What Is to Stop Us From Sinning In Heaven?

Satan had free will in heaven and chose to sin. Adam also possessed free will and used it to sin. Since we will also have free will in heaven, what is to stop some people from choosing to sin in heaven?

We’re told that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, and that the cross fully defeated him.

“For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”

1 John 3:8

“he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death–that is, the devil–

“Hebrews 2:14

“Now judgment is upon this world; now the prince of this world will be cast out.”

John 12:31

We’re also told that pain, crying, and death will never exist again:

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Revelation 21:4

“Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.”

Revelation 20:14

“The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”

I Corinthians 15:26

Since the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), if there’s no death then it follows logically that that means no one will sin again and thus bring on themselves the penalty of death.

We also see that “the sting of death is sin” and what do the righteous dead proclaim when they are raised to everlasting life? “Oh death where is thy sting?” What they are saying here is that there is no more sin – they are sin-free, since the sting of death is sin, they are saying they are sinless.

1 Corinthians 15:55-56

We’re told in Revelation 22:3 That “No longer will there be any more curse.”

What brought the curse?

The breaking of the law – sin. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, by becoming a curse for us.” Galatians 3:13

“No more curse” means no more sin.

Furthermore, we’re told in Revelation 22:11 That a time will come when everyone will either be righteous or wicked, and that no one will go back on their choice; it will be a final decision.

“Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.” Rev. 22:11

While at first it may seem like this text applies only to people on earth, the heavenly sanctuary where Jesus is atoning for our sins, resolves the sin problem for the entire universe – not just people on earth, but all sin. This is shown in the service of putting the sins onto the scapegoat, representing Satan in the Day of Atonement, or Day of Judgment. Sin is laid on Satan, and Satan and all the wicked are judged and destroyed in hellfire.

This eradicates sin from the whole universe.

The fact that the sanctuary is cleansed, and Jesus takes off his priestly robes, never to present his blood for guilty sinners ever again, shows that the work of removing sin has been finished for all time.

The probation then which closes, is not a probation merely of man, but of the whole universe. The whole universe is free from sin, and any new beings created will not choose to sin. If God knew they would choose to sin, there would be need of Jesus officiating as a mediator, (or if their sin was like Satan’s and they cannot be forgiven because they sinned in the light of God’s great love and made a final choice, then Jesus would still need to keep a record of the sins in the sanctuary and have a judgment, but we are told the Judgment of the wicked that takes place after the 1000 years is the last Judgment that will ever be conducted. It is so final that God throws death and hades into the lake of fire and death itself is destroyed, signifying no one will ever sin again or be judged with death for their sin ever again.) Because Jesus never again officiates in the Sanctuary as a priest handling the sins of his creatures, and his work is forever finished, this shows us that probation ends for the universe – for all time – and not just man.

You can see that the Bible plainly explains that all of the works of the devil will never rise up a second time – sin, suffering, or death.

Now the question is, How will they never rise up again? Well how did Christ defeat Satan? By the Cross.

“For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross”

Colossians 1:19-20

“he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment–to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.”

Ephesians 1:10

Before the Cross God was love – God has always been love. 1 John 4:7 But Satan accused and attacked God’s character and his law. (James 4:11, Genesis 3:4-5). So God sent a demonstration of his love to refute those false charges. Christ is the demonstration of the Love of the Godhead.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:8

Before the Cross the sacrificial love of God had not been demonstrated. Before the Cross God was love. The Bible defines love as God. But it also says this:

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

1 John 4:10

Love is defined as Christ’s death on the Cross to save guilty man.

Before the cross God had that deep infinite love, but it had only been demonstrated by itself, not yet alongside and against evil, not yet in the unique conditions brought about by sin and the tyranny of Satan, a world where Satan’s principles were being carried out, and Satan had tempted man to sin and fall under the condemnation of the law. Prior to this there had only been love, and the conditions and principles of evil had not been manifested. God had to show how His love worked and interacted in a world of sin with fallen, lost beings. This is how Satan could deceive a third of the angels: he slandered God’s name, but God refuted the charges in Christ for all time. So while beings will still have free will throughout eternity, they will not choose to sin again because of the love clearly shown and demonstrated in the Cross.

God in his perfect goodness, conducted things in such a way that free will was upheld and preserved before, during, and after the war with Satan, and into eternity, while providing a way that sin would not rise up a second time. In fact, it was precisely because God values free will and beings having an intelligent knowledge of his character that he sent Christ to die. He did not want them to serve him from fear unintelligently like the animals, but from knowledge of his great love for them. This knowledge of his love demonstrated on the cross secures the universe from sin forever.