Category: bible study

Reading Time: 9 minutes

The Book of John shows us some amazing and some awesome things about “the everlasting gospel.” (Rev 14:6-7) Both Old and New testament verify the wonder-working power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Phil 3:10)

A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.(Isa 40:3, ESV)

John told them the words of the prophet Isaiah: “I am the voice of someone shouting in the desert: ‘Make a straight road ready for the Lord.'” (John 1:23, ERV)

Preparing a straight highway means removing obstacles and rolling out the red carpet for the coming of the Lord. The wasteland is a picture of life’s trials and sufferings. We are not immune to these, but our faith need not be hindered by them. Isaiah told people to prepare to see God work. John the Baptist used these words as he challenged the people to prepare for the coming Messiah (Life Application Study Notes)

When it was the right time, John the Baptizer began telling people a message from God. This was out in the desert area of Judea. John said, “Change your hearts and lives, because God’s kingdom is now very near.” John is the one Isaiah the prophet was talking about when he said, “There is someone shouting in the desert: ‘Prepare the way for the Lord. Make the road straight for him.'” (Mat 3:1-3, ERV)

John The Baptist Born for a Special Work

In every stage of this earth’s history God has had His agencies to carry forward His work, which must be done in His appointed way. John the Baptist had a special work, for which he was born and to which he was appointed–the work of preparing the way of the Lord. . . . His wilderness ministry was a most striking, literal fulfillment of prophecy. {5BC 1115.2}

The Old Testament has the same gospel as the New Testament. Through John, Peter, Paul, Mathew, Mark, Luke and all of the New testament writers, under the inspiration of The Holy Spirit, we are told again and again how Jesus of Nazareth’s life, death, resurrection, and ascension to the throne of God in Heaven are all fulfillments of their corresponding Old testament prophecies.

Pilate, Herod, and Caiaphas were the most powerful leaders in Palestine, but they were one-upped by a wilderness prophet, (John The Baptist) a back-woods man from rural Judea. God chose to speak through this poorly dressed loner, who probably looked much like some of our homeless people that we see today. John the Baptist, has gone down in history as greater than any of the rulers of his day, as Jesus said. (Mat 11:11). How often people judge others by the superficial standards of power, wealth, and beauty, and miss the truly great people through whom God works! Greatness is measured not by what you have but by your faith in God. Like John, give yourself entirely to God so God’s power can work through you.

In a discourse about John the Baptist, Jesus honored the prophet with these words: “Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11). John certainly did not see himself as “great”—he did not see himself as worthy enough to baptize Jesus (Matthew 3:13–14) or even to carry His sandals (Matthew 3:11).

The “greatness” that Jesus refers to concerning John has to do with John’s unique position in history, not with any special talent, holiness, or personal merit. In fact, immediately after stating that John is the greatest “among those born of women,” Jesus says, “Yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Matthew 11:11)

One reason that Jesus called John the Baptist the “greatest” was that John held the honor of being chosen by God as the forerunner to the Messiah. John’s mission was to personally prepare the world for Christ’s arrival. John’s ministry was predicted in Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1. After Jesus came, John introduced Him to the world as the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world (John 1:35–36). John was the herald who introduced to the world the Hero of all history. It was this introduction that accredited Jesus before the Jewish crowds and leaders, some of whom believed on Jesus, and many of whom did not.

John was also the “greatest” in that he preached with the power of Elijah (Luke 1:17; 3:7–18). John shared many qualities with Elijah, including calling a nation to repentance, rebuking the king, and persevering in the face of public misunderstanding and malicious persecution (Matthew 11:16–18; Mark 6:14–19).

John was also the “greatest” in that God had chosen him to break the 430 years of divine silence that had existed since the prophet Malachi. John was the Spirit-anointed bridge from the Old Testament to the New. John was the last of the Old Testament prophets and stood on the cusp of a new dispensation. His preaching was the end of the Law and the beginning of the Promise. He was the last in the long line of prophets who predicted Christ, yet he was the only one who could actually see Christ in the flesh. Moses, Isaiah, and the rest of the prophets had pointed to a far-distant personage they could see only faintly. John pointed at an actual human being who stood directly in front of him. No other prophet had that privilege.

Jesus’ full statement in Matthew 11:11 is paradoxical: “Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” How can John be the greatest, if even the “least in the kingdom” is greater than John? Again, the answer has to do with the Christian’s unique position in history, not with his personal merit. John died without seeing the fullness of God’s plan in Christ (see Mark 6:17–29). John never saw the crucifixion of Christ or His glorious resurrection. Yet even the “least in the kingdom of heaven” knows of these events and understands their meaning.

