What Happens When We Die (Part 1)

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What Happens When We Die (Part 1) – 1 Cor 15:23-28 1 Cor 15:23-28 (p961) The issue is – what happens when we die (Intro); And I want to talk about it . . . B/c death is all around us, we all face it, and I think most people are scared to death of it Pun intended; I think most people are scared, confused, and uncertain And we either look for answers that make us feel good, or busy ourselves with the stuff of life, so as not to look at all; So as not to think about dying I think that describes most people when it comes to death; Even believers And I don’t want you to be among them; I want you to know the truth, and be a source of truth; I want you to have a quiet confidence about your death . . . And look forward to it like the Apostle Paul • So to that end, follow along w/ me here in 1 Corinthians, starting in v23 Paul just said that our resurrection as believers is as certain as Christ’s resurrection, and as certain as our death; In Christ shall all be made alive, v22 23 But each in his own order [we’ll be made alive in this order]: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” Let’s stop there, b/c that’s the basis for what happens when we die It’s a general timeline of history, starting with . . . The resurrection of Christ – Christ the firstfruits (23a) Then, the return of Christ and the resurrection of his people That’s the v23b – that those who belong to Christ will be made alive at his coming Then, is the reign of Christ in v25 – during which he destroys every rule, authority, and power; including death itself And then, comes the end, v24 – when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father, after reigning and conquering; It’s the end of life as we know it . . . And the beginning of life for all eternity That’s the general timeline of history that Paul lays out here (Summary) Meant not as a comprehensive summary, but a framework, within which he makes his point – that believers, those who belong to Christ, will rise like Christ Our bodies will be resurrected, just like his That’s the main idea that he’s been pounding, and that he continues to pound • But it begs some questions as to the details, doesn’t it For instance, what happens when we die, between the resurrection of Christ and the return of Christ? As in, right now; What happens? And the first part of the answer, that I want to spend the rest of our time on, is that . . . 1. The souls of believers go immediately to heaven (2 Cor 5:6-8; 1 Th 5:10; Phil 1:23) It’s what theologians call the Intermediate State, and it’s implied by at least 4 different Scriptures; The first of which is 2 Cor 5:6-8 So we are always of good courage [b/c there’s life after death for those with the HS, those who are believers; that’s what he just said in the previous verses]. (:40)

We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight [we’re not in his physical presence while we’re alive here on earth]. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. The implication being, that when we die, our souls are separated from our bodies, and go to be with the Lord in heaven – b/c that’s where he is right now And there’s a sense of continuity to it That to be away from the body is to be at home with the Lord . . . Just like to be away from the Lord, is to be at home in the body; No gaps; No breaks There’s a sense of continuity • Not only that, but there’s a sense of immediacy to it as well Something 1 Thess 5:10 gets at, where Paul says – [Our Lord Jesus Christ] died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep [a metaphor for death] we might live with him. We might be with him; In life or death; There’s no separation, and no waiting Which is why Paul could say in Rom 8:38 – I am sure that neither death nor life . . . will be able to separate us from the love of God There’s a sense of immediacy, and continuity; That to die and be away from our bodies, is to be alive and at home with the Lord • And then there’s Phil 1:21-23, where Paul says – For to me to live is Christ [IOW my life is one great big opportunity to glorify him], and to die is gain. Why? B/c once again, he gets to be with him; And then look at what he says in v23 I am hard pressed between the two [between living and dying]. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. And then goes on to basically say – but that’s not his desire for me right now So I’m going to keep on living and glorifying him, as long as he gives me breath Which, by the way, rules out suicide and reckless living as a God-glorifying option Just b/c dying and being with Jesus is better than living here on earth, doesn’t mean you can take your life to make it happen; That doesn’t glorify him But the point, is that to die – is to depart and be with Christ To go immediately into his loving presence • Last, there are the words of Jesus himself (Lk 23:43) to the repentant criminal on the cross next to him – Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise. Today, when you die, you’re going to be with me in heaven Obviously talking about his soul, b/c his body was going to remain on the cross Supporting the fact, that the souls of believers go immediately to heaven Which the Apostle John confirms, in his vision of heaven, recorded in Rev 6:9 He sees the souls of those who died in Christ, worshipping around the throne All of which implies, that when you die – if you’re a believer, if you’re a follower of Jesus Christ through faith and repentance . . . You’ll go immediately to heaven***** Your soul will leave your lifeless body, and go immediately to life-giving presence of Jesus (:48)

