Can People Sin In Heaven?
Free Will and Sinlessness In Heaven
1. Free will is an essential part of the nature of human existence as created by God. To lose free will at death would be to lose the quality of being human and render people puppets or robots instead, incapable of love.
Because God always intended to live in heaven in a loving relationship with “His people” (Psalm 100:3; John 14:1–3; Revelation 21:1–4), there can be no loss of free will for redeemed believers in heaven.
2. Redeemed believers in heaven are not restored to a state of original innocence such as that which Adam and Eve experienced when they were first created. Rather, saved believers in heaven will be perfectly and fully redeemed from sin and its consequences and transformed into the image of Christ (Romans 8:28–30).
3. Salvation leads to sanctification which results in glorification. Glorification is the state of the believer’s completed transformation in heaven and includes the following:
- a resurrected and changed body (1 Corinthians 15:47–57)
- transformation into Christ likeness (Romans 8:29; Philippians 3:20–21; 1 John 3:2)
- final and ultimate victory over sin and death (Romans 8:1–2; Revelation 21:4)
- inheritance of eternal life (John 3:36)
- perfect joy in the presence of God (Psalm 16:11)
4. Unlike Adam and Eve, who had no prior knowledge of good and evil before their fall into sin, saved believers in heaven will have already experienced the destructive consequences of sin in their earthly lives. This understanding motivates them to avoid sin and to turn to God and His grace and righteousness.
There will be no natural curiosity about good and evil, such as Adam and Eve had, because the terrible effects of sin have been experienced and well understood by humans ever since Eden. This is why there is no tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the new heaven, new earth, or in the new Jerusalem… although there will be the tree of life (Revelation 2:7; 22:2).
5. There will be no temptation to sin in heaven either by the devil, the sinful flesh, or by corrupt worldly influences. The devil will be in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10), sinful flesh will be changed (Romans 8:2, 21; 1 Corinthians 15:46–49; 2 Corinthians 5:17), and this present world will have been done away with (2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 21:1–2).
6. Saved believers in heaven will experience the purifying presence of God Himself, something not ever experienced in our present earthly lives. This will produce such awe and joy and contentment that no thought of sin will take hold in our minds or hearts.
His promises will be fulfilled, His presence will bring joy, His perfection will purify, His power will protect, and His permanence will guarantee the sustaining of His plans for all of eternity.
7. The result is that believers in heaven will have full satisfaction and joy in the Lord, with perfectly transformed and sinless natures, and will love and serve Him with gladness by the free choice of their redeemed will.
