It depends on the understanding of heaven. We're very good at getting 'heaven' to mean somewhere else, and it sort of is - what I mean, is that if God is not subject to time, then nor is heaven; the Kingdom of Heaven is outside of time and thus able to exist both 'now' and 'always'. Therefore, justification means that we are freed to see God's Kingdom now, and don't just have to wait till we physically die.

The ticket to heaven is printed on the back of a get-out-of-jail card and you get them both at the same time. But suppose you wanted to frame the card. Which side would you display?

Hell - separation from God throughout eternity - is a pretty daunting prospect and I imagine it would make anyone blissfully happy to be assured that this is not their destiny. To be justified is to be released from a fate worse than death. It brings with it amazement, gratitude, joy and many things besides, all the things that accompany the wonder of the conversion experience.

I think we sell justification short if we reduce it to a theological formula. Theology is necessary because the body needs a skeleton. But the skeleton alone is devoid of life. To become fully human the skeleton must be clothed with a body and endowed with a spirit. It is the same for theology, the way we think about divine things. It is barren unless it has life.

The remission of our sins is therefore a joyous event and should be portrayed as such, however tempted we may be to use the language of the Roman law court in explaining what it means. Justification is the beginning of a new life. But it does not stand alone. Heaven is the reality of this new life. The wonder of our faith is that we do not have to wait until we die to enter it and experience it. Jesus has promised us that the Kingdom is both within us each and among us in our discipleship.

There is one way in which I would regard justification as more than simply a ticket to heaven, and it lies in the words I chose above - amazement, gratitude and joy. These are not abstractions, we have them because of what has happened to us, they are part of our history and they remind us of who we are. They arise immediately we realise the love of Christ and what he has done for us, and I am confident they will stay with us in eternity. They are the signs and symbols of our justification.

I shall frame my card and have the ticket to heaven on the wall, but I will l not forget what lies behind it.