Sermon Central
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Death A Christians View
Contributed by James Phillips on Jun 20, 2003 (message contributor)
Summary: How a Christian should look at death.
DEATH A CHRISTIANS VIEW.
We build great monuments to the dead. The greatest and best know is the Tashmahal in India. Built by a loving husband to remember his wife. We here today will not have an Tashmahal built for us at best a granite head stone with a few words inscribed on it.
We in America look at death different than many do. We fight and battle to stay alive, we will spend our last dollar to gain one more day, and when the end comes as it will for us all. We mourn our dead with loud wails and tears, with great funerals, with beautiful flower and sweet sad songs. We do this because we see death as an end. Because we are a temporal people. Because we do not know what awaits us on the other side and because we do not have the faith to believe what we a told in the Bible. That if we have followed the plan of salvation we will be saved or because we are not sure there is really a heaven or hell.
But for the true Christian it is just the start of a great and glories time. A time when all the hurts and worries of the world are gone a time of rest in the loving care of our Lord and Savoir Jesus Christ.
We’ll first look at what death means to the unbelieving.
Job 18:5 18
5 "Indeed, the light of the wicked goes out, And the flame of his fire gives no light.
6 "The light in his tent is darkened, And his lamp goes out above him.
7 "His vigorous stride is shortened, And his own scheme brings him down.
8 "For he is thrown into the net by his own feet, And he steps on the webbing.
9 "A snare seizes him by the heel, And a trap snaps shut on him.
10 "A noose for him is hidden in the ground, And a trap for him on the path.
11 "All around terrors frighten him, And harry him at every step.
12 "His strength is famished, And calamity is ready at his side.
13 "His skin is devoured by disease, The firstborn of death devours his limbs.
14 "He is torn from the security of his tent, And they march him before the king of terrors.
15 "There dwells in his tent nothing of his; Brimstone is scattered on his habitation.
16 "His roots are dried below, And his branch is cut off above.
17 "Memory of him perishes from the earth, And he has no name abroad.
18 "He is driven from light into darkness, And chased from the inhabited world.
The meaning of death to those who believe in Christ
11 This He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep."
60 Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them!" Having said this, he fell asleep. (Stephen’s death)
16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised;
17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.
18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
I
51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
Paul looks forward to death.
2 For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven,
3 inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked.
4 For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.
5 Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.
6 Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord
7 for we walk by faith, not by sight
8 we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.
PHILLPPIANS 1:20 23
20 according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.