Jesus was our example in all things that pertain to life and godliness. He was baptized in Jordan, just as those who come to Him must be baptized. The heavenly angels were looking with intense interest upon the scene of the Savior’s baptism, and could the eyes of those who were looking on, have been opened, they would have seen the heavenly host surrounding the Son of God as He bowed on the banks of the Jordan. The Lord had promised to give John a sign whereby he might know who was the Messiah, and now as Jesus went up out of the water, the promised sign was given; for he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit of God, like a dove of burnished gold, hovered over the head of Christ, and a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” {5BC 1077.6}

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Mat 3:13-17, NIV)

What does this scene mean to us? How thoughtlessly we have read the account of the baptism of our Lord, not realizing that its significance was of the greatest importance to us, and that Christ was accepted of the Father in man’s behalf. As Jesus bowed on the banks of Jordan and offered up His petition, humanity was presented to the Father by Him who had clothed His divinity with humanity. Jesus offered Himself to the Father in man’s behalf, that those who had been separated from God through sin, might be brought back to God through the merits of the divine Petitioner. Because of sin the earth had been cut off from heaven, but with His human arm Christ encircles the fallen race, and with His divine arm He grasps the throne of the Infinite, and earth is brought into favor with heaven, and man into communion with his God. The prayer of Christ in behalf of lost humanity cleaved its way through every shadow that Satan had cast between man and God, and left a clear channel of communication to the very throne of glory. The gates were left ajar, and heavens were opened, and the Spirit of God, in the form of a dove, encircled the head of Christ, and the voice of God was heard saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” {5BC 1078.1}

The voice of God was heard in answer to the petition of Christ, and this tells the sinner [today] that their prayer will find a place at the throne of the Father. The Holy Spirit will be given to those who seek for its power and grace, and will help our infirmities when we would have audience with God. Heaven is open to our petitions, and we are invited to come “boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:6) We are to come in faith, believing that we shall obtain the very things we ask of Him {5BC 1078.2}

The authority of Scripture is “rightly divided” (2 Tim 2:15) only when we use them to show who Jesus is. If we use the scriptures to simply say “I/we are right, and you are wrong” then we are still wrong no matter how many verses we whip people with.

True Christianity will always “make the way straight” by pointing people to the cross. To who Jesus is. The cross will always show us exactly who Jesus is. The cross is or should be the focal point of every doctrine. All of the things that the Old testament writers said and that were verified by new Testament writers, pointed to the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus.

Friend, Jesus died for us. There is one great central truth to be kept ever before the mind in the searching of the Scriptures–Christ and Him crucified. Every other truth is invested with influence and power corresponding to its relation to this theme. The soul palsied by sin can be endowed with life only through the work wrought out upon the cross by the Author of our salvation. {FLB 50.2}

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8.

Jesus was always pointing His disciples to the Scriptures which foretold of His ministry here on Earth. But when did the disciples finally understand correctly that the Scriptures pointed to His life, death and resurrection? It was only after Jesus died and was resurrected, and appeared to them after His death that they finally got it.

When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said. (John 2:22)

Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. (John 20:8-9)

Jesus was not talking about the Temple made of stones, but about his body. His listeners didn’t realize it, but Jesus was greater than the Temple (Mat 12:6). His words would take on meaning for his disciples after his resurrection. That Christ so perfectly fulfilled this prediction became the strongest proof for his claims to be God.

Jesus’ resurrection is the key to the Christian faith. Why? (1) Just as he said, Jesus rose from the dead. We can be confident, therefore, that he will accomplish all he has promised. (2) Jesus’ bodily resurrection shows us that the living Christ, not a false prophet or imposter, is ruler of God’s eternal Kingdom. (3) We can be certain of our own resurrection because Jesus was resurrected. Death is not the end—there is future life at our resurrection. (4) The divine power that brought Jesus back to life is now available to us to bring our spiritually dead selves back to life. (5) The Resurrection is the basis for the church’s witness to the world.

Paul once said

It’s far more than that! I consider everything else worthless because I’m much better off knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. It’s because of him that I think of everything as worthless. I threw it all away in order to gain Christ and to have a relationship with him. This means that I didn’t receive God’s approval by obeying his laws. The opposite is true! I have God’s approval through faith in Christ. This is the approval that comes from God and is based on faith that knows Christ. Faith knows the power that his coming back to life gives and what it means to share his suffering. In this way I’m becoming like him in his death, with the confidence that I’ll come back to life from the dead. (Phil 3:8-11)

Paul gave up everything—family, friendship, and freedom—in order to know Christ and his resurrection power. We, too, have access to this knowledge and this power, but we may have to make sacrifices to enjoy it fully. What are you willing to give up in order to know Christ? A crowded schedule in order to set aside a few minutes each day for prayer and Bible study? Your friend’s approval? Some of your plans or pleasures? Whatever it is, knowing Christ is more than worth the sacrifice.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

A Special Blessing In Not Being “Offended”

“…blessed is the one who is not offended [scandalized, tripped up, enticed to sin] by Me (Luke 7:23,ESV)

Jesus is saying something very interesting here. There is something for everyone in this.

