Joy in Death and Life!
Philippians 1:21 (ESV)
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Heaven and Hell!!
Jesus
speaks of hell more than anyone else in the Bible – that not everyone dies and
goes to a better place – that death is not in and of itself sufficient to have
entrance into heaven.
·
Daniel 12:2 says that we will arise, some to
everlasting destruction, others to everlasting joy. The question is not, “Will
we live forever?” The question is, “Where?”
·
There is no
purgatory or second chance to escape
o Hebrews 9:27
(ESV) And
just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment
·
There is no waiting
period, there is no eternal sleep waiting for Jesus to return
o Philippians 1:21
(ESV) For
to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
o 2 Corinthians 5:8, Paul says, “To be
absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”
The
Scripture tells it this way when it comes to what happens and where we go
Your
two parts body and soul, when we die, they are separated, the body goes into
the grave and the soul continues to live. The question is this, “Where does the
soul reside once we experience physical death and the soul is separated from
the body?
In Luke 16. He explains a holding place that has two
sections with a chasm between the two so that there can be no movement of souls
between these two holding places. One is called paradise. The other is called
Hades.
·
Paradise
o Saints who were
waiting the coming of the Lord Jesus
o It was a place of
blessing. It was a place of joy. And it was a place of holding until Jesus
died, rose and ascended, and heaven was opened up after sin had been atoned for
o Jesus was sinless
and so death could not constrain him.
Ephesians 4:8 and 9, quoting one of the Psalms – there
was a messianic prediction about Jesus – said that “when he ascended on high,
he took captives with him in his train” – meaning once Jesus had died and risen
to take away sin, he ascended back into heaven, thereby opening heaven to
sinners by paying the penalty of death for their sin. And so then with him, all
those who were in paradise went to be with Jesus in heaven.
So
today, there is no one in that holding place of paradise. If you today to die
as a Christian – Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:8,
“To be absent from the body” – your body goes into the grave – “is to be
present with the Lord” – that your soul goes to heaven to be with Jesus
·
Hades
o Those who die apart
from Jesus, their soul goes to be in a holding place called Hades, which is
still occupied to this day and will be until hell is finally opened up in the
second coming.
o The language of
scripture as well uses words like wailing and grinding or gnashing of teeth in
pain, and torment and suffering and justice for unrepented sinners under the
hand of a Holy, righteous, just and good God.
One
horrific myth that has gotten out is that somehow Satan rules over hell and
Jesus rules over heaven, and that is not true. Jesus Christ is King Lord. He is
Savior. He rules over heaven and earth and hell. He rules over all.
All
of that to tell you this truth – if you are a Christian, this life is as close
to hell as you will ever experience. And if you are a non-Christian, this life
is as close to heaven as you will ever experience. That for the Christian, this
life is as bad as it can possibly be. And for the non-Christian, this life is
as good as it could possibly get.
Now
I give all of that to you so that you will theologically be ready to hear the
words of the Apostle Paul. He knows the Old Testament and the words of Jesus.
As a great man of faith he knows someday he will Die and be with Jesus. They
have chased him and many times tried to kill him. He is in prison and may never
make it out; even if he does they might murder him. So he is writing his
friends a letter and has some of the most incredible insights in to death!
Read Vs 18-20
Rejoice!!
·
Paul
had no fear of hell because he has full faith in Jesus. He had no fear of death
because he knew where he was going
·
If
you do not have full faith in Jesus, then you should not rejoice in the prospect
of your death, Because you know where your going!!
·
The
only way to rejoice in the face of death is to know that Jesus’ death was your
death, and that Jesus’ life is your assurance of eternal life.
For my deliverance
·
I’ll
get out of prison or I’ll die and go to heaven either way—either way, God will
deliver me
As it is my eager
expectation and hope that I will not be ashamed, but that with full courage now
as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.”
·
He
knows he is going to heaven
·
God
will be glorified no matter what happens
·
He
keeps pressing forward, no matter what the outcome
·
ITS
ALL ABOUT HIM
Read Vs 23-26
VS 24 “To remain in the flesh is more necessary”
·
He
knows he would rather die and be with Jesus
·
He
also knows that he has work let here to do (we all do)
VS 26 “Ample Cause”
·
He
wants his life to be an example
·
He
wants them to see what a life transformed that does not fear death looks like
·
Remember
he is in PRISON!!
Read VS 27-28
VS 27 It’s a one thing!!
·
We
must unite for Jesus
·
We
must serve one cause for Jesus
·
There
is strength in numbers (it’s a bunch thing)
·
WE
MUST MOVE THE GOSPEL FORWARD!!!
VS 28 Don’t be
frightened!!
·
AS
Christians we don’t need to fear death
·
All
anyone on this earth can do is send you to heaven!!
·
It
shows there destruction and everlasting torment that awaits
·
Its
proof of our salvation!!!
Read VS 29-30
VS 29 Suffer, we will
Suffer!!
·
Love
this verse!! We will suffer and it’s a privilege to!
·
Paul
says to be a Christian is not to just believe in Jesus and go to heaven. To be
a Christian is to believe in Jesus, suffer for his sake, and then go to
heaven—that suffering is as much a normal part of the Christian life, as believing
in Jesus is a normal part of the Christian life. You and I should not be
shocked or surprised when we suffer. We should know that the definition of a
true Christian is one who believes in Jesus and suffers for his sake.
No comments:
Post a Comment