Christ-centered versus heaven-centered faith

“Jesus is not calling people to align themselves with heaven. He calls people to align themselves to him.”

Skye Jethani is an award-winning author, former pastor, and speaker. He is also the cohost of the popular Holy Post podcast.

In this episode of The Denison Forum Podcast, Jethani discusses his latest book, What If Jesus Was Serious about Heaven?. The conversation contrasts Christians’ traditionally held views of heaven with what the Bible actually says about heaven.

Jethani discusses the idea of viewing heaven as a restoration mission rather than a rescue mission. This perspective shifts the narrative from an afterlife escapism to a present-life commitment toward living in union with Jesus.

Host Dr. Mark Turman and Jethani also reflect on Jesus' teachings about the earthly application of his “kingdom come” and how that should influence our lives today as Christians.

Topics

(01:48): Skye Jethani’s journey to faith

(05:24): What did Skye’s father think about his choice to go to seminary?

(07:25): The story behind the uniqueness of Skye’s name

(08:24): How did you come to meet and later work with Phil Vischer on The Holy Post?

(11:12): Why did you start a series of books titled What If Jesus Was Serious About . . . ?” And why did you decide to write on heaven in your most recent book?

(14:39): An accessible but challenging devotional with deep theology

(18:43): A heaven-centered faith vs. a Christ-centered faith

(24:06): What does Jethani mean by “thin places”?

(28:05): Why we pray “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”

(30:24): Is Jesus coming on a rescue mission or a restoration mission?

(36:20): Scriptural fallacies that well-meaning Christians believe because of tradition

(40:21): What did Peter mean when he wrote that “the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved”?

(43:54): Oneness with Christ

(47:39): Why does a right understanding of heaven matter to us today?

Resources

• What If Jesus Was Serious about Heaven? By Skye Jethani
• If Jesus was serious . . . then our view of heaven must match his: An excerpt from "What If Jesus Was Serious about Heaven?" by Skye Jethani
• The Holy Post podcast
• More about Skye Jethani

About Skye Jethani

Skye Jethani (MDiv, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is an award-winning author, former pastor, and speaker. He is cohost of the popular Holy Post podcast, with over 600,000 downloads per month. Jethani has written numerous books, including the What If Jesus Was Serious? series, and served for more than a decade in numerous editorial and executive roles at Christianity Today. He also writes a daily devotional called With God Daily. He and his wife live in Wheaton, Illinois, with their three children.

About Dr. Mark Turman

Dr. Mark Turman is the Executive Director of Denison Forum and Vice President of Denison Ministries. Among his many duties, Turman is most notably the host of The Denison Forum Podcast. He is also the chief strategist for DF Pastors, which equips pastors and church leaders to understand and transform today’s culture.

About Denison Forum

Denison Forum exists to thoughtfully engage the issues of the day from a biblical perspective through The Daily Article email newsletter and podcast, The Denison Forum Podcast, as well as many books and additional resources.