Is it wrong to be saved just to escape hell and go to heaven?
Wanting to escape hell and go to heaven is not wrong in itself, but it is an incomplete motive. Believers are not saved merely as a fire escape; they are redeemed to be to the praise of God's glory in this life, right now, as those who have trusted in Christ.
Les explains that many people—especially children—are saved merely as a fire escape. They just want not to go to hell; they want to go to heaven. He says there is nothing wrong with that, of course, but he stresses that we are not just saved to escape hell. We are not saved just to go to heaven. Rather, we are saved to be to the praise of His glory in this life, right now. This is why God paid the price of our redemption, so that we can be to the praise of His glory—those who first trusted in Christ. The emphasis is on believing, not being baptized, joining the church, or doing good works. The sequence is that after hearing the word of truth, they trusted.
That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.