Donald Trump and Michelangelo on going to heaven

I have refrained from commenting on Donald Trump’s recent statement about heaven since so many others have. However, I saw something in today’s news that provoked this article in response.

As you may have heard, the president was discussing the war in Ukraine a few days ago and said, “I wanna end it. You know, we’re not losing American lives . . . we’re losing Russian and Ukrainian mostly soldiers. I wanna try and get to heaven if possible. I hear I’m not doing well. I am really at the bottom of the totem pole. But if I can get to heaven, this will be one of the reasons.”

You know as well as I do that our salvation is not based on ending wars or any other works we can accomplish, but on the saving grace of God in Christ. Paul made this clear: “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9).

Nonetheless, we live in a culture dominated by works righteousness. We are measured constantly by what we do, how well we do it, and what others think of how well we did it. Our vocations depend on such success, as do our material lives. 

It is therefore unsurprising that most Americans think salvation can be earned, and that nearly 40 percent of Americans say a person who does not believe in God can still go to heaven. As a result of such self-righteousness, only 2 percent are afraid they will go to hell.

But there’s more to the story, at least for me.

Michelangelo’s surprising self-portrait

Sunday was the Feast of St. Bartholomew on liturgical calendars. Listed as one of Jesus’ twelve disciples by Matthew, Mark, and Luke, he is referred to as Nathanael by John. Bartholomew was his surname; the Hebrew means “son of Tolmai.” Nathanael was his first name; taken together, he was known as Nathanael Bartholomew or Nathanael Bar-Tolmai.

We know him primarily from John’s account of his call by Jesus (John 1:45–49), but we also know that he saw the risen Lord Jesus (John 21:2) and was present at the Ascension (Acts 1:1–11). According to tradition, he took the gospel to Armenia, where he was arrested and tortured; his skin was reportedly flayed from his body before he was crucified.

Fast forward fifteen centuries to Michelangelo and his painting of the Sistine Chapel. In his world-famous The Last Judgment, he portrays a figure holding flayed skin and thus depicting Nathanael Bar-Tolmai. Historians say the face on the figure is that of Michelangelo himself.

This flayed skin also brings to mind the flaying of Marsyas by Apollo: in his arrogance, Marsyas challenged Apollo to a musical contest and was punished by being flayed alive. Michelangelo could identify by Marsyas, since his contemporaries dubbed him “divine” for his ability to rival God in giving form to the ideal body. The artist often lamented his youthful pride, which had led him to focus more on art than the salvation of his soul.

In this work, done in his mid-sixties, he is therefore acknowledging his prideful sin and expressing his hope that Christ, unlike Apollo, will have mercy on him and grant him salvation.

Why I struggle with grace

Whether our fears about eternity are based on present inadequacies or past failures, both can be trusted to the grace of our Lord. The problem is that our works-based world doesn’t agree, nor does our enemy. 

Since Satan cannot steal our salvation, he wants to steal the joy of our salvation. He knows that if we lack assurance in our faith we are less likely to share our faith with others. And he knows that a joy-less Christian is less a witness to the world.

But there’s a third factor here, one that I was forced to admit in writing this article: I want to find my joy in salvation on the basis of my works. I am a willing co-conspirator with the secular culture and the enemy. I don’t like having to depend on grace, whether it comes from God or from anyone else. I want to deserve all I have, which pushes me to try harder to do better and to refuse to be satisfied with the status quo.

However, I have learned that living in this way is unsustainable, since there’s always another article to write, another need to meet, another person to impress. And I’ve learned even more that working in this way excludes the Spirit from my work, which means my works and words have far less eternal significance and impact than I wish for them.

The simple truth is that God cannot share his glory without committing idolatry. When I seek to justify myself, I cannot at the same time glorify him.

“Struggling with all his energy”

Does this mean that we should not work hard in and for the kingdom? Not at all. Just today I read this statement from Paul, referring to the other apostles: “I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10). He testified similarly to the Colossians: “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me” (Colossians 1:29).

The key is to work in the power of the Spirit for the glory of God. This starts at the start of each day as we submit our lives to the Holy Spirit and seek his empowering and direction (Ephesians 5:18). 

Then, as we walk through the day in the Spirit, we are led and used to do what God wants for God’s purposes. He uses our gifts, abilities, education, and experience in ways that are unique to us. But it is his Spirit working through us to do far more than we can do for him.

David pointed to this balance when he testified, “He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure” (Psalm 40:2). With this result: “He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lᴏʀᴅ” (v. 3). David could therefore assure us, “Blessed is the man who makes the Lᴏʀᴅ his trust” (v. 4).

So, may I encourage you to stop right now and take a moment to surrender your mind and life again to your Lord? To thank him for your salvation by grace through faith and to ask him to use you to share that grace with the world? To pray for him to do through you what you cannot do for him?

“Enough to know that we are serving thee”

To this end, I invite you to pray this hymn by John White Chadwick and Ralph Vaughan Williams as your commitment to your Lord:

Is the last line true for you today?