Nain lay near the plain of Esdraelon, on the slopes of Little Hermon. Two confluent streams met there-those with Christ and those with death, Luke 7:11-12. He wipes away tears by removing the cause. When the people are being borne by their companions to graves of sin, it is right there that the Master arrests them. See Eph 5:14. There was a threefold gradation in the power He put forth-to Jairus’ daughter, just dead; to this young man, on the way to burial; and to Lazarus, who was three days dead.

The depression from John’s long confinement in the gloomy fortress of Machaerus, east of the Dead Sea, and the fact that Jesus had not sent to deliver him, were the double root of this sad lapse from the position taken up on the Jordan bank, when he recognized and indicated the Lamb of God. But our Lord did not chide; He understood, Psalms 103:9. His miracles of mercy and power are His best evidences, and He left John to draw his own conclusions, Isa 35:5-6. May ours be the blessedness of the un-offended, who will trust Christ, even though He does not hasten to deliver them just as they had hoped!

It is sometimes very difficult not to be offended in Jesus Christ. The offenses may be circumstantial. I find myself in a prison-house– a narrow sphere, a sick chamber, an unpopular position– when I had hoped for wide opportunities. Yes, but He knows what is best for me. My environment is of His determining. He means it to intensify my faith, to draw me into nearer communion with Himself, to ripen my power. In the dungeon my soul should prosper.

The offense may be mental. I am haunted by perplexities, questions, which I cannot solve. I had hoped that, when I gave myself to Him, my sky would always be clear; but often it is overspread by mist and cloud. Yet let me believe that, if difficulties remain, it is that I may learn to trust Him all the more implicitly– to trust and not be afraid. Yes, and by my intellectual conflicts, I am trained to be a tutor to other storm-driven people.

The offense may be spiritual. I had fancied that within His fold I should never feel the biting winds of temptation; but it is best as it is. His grace is magnified. My own character is matured. His Heaven is sweeter at the close of the day. There I shall look back on the turnings and trials of the way, and shall sing the praises of my Guide. So, let come what will come, His will is welcome; and I shall refuse to be offended in my loving Lord

John was confused because the reports he received about Jesus were unexpected and incomplete. John’s doubts were natural, and Jesus didn’t rebuke him for them. Instead, he responded in a way that John would understand: Jesus explained that he had accomplished what the Messiah was supposed to accomplish. God can handle our doubts, and he welcomes our questions. Do you have questions about Jesus—about who he is or what he expects of you? Admit them to yourself and to God, and begin looking for answers. Only as you face your doubts honestly can you begin to resolve them.

Reading Time: 7 minutes

“Do good things for the city I sent you to. Pray to the LORD for the city you are living in, because if there is peace in that city, you will have peace also.” (Jer 29:7, ERV)

Many people around the world are so worried about current political event and affairs of the great nations of the world. But there is a bigger picture we can focus on. A better story that we can be a part of.

What the church needs in these days of peril is an army of workers who, like Paul, have educated themselves for usefulness, who have a deep experience in the things of God, and who are filled with earnestness and zeal. Sanctified, self-sacrificing men are needed; men who will not shun trial and responsibility; men who are brave and true; men in whose hearts Christ is formed “the hope of glory,” and who with lips touched with holy fire will “preach the word.” For want of such workers the cause of God languishes, and fatal errors, like a deadly poison, taint the morals and blight the hopes of a large part of the human race. {AA 507.2}

Jeremiah wrote to the captives in Babylon (Jer 29:4-23) instructing them to move ahead with their lives and to pray for the pagan nation that enslaved them. Life cannot grind to a halt during troubled times. In an unpleasant or distressing situation, we must adjust and keep moving. You may find it difficult to pray for those in authority if they are evil, but that is when your prayers are most needed.

First of all, I encourage you to make petitions, prayers, intercessions, and prayers of thanks for all people,for rulers, and for everyone who has authority over us. Pray for these people so that we can have a quiet and peaceful life always lived in a godly and reverent way.(1 Tim 2:1-2).

When we enter times of trouble or of sudden change, we should pray diligently and move ahead, doing whatever we can with whatever God has set before us rather than giving up because of fear and uncertainty.

God didn’t give us a cowardly spirit but a spirit of power, love, and good judgment. So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord or be ashamed of me, his prisoner. Instead, by God’s power, join me in suffering for the sake of the Good News. God saved us and called us to be holy, not because of what we had done, but because of his own plan and kindness. Before the world began, God planned that Christ Jesus would show us God’s kindness.
Now with the coming of our Savior Christ Jesus, he has revealed it. Christ has destroyed death, and through the Good News he has brought eternal life into full view. I was appointed to be a messenger of this Good News, an apostle, and a teacher. (2 Tim 1:7-11, GW)

Although God is all-powerful and all-knowing, he has chosen to let us help him change the world through our prayers. How this works is a mystery to us because of our limited understanding, but it is a reality. Paul based his instruction about prayer for everyone on his conviction that God’s invitation for salvation extends equally to all people. God’s messengers will capture the true nature of the gospel. The world that God loves includes every person.

Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not be lost but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world. He did not send him to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17, ERV)

You formed the way I think and feel. You put me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because you made me in such a wonderful way. I know how amazing that was! You could see my bones grow as my body took shape, hidden in my mother’s womb. You could see my body grow each passing day. You listed all my parts, and not one of them was missing. Your thoughts are beyond my understanding. They cannot be measured! If I could count them, they would be more than all the grains of sand. But when I finished, I would have just begun. (Psalms 139:13-18)

“He formed the way you think or feel” (Psalms 139:13)

God’s character goes into the creation of every person. When you feel worthless or even begin to hate yourself, remember that God knows exactly who you are, what you are like. Yet He is ready and willing, through His Holy Spirit to work within you. We should have as much respect for ourselves as our Maker has for us. We need to see ourselves and others the same way Jesus sees us. Knowing and loving Jesus, we proclaim:

“I am the one that Jesus loves.”

Our acceptance with God is sure only through His beloved Son, and good works are but the result of the working of His sin-pardoning love. They are no credit to us, and we have nothing accorded to us for our good works by which we may claim a part in the salvation of our souls. Salvation is God’s free gift to the believer, given to him for Christ’s sake alone. The troubled soul may find peace through faith in Christ, and his peace will be in proportion to his faith and trust. He cannot present his good works as a plea for the salvation of his soul. {5BC 1122.1}

How often do we pray for the well-being of our communities? The prosperity of the places we live in impacts us all. By lifting our communities in prayer and action, we contribute to a greater good that benefits everyone. What steps will you take today to help your community prosper?

First of all, I ask that you pray for all people. Ask God to bless them and give them what they need. And give thanks. You should pray for rulers and for all who have authority. Pray for these leaders so that we can live quiet and peaceful lives—lives full of devotion to God and respect for him.
1Ti 2:3  This is good and pleases God our Savior. God wants everyone to be saved and to fully understand the truth. (1 Tim 2:1-4)

Jesus will never coerce our will. When we kneel before Him in heartfelt prayer from an open honest heart He respects our choice to have Him personally intervene more fully in our lives. It’s time for THAT kind of prayer.

Our Heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide for us of which we know nothing. Those who accept the one principle of making the service of God supreme, will find perplexities vanish and a plain path before their feet. – MH 481.2

Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend. Not that it is necessary in order to make known to God what we are, but in order to enable us to receive Him. Prayer does not bring God down to us, but brings us up to Him. – SC 93.2

When Jesus was upon the earth, He taught His disciples how to pray. He directed them to present their daily needs before God, and to cast all their care upon Him. And the assurance He gave them that their petitions should be heard, is assurance also to us. (SC 93:3)

Our Heavenly Father waits to bestow upon us the fullness of His blessing. It is our privilege to drink largely at the fountain of boundless love. What a wonder it is that we pray so little! God is ready and willing to hear the sincere prayer of the humblest of His children, and yet there is much manifest reluctance on our part to make known our wants to God. What can the angels of heaven think of poor helpless human beings, who are subject to temptation, when God’s heart of infinite love yearns toward them, ready to give them more than they can ask or think, and yet they pray so little and have so little faith? The angels love to bow before God; they love to be near Him. They regard communion with God as their highest joy; and yet the children of earth, who need so much the help that God only can give, seem satisfied to walk without the light of His Spirit, the companionship of His presence. (SC 94:1)

And I will shake all nations, and the Desire of All Nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
(Hag 2:7), ERV)

Before this shaking, God assures us:

don’t be discouraged!”…Don’t be discouraged! And all you people who live in the land, don’t be discouraged! Continue this work, because I am with you.” This is what the LORD All-Powerful said. (Hag 2:5)

Do not let any of today’s world events discourage you. The main “glory in the Church” (Eph 3:21) is NOT how beautiful the building is, but my presence. As I covenanted to be with you when ye came out of Egypt, so I will fulfill my covenant even today in this “time of the end” that you live in now. Be of good courage for my Spirit remains among you, fear not; Hag 2:5. What is the most beautiful church in the world, if God is not in it, influencing all by his presence and by His Holy Educating Spirit?

We need to remember that God will not be in it unless there be a messenger of the Lord there, and unless said messenger delivers the Lord’s message on praying for others. Even ones we do not like.

