April writes in to ask, "Dear Pastor John, when a Christian dies and goes to heaven in spirit, do they see their loved ones who are still on earth? I hear it said sometimes that they are looking down on us or watching out for us. Is this true or is this just another happy funeral thought?" What do you say, Pastor John?

I want to say that the comforts that the Word of God gives to those of us who've lost Christian loved ones are so massive and so glorious, it's a shame that anyone would resort to speculation to find comfort. That's what I want to say. It is speculation to wonder how much the saints in heaven know about the events on earth.

We don't know. And it's a sign of ill spiritual health when someone feels the need to know in order to be happy. There's no evidence that the saints in heaven serve the saints on earth. The Roman Catholic Church is going beyond the Bible when they cultivate the practice of praying to the saints for help or for intercession.

Jesus is the one mediator between God and man. 1 Timothy 2.5, there's one God and one mediator between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus. So what I say to people who ask me about their loved ones in heaven is this. Since the Bible is clear that being there is better than being here, and being at God's right hand is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore, we can say for sure that God will give the saints whatever measure of knowledge they need for the greatest experience of happiness in God.

That's why I answer. If they need to know something here for their fullest experience of joy in God, they'll know it. I mean, he won't withhold what's needed for their happiness in him. If they need to be ignorant of something for the fullest experience of joy in God, he'll keep them ignorant.

In other words, we need to trust what we're told in the Bible about the happiness of the saints in heaven. It is glorious. It is supreme. God loves them and he's providing for them everything they need. But the main thing to emphasize is that all speculation about such things for the sake of strengthening our souls is a spiritual detour off the main highway of God's blessing and comfort and strength and hope.

The highway is what he has revealed in the Bible, and it is glorious beyond words. Here's a few tastes to end with. To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose, I cannot tell.

I'm hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far and away better. Philippians 1 or so we're always of good courage. We know that while we are in the body, we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.

Yes, we are of good courage and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. They're at home. Relax. They're at home. And Paul said it's far preferable. Or Luke 20. He is not the God of the dead, but of the living for all live to him.

So they're alive and they're living to him and he is their God. Or first Corinthians 15. Death is swallowed up in victory. Oh, death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin. The power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

So my beloved brothers, be steadfast. Now this is this is what you need to say to these people who are all worked up about whether they're seeing us. You be steadfast. You be immovable. You always abound in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

When you get there, you won't regret anything you've invested in the Lord. Or one more. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning or crying or pain anymore for the former things have passed away. So my response is if these solid biblical promises don't give strength and joy and solid hope to the grieving, there's a deeper problem that needs addressing.

And that problem will not be solved by speculating about the saints in heaven. Very good. Thank you, Pastor John. And speaking of speculation in heaven, one of the most popular episodes that we released back in March, we talked about the books of these near-death experiences or return from heaven stories that are so common and popular today.

See, that episode is titled "How Real is the Book? Heaven is for Real." That's episode number 302. We talk about Calvinism or Reformed Theology here on the podcast a lot, and we increasingly get questions from listeners who are new to those terms. Tomorrow, I'll ask Pastor John for a very basic definition of Calvinism or Reformed Theology.

I'm your host, Tony Reinke. I'll see you back here tomorrow on the Ask Pastor John podcast.