Will it be possible for us to sin in heaven?

Answer

The Bible provides a detailed description of heaven or the eternal state in Revelation chapters 21–22. Nowhere in those chapters is the possibility of sin mentioned. In fact, we are assured that in the eternal state, we will never experience death, sorrow, crying, or pain “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”, (Revelation 21:4)—the absence of those things confirms that sin is also absent, as they are the result of sin (see Romans 6:23).

The sinful will not be in heaven but in the lake of fire “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”, (Revelation 21:8). Nothing impure will ever enter heaven “And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”, (Revelation 21:27). Outside of heaven are those who sin “For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.”, (Revelation 22:15)

An Old Testament prophecy also assures us that the Kingdom of God will exclude sinfulness:

“A highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. . . . But only the redeemed will walk there” (Isaiah 35:8-9).

So, the answer is no, it will not be possible for us to sin in heaven.

God wills our sanctification “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:”, (1 Thessalonians 4:3); that is, He wills to make us holy and free of sin. Our sanctification has three phases: positional sanctification, which saves us from the penalty of sin at the moment of faith in Christ; progressive sanctification, which saves us from the power of sin as we grow in Christ; and complete sanctification, which saves us from the presence of sin as we enter the presence of Christ. “When Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”, (1 John 3:2). In other words, the process by which God sanctifies us involves justification, maturation, and glorification.

The glorification that God promises His children “Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”, (Romans 8:30) necessarily includes sinlessness, because sinful beings cannot be glorious. Heaven, the place of God.’s glory, is sinless. Paul prays in 1 Thessalonians 5:23, “May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely” (ESV), and he links the glorious appearing of Christ to our personal glorification: “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” «When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. », (Colossians 3:4). This glorified state will be our ultimate separation from sin, a total sanctification in every regard. It will not be possible for us to sin in heaven.

James 1:14 provides another assurance that we will not sin in heaven: “Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.” In this sinful world, we face temptation daily, and James identifies two forces that prompt us to sin: our own evil desire (our sin nature) and enticement (the devil’s schemes). Neither of those forces will be in heaven. Our sin nature will have been eradicated in our glorification, and the tempter will have been consigned to the lake of fire where he can do us no harm «And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. », (Revelation 20:10).

The Bible’s teaching is that heaven or the eternal state is completely holy. There will be no possibility of sin, we will be clothed with righteousness «And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. », (Revelation 19:8), and we will be eternally confirmed in our state of bliss. The work that God promised to complete in us will have been finished «being confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. », (Philippians 1:6).

, (Philippians 1:6). Our salvation will be total, as the chosen ones are redeemed—body, soul, and mind—to the glory of the Lamb (Revelation 5:6-10).