Brothers and sisters, be patient until the Lord comes again. See how farmers wait for their precious crops to grow. They wait patiently for fall and spring rains. You, too, must be patient. Don’t give up hope. The Lord will soon be here. Brothers and sisters, stop complaining about each other, or you will be condemned. Realize that the judge is standing at the door. Brothers and sisters, follow the example of the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. They were patient when they suffered unjustly. We consider those who endure to be blessed. You have heard about Job’s endurance. You saw that the Lord ended Job’s suffering because the Lord is compassionate and merciful. (James 5:7-11)

The prophets who had spoken to their forefathers by the authority of God, were often persecuted by the very people to whom they delivered the Divine message; but they suffered affliction and persecution with patience, commending their cause to him who judges righteously; therefore we can also be of that kind of “good courage” choosing each moment whom we will serve. The world’s “Gods” or our GOD.

Just keep saying “I am the one that Jesus loves.” People will get the message. Because you will be the message. People will know how that The Desire of All Nations Will Come!

Reading Time: 5 minutes

For I am resolved to know nothing while I talk to you today except Jesus Christ and him crucified. (1 Cor 2:2)

Christians today should be agreeable with the idea that there is one great central truth to be kept ever before the mind in the searching of the Scriptures:

Christ and Him crucified

Every other truth is invested with influence and power corresponding to its relation to this theme. It is only in the light of the cross that we can discern the exalted character of the law of God. The soul wracked by sin and fear can be blessed with life only through the work wrought out upon the cross by the Author and the Finisher of our salvation.

Have you ever wondered why Jesus had to die?

Was Jesus just some kind of martyr dying for a good cause? Why was the Sacrifice of Christ necessary? Was it to seek to appease an angry God? Why was it absolutely essential to our salvation? If Jesus had lived a perfect life but had never died on the cross, would our salvation be possible? The Bible answers to such questions are vital. Our eternal destiny depends upon answering them correctly.

Lets review what kind of attitude the Apostle Paul always expressed towards the cross of Christ. This is what Paul once said:

But it’s unthinkable that I could ever brag about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. By his cross my relationship to the world and its relationship to me have been crucified. (Gal 6:14, GW)

As Christians we glory not in our good works but in God’s infinte love, mercy, and grace.

Jesus told us clearly what the result of His death would be.

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,(John 17:1, ESV)

Praise God. There are three reasons that the hour of Christ’s death would be the moment of His greatest glory.

a) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 6:23, NIV)
b) Christ died for us when we were unable to help ourselves. We were living against God, but at just the right time Christ died for us.
(Rom 5:6, ERV)
c) But Christ died for us while we were still sinners, and by this God showed how much he loves us.(Rom 5:8, ERV)

What then did Jesus redeem us from?

The law says we are under a curse for not always obeying it. But Christ took away that curse. He changed places with us and put himself under that curse. The Scriptures say, “Anyone who is hung on a tree is under a curse.” (Gal 3:13, ERV)

The curse of the law is simple for us to understand. It has nothing to do with the ten commandments somehow being cancelled by the death of Christ on the cross. Why would Jesus ever do away with His Father’s holy law? (Rom 7:12) Jesus vindicated the law of ten commandments, and held it up before all people as a rule of life. He showed that all of us are under the most solemn obligation to obey that law, which Christ came to make honorable. (Isa 42:21) The Bible teaches that Christ is the only one who can release people from the consequences of breaking the divine law; and that it is only by repentance for their past transgressions, faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ, resulting in the life of obedience, that we can hope to experience the favor of God. The Bible says that Jesus came to “fulfill” the law, meaning to demonstrate to us how to keep it. (Mat 5:17)

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Mat 5:17, ESV)

The curse of the law is simply the separation from God that sometimes happens in our relationship with Him, when we choose to not accept Him. In the struggle between good and evil, Jesus took the moral responsibility for our sins. Jesus died the death that we deserve so that we can live the life that He deserves.

Here is how Paul describes the way that unbelievers view Christ’s death

The teaching about the cross seems foolish to those who are lost. But to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Cor 1:18, ERV)

Isa describes it like this:

He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. (Isa 53:3-4, NIV)

To the unconverted heart, God dying for humanity makes absolutely no sense but nonsense. But to the converted heart, Christ’s death on the cross represents the most amazing demonstration of God’s love ever seen anywhere.

Some would ask “did Jesus sin?” Or “Did Jesus become sin?” The Bible tells us

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor 5:21, NIV)

Jesus never once sinned. Jesus did take upon Himself the penalty, condemnation, shame, and results of our sin.

There are four gifts that Jesus offers each one of us through the cross:

And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us (1) wisdom from God, (2) righteousness (3) and sanctification (4) and redemption
(1 Cor 1:30, ESV)

In the cross, we discover God’s incredible love towards us. Jesus would have rather died eternally, if need be, than to have one of His children be lost. Jesus offers to all His righteousness. Through the revelation of His love on Calvary, and the presence of His Holy Educating Spirit in our hearts, Jesus daily prepares us for eternal redemption. For everlasting life.

What a hope! What a Savior! All we can do is to bow before Him and worship Him!

