwell at length on this topic. We are writing to those who do not accept the sensual heaven of the Mohammedans, nor the gross heaven of Paganism, but who believe in the heaven of the Bible; the home of the pure and holy; to those who believe in a God who is holy; who invites men to become His children, in order that they may dwell with Him forever. Hence:
1) From the very nature of the case, inbred sin must be destroyed in order to live with Him. To suppose it possible to dwell a moment in His presence, with His angelic hosts and the spirits of just men made perfect, with any sin in us, is an idea too incongruous to be mentioned. These angelic hosts, we are told, cry, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts!” Now “how can two walk together except they be agreed?” No soul can live in perfect accord with a holy God who has the least of sin in him; for God cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. He can never be pleased with it, and if He should admit it into Heaven in any form, it would destroy the very idea of Heaven, which is the abode of the pure and the holy. It would be a surrender of the Divine aversion to sin.
2) We know this from the teachings of Scripture. The Revelation declares of the Heavenly City: “And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie” (Rev. xxi. 27). The Apostle declares: “Without holiness no man shall see the Lord.” David asks, “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord, or who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul to vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.” From the nature of the case, and from the express teachings of Scripture, we know that inbred sin must be removed before we enter Heaven.