One of the perks of being a media volunteer at church is being invited to advance screenings of Christian or "religious" movies. It's also a great excuse for us to hire a baby sitter and go on a date! So, last night we were invited to a screening of the movie Heaven is for Real which is based on a true story. There is already a book that was written and this movie is taken from that book. The pastor and family are real and in fact still preach at the church mentioned in the movie. I didn't do any research on the movie other than watch the preview. It seemed like it might be a good film. It comes out right around Easter and I couldn't advise you strong enough to NOT go see it. Do not support this movie. If you want a great movie to see during this time, go see the God's Not Dead movie!
So, why was this Heaven is for Real so bad? There was not a single scripture reference or presentation of the Gospel. When people would ask the child if their son or spouse was in heaven, the pastor would respond did you love them enough to go to heaven? To go to heaven, we must know Christ which means knowing and following His Word. Someone doesn't go to heaven because we love them. Jesus Christ is a loving God and because He loves us, He commands us to repent of our sin and follow Him. This means we are to die to our own selfish desires, humble ourselves and follow Him. We must read His Word daily so that we can be discerning and make disciples. 2 Timothy 2:15 tells us to "be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth". 2 Timothy 3:13 also tells us that "evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived". Don't be deceived by thinking this is a Christian movie. It is a feel good movie, without any foul language or violence but certainly not an outreach or evangelism movie.
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