Paul continues to emphasize that the way to receive salvation is so simple that any person who wants to can understand it. Skill and wisdom do not get a person into God’s Kingdom—simple faith does. So no one can boast that personal achievements helped him or her secure eternal life. Salvation is totally from God through Jesus’ death. There is nothing we can do to earn our salvation; we need only to accept what Jesus has already done for us.

God is our source and the reason for our personal relationship with Christ. Our union and identification with Christ results in our having God’s wisdom (Col 2:3), being acceptable to God (2 Cor 5:21), being pure (1 Thes 4:3-7), and having the penalty for our sins paid by Jesus (Mark 10:45).

Do not depreciate or degrade yourself, but give yourself to Jesus today; Jesus will (like a nail in a sure place – Isa 22:23) find a place in this life for you and make your life worth living. Notice that God has put you into personal union with Christ Jesus. (John 1:12) Everything we need for life and godliness is in Him. We must make all that we can of our wonderful position and possessions.

Think of Christ’s humiliation. He took upon Himself fallen, suffering human nature, degraded and defiled by sin. He took our sorrows, bearing our grief and shame. He endured all the temptations wherewith man is beset. He united humanity with divinity: a divine spirit dwelt in a temple of flesh. He united Himself with the temple. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14) because by so doing He could identify with the sinful, sorrowing sons and daughters of Adam.

Will you take the time to pray
Ask Jesus in your heart to stay
Keeping you safe this very night
to wake your joy in morning light

Now we know the true meaning of the cross.

Friend, the cross means everything.

Reading Time: 13 minutes

A Covenant with Death

You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death, with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement. When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it cannot touch us, for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place.”  Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, you will be beaten down by it. (Isa 28:15,18)

Can it be that people really have “a covenant with death?”

For the last two weeks we have been discussing from the Bible about what happens when we die? In Living Lies About Death #1, and Living Lies About Death #2  we discovered that “a living soul” is the whole person, not a separate entity, and that the only one who has immortality is God. No one else will be immortal until the second coming. (see 1 Thes 4:13-18)

Some of today’s preachers have gotten really carried away with the subject of death and what happens when we die. I have heard several preachers who have said things like

“The believer’s death day is really their best birthday – the time of their greatest triumph.”

“Of all the happy days, the death day will be the happiest of all. The day of our new birth. The day of our coming of age. The day of our conversion. The day of our entire sanctification. The day of our marriage. The day of honor. And all other days are nothing compared to the delightful death day which shall usher us into our Father’s House on high.”

Why is death such a happy event? Because, as Pastor Heslop who wrote the above tries to assure us, dead people are not dead. Even though the Bible says they are dead, he and many others keep saying “no they are not. “

Heslop further states:

“Death to the believer in Jesus Christ is but a doorway to a house not made with hands.” “Death is only the hand that snaps the fetters and emancipates the soul. Death is only the bridal peal calling the sanctified soul to its everlasting espousals. Death is the door opener into a city without sin, sorrow or suffering, A sunrise without a sunset.”

There Is No Death

There is no death. There are no dead. These words were found on the stone marker that identified the site of the original Fox Sister’s cottage in Hydesville, New York, in 1948. The obelisk at the later spiritualistic church in Rochester New York also contained the same falsehood: There is no death. There are no dead.

The Yearbook of Spiritualism for 1871 states:

“In strictness there is no death.”

What Are Modern Christians saying Now?

Jesus taught that death was simply a sleep. Jesus taught that death was a rest. There was an occasion where Jesus’ friend Lazarus had died. And Lazarus had become very, very sick before that. And Jesus got word that Lazarus was sick. Jesus waited before going. He waited a couple days, and by the time he got there, since there was a journey, he was in  Galilee, and Lazarus was in Bethany. It was four days. This is a time that Jesus was four days late, and yet, as we now know, Jesus was right on time.

Why did Jesus wait like that? Why didn’t Jesus just go to Lazarus right away? Because he wanted to work a miracle that was greater than merely healing an illness. Jesus was going to work a miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead! After he had said this, he went on to tell them

Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”

His disciples replied

“Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.”

Jesus had of course been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. So, then Jesus told them plainly

“Lazarus is dead, (John 11:11-14)  Here, in John 11, they come to Jesus, and they say, Jesus, your friend Lazarus is sick. And Jesus says, our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I’m going to wake him up. Well, they thought, wait a minute. If Lazarus is sleeping, he’s going to get well. This is not to death. Our friend Lazarus is sleeping. They thought, this is good news, because if you’re sick and you sleep, maybe the fever breaks. Maybe the sickness is over. And then the Bible says

“However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that he was speaking about taking rest in sleep.”

And then Jesus makes it plain.

“Jesus said to them, plainly, Lazarus is dead. So, they clearly understood.”

