Today, July 4th, we celebrate our nation's Independence Day from the restraints of a foreign
power. Last Friday was a good friend's independence day from the restraints of a foreign
power, this earth. I had planned to see him "tomorrow" but he had passed away. By
his own confession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of his sins, he is free
of sins committed in this world and by God's love and God's testimony he will spend eternity
in heaven. If you suddenly were ushered into the presence of God, could you say that you
knew His Son as your Savior?
It might seem contradictory to talk about God's love in the presence of death. His love does seem
remote at a time like the sudden death of a friend or loved one, but we have a lot of comfort
from the promises He gave in Scripture. God said: “ I will never leave you; nor will I
forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
Death disturbs us. Death was even disturbing to Jesus. At the grave of Lazarus, “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35)
He prepared his disciples for the inevitability of his own death by telling them He was going to
be crucified. Think about the emotion He showed while he prayed in the garden concerning
His own death. It says, "He sweat, as it were, great drops of blood." (Luke 22:44)
Death overcomes life. It's the “wages of sin” (Romans 6:23) for mankind. We all dread it, sometimes for others
and sometimes for ourselves. Even the Son of God faced death in anguish. Yet it isn't a time
for despair if you know Jesus Christ as your Savior.
How do we prepare ourselves for that time that is sure to come? Each one of us has to be ready
to face God at any time. We can be ready for this by coming to terms with who Jesus is. He
wasn't just another man, not just a teacher or philosopher. He was sent from God and is
uniquely God’s son and He lived a perfect life. When Jesus was executed it was for our
failures, not His. He paid the penalty we deserve.
God sent Jesus into the world; we crucified him; God raised him from the grave on the third day;
He ascended to the right hand of God where He is now seated. God had accepted His
sacrifice for our sins.
Salvation is only in Him, and He will return to judge the world by His righteousness. Until then,
His death has provided a way so that we can share in His resurrection.
We're all going to lose this struggle with death. The Bible records the sudden death of the second
child born on earth. It's one of the first things the Bible tells us.
Sometimes we let our possessions, power, and intelligence keep us from thinking about our
death. But they only make us more distant, more alone, more alienated from God. When we
lose a loved one, we need to reflect on our own situation before God.
There was a powerful, cruel 15th century politician who took whatever he wanted, and had
everything of this world's goods he wanted. One of his last statements was, “I have provided in the course of
my life for everything except death; and now, alas! I am to die entirely unprepared.”
This doesn't need to be the case for you or me. We don't need to be unprepared for our death. We
can prepare for our own death in the simple, straight foreword way God has provided.
He asks us to acknowledge how sin affects us, how it makes us unfit to be in the presence of God.
All mankind, at some time, will come face to face with Jesus Christ. No exceptions.
Some will meet Him as their Savior and all others will meet Him as their Judge, but we all will meet
Christ face to face.
By confessing our sins to God and then, by faith, accept His total forgiveness for our sins, we are
saved. These are God's words, not mine.
Here are some Scriptures confirming that statement.
2 Corinthians 5:17. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone." To be "in Christ" means that you have to put your faith in Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
Ephesians. 2:4-9. "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love with which He loved
us,
5: Even when we were dead in sins, has made us alive together with Christ, (by grace you
are saved;)
6: He has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus:
7: That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of His grace in his kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus.
8: By God's grace you are saved through faith; and through nothing you have done: it is the
gift of God:
9: Not by works of righteousness you have done, so no man can boast."
Romans 8:1 says: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
It's wonderful to know that God has saved us by his grace and we don't have to earn it or buy it. It's been paid for by the blood of Jesus and we're no longer condemned by our sins.
In John 14, shortly before His death, Jesus told His disciples to believe in God and believe in Him, too.
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again that where I am there you may be also."
Almost everybody believes in God. Listen to just what Jesus said. He said, “believe also in Me.” What Jesus is telling us here today is this; “You have to believe in Me to be saved. What I have been telling you is true. I gave My life to pay for your sins, but you have to accept that as your own to come to Me. I’m offering you peace with God for eternity.”
Here also is the promise of resurrection. By his faith in Jesus Christ to forgive his sins, my friend is in that mansion right now. I know it sounds unbelievable to modern minds. It was just as incredible to ancient people. It's nevertheless true.
God also proved, beyond all human questionings and doubts, His love for us through His own anguish when He stood by and watched His only Son’s life taken from Him to pay for our sins. He did this that we might spend eternity in heaven with Him.
It seems a strange place to find it, but the book of Revelation, which tells about the terrible time yet to come on this earth, describes the hope of heaven for the Believer.
Revelations 21:1-4. "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be his people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Romans 8:38-39. "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Did you ever notice how the Apostle Paul always wrote about the death of the Believers in such positive ways? He likened it to peaceful sleep. Here are the most assuring promises you will ever receive if Jesus Christ is your Savior. God Himself promises that no power can separate one of His children from Him. No power on earth or heaven, no power of the present or the future, which would include our death, can affect the one trusting in Jesus.
It's not by accident that Paul mentioned death first in the order of things that might interfere with our relationship with God. Death affects us all. It usually leaves the survivors with guilt or fear. The prophet Isaiah described death as “the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations.” Isaiah 25:7 Death was universal then and it is today.
Paul also defined death as the last enemy to be destroyed. Our ancestors sinned in the Garden of Eden and brought death into the world, and because death is bound up with our sin and is the wages of sin, we have to admit we are sinners. We also admit the power of death when we attend a funeral.
God didn't base our salvation on how good a life we live. Nowhere in the Bible does it state that those who try their best and live good lives will go to heaven. If someone tells you that is the way, ask them why God put this in the Scriptures; Titus 3:5: "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us."
Forgiveness is available for anybody who will claim it because Christ died to pay the penalty of our sin and made salvation free to all.
What a difference it makes when we're prepared for this day because we know that “neither death nor life, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus."
There may be someone reading this that doesn’t believe there even is a God. Well, God believes there is a "you" and He believes that you need redemption. That’s why He did what He did. He sent His Son Jesus to pay for your sins with His Own blood on Calvary’s cross. God won’t force you to believe in Him, or to believe that Christ died for your sins. But, God still makes this offer to you out of His love for you.
There is only one way to this salvation. In John 14:6 we read this: “Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me.” No man comes to God except through the forgiveness brought about by the blood of Jesus.
All mankind, at some time, will come face to face with Jesus Christ. (Romans 14:11) No exceptions. Some will meet Him as their Savior and the rest will meet Him as their Judge, but we all will meet Christ face to face.
I've made several statements about salvation and that the Believer will be resurrected to spend eternity in heaven. Now, I ask you to consider your personal position before God.
Will I see you tomorrow, or will you or I suddenly be gone from this earth?
God has made salvation so very simple. Don't complicate it and dispute God's Word. The Bible teaches this;
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." Acts 16:31.