Marx was wrong about a robust biblical faith. However, he may have been right about the kind of cultural Christianity he witnessed around him. 

The Pathway to Glory

Is the idea of glorification an opiate for the masses? Karl Marx would have thought so. He argued that religion leads the believer to focus on the prospect of the world to come and to neglect this one. He famously wrote: “Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.”¹ He described heaven as a fantasy.² This is the proverbial “pie-in-the-sky-when-you-die” mentality, to borrow a line from a song written by Joe Hill in 1911. Hill was an activist for organized labor. His song parodies the well-known Christian hymn “In the Sweet By-and-By.” However, as we shall see, the biblical testimony is that the process of glorification has already begun in this life. Moreover, as we shall also see, the prospect of glory provides motivation to live a godly life in the here and now. The prospect of the world to come should lead believers to service in this one. Furthermore, glorification as a process and a prospect is a work of the triune God. It is a gospel benefit.

Two Paradoxes of Glorification

There are two paradoxes to consider regarding glorification and our experience in following Christ. The first has to do with the outer and the inner. As we have seen, the apostle Paul conceived of glorification as beginning in the here and now: from one degree of glory to the next (2 Cor. 3:18). This is a matter of faith, not sight. I am no longer a young man. To look at me is not to look at a glorious being. Paul knew the truth of the paradox and the Christian’s need for encouragement. He wrote to the Corinthians: “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self [lit. “the outward humanity”] is wasting away, our inner self [lit. “our inward”] is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16–18). However, Paul lived in the light of eternity, and so he went on to write: “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:17–18).

Becket Cook, a Hollywood set designer, experienced a dramatic conversion from gay atheist to devout follower of Christ. He still wrestles with same-sex attraction, but for him the prospect of an eternal weight of glory more than compensates for the desires rightly left unfulfilled. He writes: “These verses [2 Cor. 4:17–18] are always a salve to the soul when I struggle with temptation. (Yes, I still do!) . . . It is hard to fathom the eternal weight of glory, but I know it is infinitely more gratifying than any ephemeral pleasure on this earth.”³

The second paradox is that even though we can be transformed from one degree of glory to the next, we may also experience great suffering at the very same time. In fact, the path to glory is Christomorphic—that is to say, Christ-shaped. Christ suffered as the Son of Man before entering his glory, and he warned his disciples that suffering would be their experience too. In the upper room, he spoke plainly: “Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours” (John 15:20). The apostle Peter understood his Master’s point: “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Pet. 5:10).

Read More