• A place where Old Testament believers already are (Heb 12:22-24) Now, there’s not a lot of Scripture that speaks to this . . . But Heb 12 is one that does; Heb 12:22-24 (p1009) The writer of Hebrews is in the midst of saying – keep on; keep on living right, and worshipping, and striving for holiness Not b/c you face a fearful future w/ God, like the Israelites faced at Mt Sinai . . . But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem [he’s speaking of our future in heaven as a present reality; you have come] .. And to innumerable angels in festal gathering [heaven is a party that makes Times Square on New Year’s Eve look like child’s play] 23 And to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven [that’s one key phrase] and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect [that’s another key phrase], 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant [a new way of salvation through faith in him], and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. Referring to the blood of Jesus that proclaims forgiveness, as opposed to the blood of Abel that shouts offense, due to sin • The point being, that the assembly of the firstborn and the spirits of the righteous made perfect in v23 – are one and the same group, who are already in heaven And that group, includes both NT and OT believers Those on this side of the cross who put their faith in the Living Word, Jesus . . . And those on the other side of the cross who put their faith in the spoken word – the promise of Jesus, the promise of God, the promise of salvation They’re part of the assembly of the firstborn, b/c they were among the first to receive their commendation by faith, Heb 11:2 And they’re among the spirits of the righteous made perfect – b/c they’re not only the beneficiaries of the righteousness found in Christ . . . But the beneficiaries of the perfection found in heaven So the souls of all believers go immediately to heaven when they die, including OT believers who are already there Which means . . . • There’s no such thing as soul-sleep Soul sleep is a belief in some religious circles, that when believers die, they go into a state of unconscious existence until Christ returns And they usually base it on Scriptures that describe death as a lack of activity Like Eccl 9:10 – Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol [the grave], to which you are going. There’s no earthly activity when you die Or how about Ps 115:17 – The dead do not praise the LORD, nor do any who go down into silence. There’s no praise and no sound And when you connect those verses to others that refer to death as sleep, it seems kind of legit; That instead of going immediately into the presence of God when we die . . . We exist in a state of limbo (:56)

The problem is, such a conclusion runs contrary to the NT verses we looked at earlier Verses that clearly indicate an immediate transition from death, to heaven • The resolution to which, is realizing that the perspective expressed in Ecclesiastes and Psalms, is from our standpoint, not God’s; It’s not the full biblical perspective When we look at death, we see a dead body; There’s nothing going on – no activity, no speech, no nothing But when we look at death from God’s perspective, like we saw in 2 Cor 5 and Phil 1 – it’s a momentary transition, (snap) just like that, into his presence There’s nothing unconscious or inactive about it***** And the same is true for unbelievers except their destination is different In any case, there’s no such thing as soul-sleep Nor purgatory • There’s no such thing as purgatory Now, before I say this, please hear me I’m not trying to demean, or belittle, or disparage those who go to Catholic churches, or believe in such a thing But I am trying to refute the Catholic doctrine, that teaches and perpetuates purgatory so pervasively in our culture; I am trying to do that • That said, purgatory is the supposed place where the souls of believers go, to be further purified and punished for sin, until they’re ready to be admitted into heaven The problem is, there’s absolutely no biblical support for it It’s a purely man-made belief that was declared as “truth” in 1438, and justified by the thought that the Catholic church has the authority to do so Which is yet another man-made “truth” • And the Scriptures they cite to lend support to it, are inferences at best, and have nothing to do with it at worst Like Mt 5:25-26, where Jesus is using some illustrations, to warn about the dangers of anger and a lack of reconciliation in our relationships; And he says . . . Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. 26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny. It’s an illustration to make the very practical point that anger and the lack of forgiveness in relationships, leads to no good But Catholic theologians say it lends support the doctrine purgatory That the prison in v25, is a reference to the spiritual prison of purgatory, from which you’ll escape, after you’ve paid your full and necessary punishment for your sin And the other Scriptures they cite, are equally as weak, or worse***** • The biggest problem however, is that the doctrine of purgatory flies directly in the face of clear biblical teaching about the atonement, and our release from punishment/guilt Found in Scriptures like Rom 8:1 – There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. There’s no more prospect of punishment or guilt, for those who are saved (:04)

