Can't Preach Someone into Heaven

Sometimes people will ask about a loved one who has died. They want to know if the person is in heaven? I don’t say anything about one who has passed, except they are in the hands of God who will judge them according to His word (Revelation 20:12; Acts 17:30-31). And that the Bible teaches those who obey the word will be saved (Matthew 7:21). But those who don’t will be lost (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10).
​
At funerals some preachers will pronounce the deceased “walking the streets of heaven with Jesus.” Now they don’t know that—all they are doing is talking a good game trying to get the grieving family to feel better. It certainly is our hope that the departed is safe in the arms of Jesus. But as we have said, we don’t know, and we need to keep our mouths shut and leave all else up to the Lord (Matt. 25:34,41). We can talk about the good things we remember about the person, comfort the living and also warn the living with the teaching of the gospel (Hebrews 4:9-13).