The Good News About Death 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 New King James Version 50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.55 “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. The Word of God teaches that physical death is the beginning of a new existence for believers. The Lord has prepared an eternal home where those who honor His name can rejoice forever. The condition for entry is simple: believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins, and receive His forgiveness. Some people regard this prerequisite for admittance as narrow-minded. Hanging a “For Believers Only” sign on a place as special as heaven seems unfair to them. God set up that limitation for a reason. All the way back in the Garden of Eden, He laid down a law to protect His creation: Do not disobey Me. The penalty for breaking that command is death. Of course, we all violate the law because we are flawed human beings. In order to save people from the consequence of their wrongdoing, God sent His Son Jesus Christ to shoulder all of our sin and die in our place. Our Savior fulfilled the law while taking our punishment. The good news is that He did not remain in the grave—Christ arose victoriously after three days! God promised in His Word that those who receive Jesus Christ as Savior share in His resurrection. When a believer dies, the heavenly gate swings open, and he or she has the same triumph over death that Jesus did. This means that when we leave this world, we do not simply disappear into vapor. We continue serving the Lord in heaven. Death is not the end. It’s the moment we claim our ultimate victory over the lord of this world, Satan, by entering God’s presence forever.
Posted on: Thu, 14 Nov 2013 18:25:23 +0000
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