Church Traditions can be wrong. If you read it carefully, the Bible does not actually say that only Christians will have eternal life in Heaven.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Jesus is the only way to the Father, but who is going to the Father? This only tells us that those who go to the Father, will go there because of Christ. That could include atheists.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
What do you mean by believe?
Christians assume that a person must believe in Christianity. There must be repentance, but that can occur with or without believing in Jesus. For most Christians there must also be agreement with fundamental teachings and practices of their particular church. That is where the belief comes in.
To believe in someone is to believe in their integrity and character. It is to believe in their essence. Believing in Jesus is not a question of believing the teachings of Christ as interpreted by the church. To truly believe in God, we should believe in who God is. A person who has never heard of Jesus can believe in the essence of the Son of God without knowing anything Jesus said.
Believe in the person
We see this very idea, two verses later.
John 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
We must believe in the name of the Son of God. Surely that doesn’t simply mean believing in the word “Jesus” or “Yeshua”.
A person’s name represents their essence. In the Bible, when a person is transformed, they will sometimes change their name because they are now a different person.
Isaiah 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
God is absolute Righteousness far greater than we can comprehend.
To believe in the name of God, we must believe in the essence of God which is righteousness. All good people believe in righteousness. We may not always do righteousness, but we believe in righteousness. That is what it means to be a good person. Perhaps that includes everyone, perhaps not, but all good people will have eternal life in Heaven because they believe in the name of the Son of God.
What do you mean by faith?
Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
The grace that leads to eternal life is given freely to all good people through their faith in righteousness. To have faith in righteousness is to have faith in God. This means we are not saved by works; we are not saved by anything we do including repentance. We will have eternal life in Heaven entirely because of Christ.
What do you mean by saved?
Acts 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Saved from what? Christians assume that anytime the Bible talks about heaven, hell, judgment or being “saved”, it is talking about eternal life determined on the Day of Judgment. Sometimes it is, but sometimes it is not.
In the Old Testament punishment and reward was believed to be executed in this life. “An eye for an eye” is just one example showing that the judgment of God is measured. Punishment or reward that is measured cannot be eternal. The idea of resurrection did not appear in Judaism until not long before Christ. With resurrection there comes the idea of eternal life and the Day of Judgment.
With Christianity the focus somehow shifted entirely to eternal judgment, but even in the New Testament there are examples of punishment and reward occurring in this life.
Luke 7:50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.
Luke 18:42 And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.
Jesus healed a blind man and told him that his faith had saved him, but the blind man was saved from a life of blindness. Every time the Bible talks of heaven, hell, judgment, or being saved it may be referring to temporal judgment which is punishment and reward before the Day of Judgment.
Both are true
Heaven can mean eternal life as determined on the Day of Judgment, but it can also be referring to measured reward before the Day of Judgment. Both applications of justice are supported by the Bible, so they are both true. Understanding both applications of justice causes some confusion in the Bible to disappear. Christians will sometimes talk about temporal judgment, but without considering that many Biblical passages could be referring to it.
The Day of Judgment destroys all evil, but temporal judgment is God’s answer to suffering. God will respond to all suffering, and God will deal with all who cause suffering. Everything we do is subject to both temporal judgment and the Day of Judgment.
Luke 17:20-21 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
It is noteworthy that the Bible can be interpreted to mean that Jesus will give eternal life to all good people on the Day of Judgment while our words and actions may still affect us in temporal judgment before the Day of Judgment.
Church Traditions
It is strange that Christians are often upset by this idea. Obviously, Christians have spent many centuries certain that going to Heaven requires believing in Jesus. But the Bible can be interpreted to mean God will give eternal life to all good people. Believing in Jesus may mean believing in righteousness. This is a wonderful outcome, and it is what we should expect from a timeless God who is infinite justice, but also infinite love and infinite intelligence. Surely God can find a way to give us free will and still resurrect all good people to eternal Heaven.
Luke 9:59-60 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
Temporal judgment, heaven in this life, is for the living not the dead.
Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Repentance has to do with the kingdom of heaven, which is at hand, which is temporal judgment. Eternal Heaven is entirely a gift of Christ for all good people.