Now, how did Jesus treat death? What did Jesus say to his closest followers? Did he say to them, now, don’t worry at all about Lazarus, because, sure, he’s dead, but he has this immortal soul, and it’s gone up to heaven. Not at all. No such teaching in the Bible. And Jesus certainly didn’t believe that anyway. Jesus simply said, Lazarus is sleeping. And then Jesus said, Lazarus is what?  Lazarus is dead.

So, Christ then went to the home of Mary and Martha. And as he talked to the sister of Lazarus, Jesus said to her, your brother’s going to rise again. And she said, oh, Lord, if you would have been here, he wouldn’t have died. And I know he’s going to rise again in the last day. This sister of Lazarus, who got her religion directly from Jesus, Mary said, I know he’s going to rise the last day in the resurrection. (the last day). Jesus looks at her and recognizes that she understands the truth about death. What did Martha believe about death? She believed that her faithful brother would rise in the resurrection. She did not believe that he was up in heaven looking down upon her. Mary learned her religion directly from Jesus. And she believed in the resurrection when? At the last day. All the great men and women of faith in the Old and New Testament believe that.

Remember what Paul said there writing to Timothy? He said, my life is being poured out and I wait the righteous judge who will have the crown of life for me in the last day. Paul believed that Christ was going to come again and that he, if he died in that Roman prison, that he would be resurrected in the last day. All believers know that. John believed it, exiled on the island of Patmos. Paul believed it. Mary believed it. Martha believed it. Jesus taught it.

Mary and Martha were crying, not because they thought Lazarus was up in heaven, but because of the pain and the agony of separation from him until the resurrection at the last day. Jesus says to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. In other words, even though that person dies, though they go into the grave, they are going to live again. They will be resurrected from the dead. That first death will not hold its victims. The grave will not keep its victims. That death is not a long night without a morning. The tomb is not simply a dark hole in the ground. So, Jesus said, if you believe, your brother is going to live again to demonstrate his power over death, to demonstrate his power over the grave, to demonstrate his ability over death. Jesus comes to that grave, and Jesus says, Lazarus, come forth.

And Lazarus comes out of the grave, rises to new life. He had been in that grave four days. Lazarus comes out of the tomb. New life, Jesus says to those who see him. Loose him and let him go. He was all bandaged up with the grave clothes. Life is pulsating through his body. There’s a new smile on his face. There’s a new sparkle in his eyes. There’s a new spring in his step. I can just imagine how he comes, and I can picture him as he embraces Christ.

If what some people believe is true, Jesus didn’t say, Lazarus, come down. Jesus said, Lazarus, come forth. If I were up in heaven for four days, rejoicing in glory, if I were fellowshipping with the angels, if I were eating from the tree of life, and Jesus said, come down, I would have yelled back from heaven if I were Lazarus. Nothing doing, Lord. I’m not coming. You just called the wrong name, Lord. You just called the wrong person. I’m already up here in glory. I’m rejoicing in the kingdom of God. I am not coming back. Why would I?

If anybody could have given a testimony about life after death, it would have been Lazarus. If he were up in glory, think of the books he could have written that would have been sold throughout the Middle East, throughout Jerusalem, on life after death. But Lazarus had nothing to say. Why not? Because he wasn’t in glory. He wasn’t in glory. He was resting, sleeping there in the tomb, resting like every believer will rest until the coming of Jesus, with no pain, no suffering, no heartache, no sorrow, no death, resting. The Bible says

“His sons come to honor, and he does not know it. They are brought low, and he does not perceive it.” (Job 14:21

Somebody says, I like to think of my mother up in heaven. I like to think of her looking down at me. It just gives me comfort. Would it be comfort for a mother up in heaven if her son was drafted off to war and the enemy captured him and tortured him and gouged out his eyes and gouged out his tongue and tortured him mercilessly? Could that mother be happy in heaven? But what about a mother up in heaven looking down and here’s her little five-year-old and he’s kicking a ball, and he kicks it on the street and the car screeches, doesn’t see the boy, crushes him and the boy’s a quadriplegic for the rest of his life? Would that mother up in heaven be happy? Or think of fathers in heaven seeing their daughters beaten brutally by some angry man?

Isn’t God’s plan so much better?

Our loved ones are not in heaven They don’t see children that have gone astray, gotten involved in drugs and alcohol. Our mothers and fathers are not up there in heaven looking down upon the conflicts and families and the wars on earth. How could they possibly be happy in heaven if they could look down on us and see all the horrible things happening? Even Jesus did not go to Heaven right away. When Jesus died, he was just keeping the Sabbath.

Our fathers and mothers are not up in heaven. Death is a state of perfect rest or sleep until the resurrection when Christ wakes you up and speaks saying now all the sorrow is over, now all the heartache is over, now all the disappointments are over. You see, my friend, God’s way is so much better. We are sheltered in his arms in that perfect sleep. Our true life, the record of our life is hidden with Christ in God. Others cannot always see it because only God can read the heart. Our all-powerful, infinite God knows our identity. It is in his hands. (Isa 49:16)

When we die, we don’t live. How can we live and die at the same time? THAT would just make the Bible out to be an idiotic lie because it says, “when you die you live.” How absurd is that? Are we bound to believing that kind of contradiction? Does God really contradict Himself like that?

