Death – Fear it or Rejoice In it?

No one likes to talk about death. Most of our lives are spent trying to avoid it and certainly we must hold life up as something precious.  But if we call ourselves Christians then death must not be something we fear. If our loved ones are Christians then we must not cling to them when death becomes imminent in their lives for the Bible is clear; we are not citizens of this earth, we are aliens here and are just passing through. Philippians 3:20-21 reminds us that “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”

As I was studying in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 I found that in the second half of this chapter Paul has given us what we need to take comfort in the fact that Jesus is coming back for us. Paul has given us five basic facts in which we can take comfort and encouragement in, even when it comes to death.

Fact number one is that we have not been left uniformed about these things. We have God’s truth about death. Paul addresses this in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 saying, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.” Paul as an apostle from Jesus has been sent to be sure we are not uninformed about death. More often than not fear derives from not knowing, from not sure about how a certain situation will turn out. Christians have enough knowledge of death to live life without fearing it and even to have hope in it. That fact puts us light years ahead of the rest of the world.

The second fact Paul gives us here is the reason we can have hope even in death; Jesus is coming back for us.

1 Thessalonians 4:14-15
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.  For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.

For those who believe that Jesus died and rose again can know that the return of Jesus is a fact. Jesus is coming back for us and not only is He coming back for us; He is bringing those who already have died with Him to get us. To fully understand the fact as Paul gives us here, we must understand the term “fallen asleep.” Notice that Jesus is bringing back those who have fallen asleep. That means when they died they did not stay here in the ground. This means there is no such thing as soul sleep. It is the body that went to sleep and lies in the ground as a seed. James 2:26 tells us that “as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” But our spirit goes immediately to be with Jesus as we read of in 2 Corinthians 5:8 which tells us “…we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” So Christians can have a sure hope in death and a sure hope in life.

But what about our bodies? Paul’s third fact here explains how that will work.

1 Thessalonians 4:16
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

The dead in Christ will rise first. As I alluded to above, the body after death becomes like a seed as it returns to the earth. Genesis 3:19 spoke of this saying “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” And don’t let someone freak you out because your loved one was cremated and not buried. God created us and He can raise us in our resurrected body regardless of what happened to our bodies in death. And God is not going to put your old pieces back together again as if you were Humpty Dumpty. (By the way all the King’s horses and all the King’s men tried that and it didn’t work. God could do so if He wanted however.) No, God will out of the seed of your dead body, raise you to a new resurrection body.

1 Corinthians 15:35-36
But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?”  You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

The new body will not be like the old.

1 Corinthians 15:48-49
As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.  Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

Is that awesome or what? Our new body will be free of the old flesh and we shall be like Christ.

The fourth fact Paul gives us is that those Christians who have not yet perished at the return of Christ will not face death but will be caught up in the air.

1 Thessalonians 4:17
Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air…

We will be reunited. Reunited with Jesus and reunited with all those who preceded us in death. Though the word rapture is not used here, the Greek word used means to snatch up or to seize and take by force. Our word rapture derives form this word. It means we will be plucked from this world. Imagine the confusion that will reign when in the twinkling of the eye the masses of believers are suddenly just gone? But as Christians we have the assurance we will not face that.

Paul’s final fact given in this section is that Christians will be with our Lord forever. Read the final words of chapter four.

1 Thessalonians 4:17-18
Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.  Therefore encourage one another with these words.

We will always be with the Lord Jesus. Imagine that. Our battles will be over. Sin will no longer seek to control us and lead us away from God. Our worship of Him will be perfected. There will be no more sickness. No more death and no more need for hospitals. We will have eternal bodies that are completely void of pain and our minds will be healed of all the emotional garbage that messes up our relationships.

Death? Be not afraid.

2 Timothy 1:10
And which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

Encourage each other with these words. Share the Gospel with those who do not have the same hope we have.

Isaiah 25:8
He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.

Therefore encourage each other with these words.

The Amazing Grace of God

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound”, who of us are not familiar with those words? It’s arguably the most well known Christian hymn and for good reason. Last night a Christian sister posted a story about it on my Facebook page. Tuesday nights at our church is the night our Celebrate Recovery group meets and for those unfamiliar with CR it is the Christian equivalent of things like Alcoholics Anonymous except its doors are open to anyone who is seeking to recover from all the various things that weigh us down in life. Last night at our church friends and family of a dear Christian sister who passed away from cancer were gathering in a memorial service in her honor. My friend told me that as the CR group was singing the hymn Amazing Grace she had to step out for a moment. As she passed by the memorial service being held in the sanctuary she heard them singing Amazing Grace as well, as if the two groups had planned to sing in unison. They had not.

You see there are no accidents. Things are not spinning out of control on this earth in spite of the events that lead us to feel so. The Bible is clear; God is sovereign. He has not abandoned us to walk out the days of our lives in fear or in worry. In Acts 17:26 we read that God has determined our appointed places and times. That those two groups were both singing in unison was no coincidence last night. That my friend posted to me that this occurred has a purpose. That the song was Amazing Grace is by design: God’s design.

