Near-Miss?

The Bible is clear: there is one way to God - through Jesus, who said that He is the way, truth, and life. And, there is one way to heaven. But, these days, there is a tendency out there to blur the lines - it's a product of seeing God as more tolerant of sin, redefined with a false sense of benevolence, even to the extent of admitting people to heaven that do not meet the Biblical conditions. Jesus taught in John 14:
1 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
2 In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
4 And where I go you know, and the way you know."

The way you know, Jesus said - but Thomas probed further:
5 Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?"
6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

In a Biblical view of the afterlife, close does not count.  In order to live with God forever in heaven, we must embrace Jesus. But, Blake Shelton offers a different view in a new song called, Let Him in Anyway.

Plugged In describes it this way:

For Christians, it’s an agonizing thing when a close friend or relative dies before coming to know Jesus. And that’s precisely what country icon Blake Shelton is singing about in his tear-jerking new ballad “Let Him in Anyway.”

The review of this song states that the singer "...gets more specific about, it seems, his attempts to evangelize a friend that fell on a deaf ears and a resistant heart: 'I tried and I tried, he was startin’ to listen/I brought him to church, he was feeling conviction/But you took him away ‘fore I could convince him.'”  Plugged In goes on to say:

Shelton strongly implies that he believes salvation isn’t universal, as so many other voices in our culture suggest. Instead, he fears getting to heaven himself and finding that his friend isn’t there: “So I’m here on my knees, sayin’/Hey God/I know you know what I’m ’bout to pray, God/I just had to suck it up and say goodbye to my best friend/And I don’t ever wanna never see him again.”

A grain of Biblical truth is hijacked as Shelton sings, "And I know the only way to get in is through you/And he wasn’t quite the Christian he was supposed to be/And Lord, it ain’t my place/But could you let him in anyway?”  So, was this friend a Christian or not?  The review notes:

None of us are the Christians we should be, no matter how “good” we think we’re doing in our faith. That’s why Jesus gave His life on our behalf, because even our tears of repentance must be washed in His blood. Shelton hints that salvation is about God, not about our spiritual performance, but the waters get slightly muddier here when talking about whether someone was a “good enough” Christian to make it in.

Clearly, as the article points out, Blake Shelton suffers some guilt for not getting his friend into heaven.  And, while we should all be faithful to share with others about Jesus, it is ultimately up to the person who is being witnessed to to make the decision for Christ.  As Adam Holz, writing for Plugged In, states:

It’s not our job to convince someone that Jesus is who He says He is, “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). Rather, my job and yours—if you’re a follower of Jesus—is to faithfully bear witness to who He is and to pray for our friends while they’re still with us. The rest is up to the Holy Spirit.

It seems like Blake Shelton did that in this case. I love that he’s singing about his passion for people to come to know Jesus, and that he understands the consequences of that not happening. But whether Blake’s friend is in heaven or not, in the end, is not because he ran out of time to coax him into the kingdom. And it’s important to keep that in mind, too, even if you’re reaching for the tissues to dab your eyes after listening to this beautiful song.

Well, certainly you should not expect accurate Christian doctrine in a forum - in this case, country music - that is not devoted to it.  That doesn't mean that God will not use various musical styles and genres to communicate His message.  But, we have to be careful these days.

Bottom line: there is no such thing as a "near miss" with regard to where you will spend eternity - Jesus is very clear.  The Bible says that "now" is the day of salvation, so here and now, we should all examine our lives and determine whether or not we believe in Jesus and have been saved. It's not a matter of how kind you are to people, even though true kindness is a fruit of the Spirit.  Nor, is it related to church attendance, although we are called to not forsake the assembly of believers together. Salvation comes through confessing that Jesus is Lord and believing in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead.  That results in true life change.  

Embracing faith-adjacent concepts that are not Biblical can lead people astray and create a misunderstanding of what it means to be saved, what it means to be a Christian.  It's not done in our own strength, in the power of our own good works, but in the strength of the Lord as we allow Christ to live His life through us.  A 2021 article at The Christian Post said that, "Nearly 70% of born-again Christians disagree with the biblical position that Jesus is the only way to God, according to a new survey from Probe Ministries, a nonprofit that seeks to help the Church in renewing the minds of believers with a Christian worldview."  We must search and study the Scriptures to make sure that our beliefs line up with what the Bible teaches.