And Heb 10:14 says – By a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. It doesn’t say – by a single offering, plus some additional sacrifice and suffering, he has perfected those who are being sanctified Nor does it say that he has almost perfected those who are becoming more and more holy like him Rather, by a single offering [his own, and that’s it] he has perfected [it’s a done deal] for all time [never to be lost, compromised, or diminished] those who are being sanctified [those who are becoming more and more like Christ]. So not only is there no biblical support for purgatory, but it flies in the face of clear biblical teaching on the atonement, the gospel***** Not to mention the fact, that just like soul-sleep, it runs contrary to the verses above, that indicate an immediate transition to heaven • Once again, I’m not trying to make you feel bad if you’re coming from a Catholic background; Nor am I saying that your parents or grandparents . . . Were bad people for raising you in the Catholic church What I am saying, is that the doctrine is bad, and you shouldn’t believe it, or have anything to do with it It’s unbiblical; It’s wrong; It fosters fear; It leads to insecurity – that your sins are not fully forgiven; It’s heretical – implying that God requires more than what Christ paid It promises false hope – that if you do enough good works, or give enough money, you or your loved ones can be relieved of their suffering And it’s shameful – the doctrine of purgatory has done more to fill the coffers of the Catholic church with money, than it has to fill the hearts of people, with truth Don’t believe it There’s no such thing as purgatory; And closely related . . . • There’s no use praying for the dead Once again, this is predominantly a Catholic doctrine – based mostly on church tradition, and a reference in the Apocryphal book of 2 Maccabees But just like purgatory, there’s nothing in Scripture that indicates we should do such a thing, nor was the Apocrypha considered inspired by the early church In fact, it wasn’t even considered inspired by the Catholic church until the 1500’s And that was largely a response to the Reformation; That time in Europe, where people were returning to the Scriptures, and Scripture alone – as their rule for faith and life The absence of which, the absence of Scripture, for things like praying for the dead – left the Catholic church on shaky ground So they canonized the Apocrypha, and cited 2 Maccabees 12:44 as ‘biblical” support Nonetheless, there’s nothing in God’s Word to support it, or warrant it, or encourage it In fact, the example of King David refutes it 2 Sam 12 tells of his fervent prayer and fasting for his infant son – until he died Then he got up, washed up, worshipped, went home, and ate IOW he got on with his life b/c there was no point in praying for him after he died His eternity was sealed (:12)

• All of which means, that praying for the dead is a moot point – there’s no biblical support for it, the examples indicate otherwise, and there are no second chances It’s appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment (Heb 9:27) Just as believers go immediately to heaven, unbelievers go immediately to hell as we’ll see in a few weeks; And there’s no crossing over between the two Which makes praying for the dead not only pointless, but a waste of your God-given time and energy Better to pray now, while they’re still alive (Summary) Better to live with a greater sense of urgency now And better yet – to know the truth, be a source of truth, and rest in the truth yourself The truth that the souls of believers go immediately to heaven – including your own Pray – Thank you for the truth; Impress it deeply on our hearts and minds; Help us to rest in it with a quiet confidence; And be a source of it for others (:14) Bless these tithes and offerings I pray, and especially those who give them Allowing us to see your goodness in the land of the living, while you give us life/breath