Word of Salvation – Vol. 21 No. 48 – August 1975
Lord’s Day 22 – Q&A 57
Sermon by Rev. A Nijhuis, B.D. on Lord’s Day 22 (1)
Silent Prayer
“I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in Me, shall never die.” John 11:25,26
Votum & Salutation
Singing: Psalter Hymnal 74:1,2,3
Prayer
Scripture Readings: Isaiah 26:7-19 & Philippians 3:7-21
Text: Lord’s Day 22a (Question 57 only)
Singing: Psalter Hymnal 38 before sermon
Prayer
Offering(s)
Singing: Psalter Hymnal 469:1,2
Apostles’ Creed
Benediction
Doxology: Psalter Hymnal 469:3
Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
An observant modern writer has said, “The fact of death is the great human repression.” That means that people in our day ignore or try to ignore the reality of death. Dying is the reality that man dare not face, and to escape this reality he summons all his resources. It is a forbidden subject; and it should not be mentioned.
There is another author who points out that in the previous century the processes of birth and reproduction were never mentioned in polite society, whereas the processes of death were an accepted subject of ordinary conversation. Today, by contrast, the processes of death are never mentioned in certain circles, whereas the processes of birth and reproduction are a matter of preoccupation and concern.
Whatever the reasons may be, the fact is that we live in the midst of a vast conspiracy of silence as far as death is concerned. It has been observed that if we do not come to terms with death, we cannot come to terms with life.
The fact is that we have to face life and that we have to face death. No one can escape them.
The familiar words of the first book of the Bible, “You are dust, and to dust you shall return”, are undoubtedly true.
There is, however, not only the certainty of unescapable death, there is also the question about the hereafter. It is this which fills our hearts with fear.
Even a man like Rousseau affirms that “He who pretends to face death without fear, is a liar.” Another writer says: “The fear of death is so natural to man that all life is one long effort not to think about it.” Epicurus, a Greek philosopher who was living about 300 B.C. observed that “what men fear is not that death is annihilation (destruction, so that we don’t exist anymore) but that it is not.” It is not the fact of death itself but the gnawing uncertainty of what lies beyond the grave.
The Bible does not deny the fact of death but says that “It is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment.”
We have to face this fact. It is better that we do than to try to forget this reality and to live as if there is no end.
Everyone has to bow his/her head before this enemy. “No man has power to retain the spirit or authority over the day of death.” (Eccl.8:8). There is no weapon to destroy this enemy.
The Bible has more to say than only to point to this reality. The Bible is a book of hope, of life, of certainty. It contains the good news of Jesus Christ and His victory. We hear there, words of triumph even in this war, words of victory like these: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy victory? O death where is thy sting?” Death has not the final say. It is not the victor to those who know the other, the greater Victor Jesus Christ. It is because of Him that we are able to profess:
“I believe the resurrection of the body”,
Death, brothers and sisters, young people, is a horrible thing for people have been made in the image of God. No beautiful funerals can change that fact itself. Death is the destruction of the master-piece of God’s creation. It is a punishment for our sin and it brings us face to face with the Holy God against Whom we have sinned.
Our life is a gift from God. We may overlook that and act as if we are the masters of our life, and speak as if we are the people who are free to do wit it what we want, but the fact is that we are created by God and can only live through His power and will. We are accountable to Him for all we do. This is true, in spite of all the nonsense we may hear around us. As soon as mankind turned away from God and did not want to acknowledge Him as God and Lord, death came. Since then everyone has to die. Life is not ours – although we may behave as if it is. We may tamper with the sources of life and talk about “abortion on demand” (even a prime minister may speak like that), but the Lord shows us that life is His. No one can conquer death. As soon as the Lord lets go of us, what becomes of us other than dust? There is no life apart from Him, but death – eternal death.
The Church of Jesus Christ, that is each one who belongs to Him and knows of their salvation through Him, professes: I believe the resurrection of the body. The question in our confession, “What comfort does the resurrection of the body afford you?” is answered: “That not only my soul, after this life, shall immediately be taken up to Christ, its Head; but also that this my body, raised by the power of Christ, shall again be united with my soul, and made like unto the glorious body of Christ.”
There are people who think that the Christian faith is just another theory, an old-fashioned matter, irrelevant, unpractical and with which you cannot live in this modern age. How mistaken people can be. Is there anything more relevant, more practical, more comforting, more up-to-date than the gospel that meets the need of people indeed?
People run to a doctor when they are sick. However, in the end the doctor cannot do anything for us, can he? He has to say, “Sorry, I did all I could.” Even all his work is dependent on the blessing of the Lord. There will be a time that he, if he is honest, has to say that there is not much hope. Of course, even after that there is the possibility that our health may improve and that we live longer than the doctor expected. But there is an end sometime. Then death comes, or rather the Lord makes an end.
I still remember what the superintendent of the hospital in the city in Holland where I was a minister said when I left for Australia. He said: “Your work is much more important than mine. I can only try to do something for my patients, relieve their pain and prolong their life if God permits, but you have a message of eternal life; you can give much better help to my patients.”
Life is not only that which we live here. This is just the beginning and a very important beginning, a decisive part of it. Here the foundations are laid on which our life will stand for all eternity. All depends on whether we accept or reject the message of life. All depends on whether we belong to the prince of life or not.
I know there are many needs in our world. There is a lot of misery, even more than we know of, and greater than we can tell. I just mention hunger and starvation, sickness and sufferings, war and the consequences, and racial discrimination and persecution. We should not overlook them. Christians especially should be the first ones to do something about them. But if we don’t plumb the deepest need; if we don’t go to the heart of the matter, we are like a doctor who gives his patients only aspirin and does not treat the real trouble of the people.