Often we when we think of the amazing grace of God we stop short at our salvation. And yes, it is amazing that God would show us that grace, the grace of forgiveness of our sins as He provided through His one and only son, Jesus, who paid the penalty we deserve. But God’s grace, His amazing grace, does so much more than give us the hope of eternal life. His grace allows us to live the abundant life Jesus spoke of in John 10:10.

Last night at that Celebrate Recovery meeting were people from all walks of life, each with different stories. Some suffer from addictions to drugs and alcohol; addictions that probably should have killed them by now. Addictions that brought pain and suffering to not only themselves, but also to their loved ones. These addictions haunt them everyday as they call out their name and try to draw them back to the darkness they’ve tried so hard to escape. But God’s amazing grace gives them the strength to say no. Some were there because someone in their own life abused them. It doesn’t matter if the abuse is physical, sexual, or even emotional. The scars of those wounds run deep and left untreated they bring bitterness, shame, and guilt; even when it was the actions of someone else. It is God’s amazing grace that has given them the strength to go on and to not only understand it wasn’t even their fault, but God’s amazing grace has allowed them to forgive those who hurt them. There were probably some at that meeting who were the abusers. They also live in a world of sorrow and guilt and shame. Yet God’s amazing grace has allowed them to BE forgiven and to find a restored life.

Then just in the other room were people gathered who mourned. Some maybe felt fear, fear of what the future holds now that their mother is gone. It’s easy to feel guilt when losing a loved one as you ponder the mistakes of the past and wonder if they knew you loved them. But God’s amazing grace also provides the comfort to move forward and to learn from the past without letting it consume you. Other’s in that room may have simply been filled with sorrow. Yet because they can sing of God’s amazing grace they remember that as Christians we do not mourn as the world does. No, because of God’s amazing grace they rejoice in the truth that our beloved sister is in in the arms of Jesus and shall never again know pain or sorrow.

God’s grace is amazing. Whatever you face if you will turn to God and let Him into your life, His amazing grace will empower you to conquer the evils of the day and to bear up under the weight of the pain of life. Jesus has promised to never leave us. He even sent His Holy Spirit to dwell within us to guide us, to teach us, and to comfort us. This is God’s amazing grace.

You see God’s amazing grace is sufficient to provide all we need in this life and in the eternal one. Nowhere does the Bible say we won’t face troubles. Because we live in a broken world in which each and every one of us is a sinner, there will be sickness, death, and all other types of difficulty to face until Jesus returns. But God has not deserted us. The Apostle Paul prayed three times to have the thorn in his side removed. But listen to the answer to his prayer from 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

God’s grace is amazing. God’s grace is sufficient. God’s grace is what gives us the strength to go on even in our weakness. Amazing. Whatever you face, wherever you are today, God wants to give you His grace, His amazing grace.

Won’t you sing of it now?

Amazing grace, How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved.
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come,
'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease
I shall possess within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

When we've been there ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.

How Much Do Black Lives Matter? Or Blue lives? Or All life?

We keep saying Black Lives Matter. Or we say Blue lives matter. Then we say All lives Matter.

We are missing the point. The real real question is how much do they matter?

Do black lives matter as much to all white people as other people's lives? Do cops lives matter as much to a black inner city kid as they do to a white woman driving through East St. Louis? Does the life of a baby in the womb matter as much to the college kid who got pregnant 6 weeks ago at a party while she was drunk as much as to a husband and wife who have struggled to get pregnant for 8 years?

You see the question is really "What do I care about?"

For us Christians the answer is simple.

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

There was no racial distinction nor is there an economic requirement. Jesus died for the world. Jesus died for the sinners.

If you claim Christ as your savior you must claim Him as your Lord.

This must be our mission:

Philippians 2:1-8
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

We must look at other people's lives as MORE important than our own.

Then things will change.

Forgiveness is not an option for the Christian.

Colossians 3:12-13
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

The command here is we are to forgive as the Lord has forgiven you. And how is that? How did Jesus forgive us? Let us see what God’s Word says.

Romans 5:8
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

While we still sinners Christ died for us. He didn’t wait for us to stop being sinners. He died for us, which is how He procured our salvation and the way God forgives us. We are called to do the same thing. We are to die to self. This means that even when the sins of others hurt us, we must love them so much that our hurt does not matter. We die to our own feelings and we forgive. Period. Christians, we must stop making excuses for holding on to our anger and bitterness. While we are yet sinners Christ died for us.

Hard, isn’t it? Well it’s pretty much impossible except for the fact that we, as believers, have the power of God through the indwelling Spirit of God living in us.

So what must we do in these terrible days? We must put on holy and beloved compassion for all God’s people. We must be kind, humble, meek, and patient even with those who seek to harm us. We must bear with each other our sinful infirmities. We must forgive.

The greatest of tests of our faith is found in this command. If we are unable to forgive then we must repent. Our own personal salvation is at stake.  I leave you with a stern warning from the very mouth of Christ, Himself. Take it serious people.

Matthew 6:14-15
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.