When we listen to the Word of God, that is the Word of that great Doctor, we read: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Here our deepest need is mentioned. We are perishing. We don’t only need a slice of bread or some medicine for our disease. We are not yet out of trouble if we have decent accommodation and other facilities of life.
We are perishing people, all of us. There is no doctor around who is able to cure us, or to rescue us from death.
There are many quacks around and they have their magic medicines, but you are wasting your time and money by turning to them and expecting them to help you out.
That is the reason why the Lord in His mercy sent the only Doctor Who could help us, namely, His Son, Jesus Christ.
He is the One Who said, “I have power to lay down My life, and I have power to take it again.”
Do you believe in Him and do you believe that He has that wonderful power? I know there are many people who laugh about him. Already in the days when He was on earth, they did not believe in Him. They were offended by Him and by His words and deeds. They even crucified Him and killed Him and buried Him.
On a Friday evening, He laid down His life. But on the following Sunday morning He took it up again. He arose from the dead. That is a fact in history. There is no doubt about it, even though His enemies denied it and gave money to the soldiers to pass on that lie.
His own disciples only believed that their Lord had risen, after He appeared to them and showed them His hands and feet, and ate with them. There are many witnesses of His resurrection. Just read 1 Cor. 15:5-8.
If you believe Him and go to Him He will give you that power over death, so that you will not have to be afraid of death anymore. For the Lord said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me, and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.” (John 10:27,28).
On another occasion Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if any one keeps My word, he will never see death,” and “If any one keeps my word, he will never taste death.” (John 6:51,52).
Jesus Christ is the Victor over the power of death. His whole purpose in coming to this earth was to conquer death. Death is “the wages of sin.” He took over our sin and paid the price for it, even though it meant death on the cross. He defeated that enemy, and broke the power of death. He is the Lord of life and death and we may share in His victory, even the victory over death, by true faith in this Victor, in this living Lord.
Some day it will happen to you and to me, to all of us that we die. We can hardly imagine that, but it will happen. People will say that you have died, passed away or have been taken home. Then there will be a funeral. It will be a sad occasion, particularly as far as your relatives are concerned and your friends. I don’t under-estimate that at all. Death is an enemy. It is a dark gate, but a gate it is. A gate to heaven or gate to hell. One of the two, because death is never the end. People often think that or want to believe that. In the Bible death is never the end. That is a heathen idea. In the Bible death is a gate, a gate to the future, a gate to your eternal destiny, whether it is heaven or hell.
No, it is not heaven for the goodies and hell for the bad ones. It is not heaven for the decent people and hell for the indecent people. That is not the message of the Bible.
The decisive factor is whether or not you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ and whether or not He is your Saviour and Lord.
I repeat the words of John 3:16, “…whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” This is not a matter of pious words but of a relationship, of a belonging to Him. This is also written in the gospel of John, ch.8:51, “…if any one keeps my Word, he will never see death.”
Faith is not just a matter of feeling or intelligence, but of belonging and of living according to the Master’s voice. You cannot separate faith and works. They belong together. They are both God’s gift and Christ’s work. They both are wrought by the Holy Spirit.
Anyway, the relationship with Christ makes all the difference in the world. Yes, we all have to leave this life some day through the same gate, the same door, but for those who believe in Jesus Christ, that gate is the entrance of life eternal and you are delivered from the power of death.
When the apostle Paul spoke about the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God in Him, he said, “I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Once you belong to Christ, you are His forever. Even the immense power of death which is able to destroy everything, is unable to ruin the bond with Christ.
However, if you don’t belong to Christ, the door of death is just the beginning of your misery and the beginning of utter darkness.
In fact you are dead already now, spiritually dead, dead in trespasses and sins, as the Bible states, “without God and without hope in the world.”
Let us not be mistaken, brothers and sisters, young people. Let us not make the greatest mistake ever by ignoring the Word of God and by turning away from its glorious and comforting message of salvation.
Let us not be mistaken. You cannot live here in your sins and still enjoy the comfort of salvation.
Only when you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and hear His voice, can you comfort yourself with the wonderful future of the resurrection of the body. Your soul will immediately be taken up to Christ; and your body, which shall be raised by the power of Christ, shall also be united with your soul and made like unto the glorious body of Christ.
Yes a wonderful future is reserved for Christ’s people. My body, now affected by the consequences of sin in many ways, will be delivered from all forms of corruption. The bodies of those who were deformed, mutilated, maimed, crippled, disabled in many ways, will be like unto the glorious body of Him in Whom they have believed.
It seems too beautiful to be true, but this is what we profess when we say: “We believe the resurrection of the body.” Or do you think that Christ will leave any trace of the destructive work of Satan and sin? Did He not speak of a new heaven and a new earth and about everything new? Did not He show to the apostle John the holy city, the new Jerusalem? And didn’t He promise that He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and that death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.
Incredible isn’t it? Beyond our greatest expectations! What a Saviour, and what a future we may have! All things will be new! We indeed have something to look forward to, haven’t we? What a wonderful hope we have!
You all know the gospel. But do all of you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord already?
Through Him, through Him alone:
“The strife is o’er, the battle done;
The victory of life is won;
The song of triumph has begun.
He closed the yawning gates of hell;
The bars from heaven’s high portals fell;
Let hymns of praise His triumph tell.”
Amen.