The Scripture says that our bodies go to the earth. The life, the breath goes back to God. There is no conscious existence after death until the resurrection. We rest until the Christ comes. In the next moment, we see him coming down from the sky. The Bible says, Psalm 115:7

the dead do not what? The dead do not praise the Lord, nor any that go down into silence. If you went up to heaven when you died, you’d at least praise the Lord, right? Wouldn’t that be what you would be doing? But the Bible says, the dead praise not the Lord. Fifty-three times, death is called a sleep in the Bible. Sixteen hundred times, the Bible uses the word soul, never uses the phrase immortal soul. The Bible says, in that very day that a person dies, even their thoughts perish, Psalm 6:5

Psalm 115:17 the Bible says, the dead praise not the Lord.

Ecclesiastes 9: 5-6, the living know that they shall die, but the dead know not anything.

God’s plan is so much better than human tradition. The immortality of the soul comes in through Greek philosophy, and according to Revelation, will be preparing the world for an overwhelming deception. The Bible says that the works of the dead follow them. It says that those that die in Christ have works which follow them.

When a father or mother dies, and they’ve taught their children about the things of Jesus, those children have that inclination for Christ in their hearts, that inclination for Christ in their lives, and they have that desire to follow Christ. And the works of the parents still follow them, and one day, that child will, making choices to follow Christ, because of an influence of their parents, will be in heaven with Jesus and their parents to rejoice forever and ever. (Prov 26:3, Acts 16:31) God’s word is so clear about this subject of death.

But somebody says, wasn’t there the story of Jesus and the story of the thief on the cross who died, and didn’t the Bible indicate that he would be in heaven with Christ? Well, look, when you have text after text after text that talks about the second coming of Christ, when you have passage after passage in Scripture that talks about the return of Christ, you cannot take one Bible text out of context regarding the thief on the cross and throw out these many other clear texts on the coming of Christ that talk about the resurrection of the body.

Didn’t Jesus say, you will be with me in paradise today? Remember, Jesus is hanging on the cross. There’s a thief on the left, thief on the right. Then the thief says, if you’re the Son of God, come down from the cross. Jesus, hanging there with nails through his hands, with blood running down his wrists, with a crown of thorns upon his head, looks like he cannot save anybody. The other thief turns to Christ, and he says, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Thankfully, nobody has asked that question. Nobody has made that request. Nobody has made that appeal genuinely and sincerely and been turned away by Jesus. (John 6:37)

You’ll recall that Christ died on the cross on Friday. He rested in the tomb on Sabbath. He was resurrected from the dead-on Sunday. And you will also remember that Mary comes to him on Sunday morning, after the resurrection, falls at his feet. And what does Jesus say? John 20:15, Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? She thinks he’s the gardener and says to him, Sir, if you’ve carried him away, if you’ve taken my Lord away, please tell me where he is. Tell me where you’ve laid him. And I’m going to take him away and give him a proper burial. And what does Jesus say to her?

Jesus says, Mary, Rabboni, which is to say teacher, don’t cling to me for I have not ascended to the Father. But go to my brethren saying, I am ascending, present tense right now, to your Father and my Father and your Father and my God and your God. What does Jesus say to Mary on Sunday? I have not yet ascended to the Father. How could Jesus have said to the thief on Friday that they would be together in paradise on that Friday if Christ had not ascended yet to the Father on the following Sunday morning? Certainly, Jesus did not ascend to Heaven on Friday. So, what was really going on there? Jesus is hanging on the cross. And what does he say? He says, I say unto you today, you will be with me in paradise. It all depends on where you put the comma in that passage. The comma or other punctuations are not inspired. If we put the comma after the word today, it’s clear. If we put it before, it’s a little fuzzy. It becomes a contradiction. If you quote the text this way  “I say to you, today you’ll be with me in paradise,” then it appears that Jesus would be in paradise with the thief that day. On the Friday. But if we say, “I say to you today, comma, you will in the future be with me in paradise,”  it makes so much more sense. You say, how do you know where to put the comma?  Well, first, there were no commas in the original text. That did not come until the 1300s, much later. You don’t take a misplaced comma and throw out 53 texts that say the death is but a sleep, throw out all the texts that talk about the resurrection, and you don’t deny scripture when Jesus himself says that he did not ascend to the Father on that Sunday.

What did Jesus mean when he said that to the thief?

He said, I say to you today, this day that I’m dying on the cross, this day that there’s nails in my hands, this day that there’s a crown of thorns upon my head, this day that it doesn’t look like I can save anybody, I say to you this day, I make that declaration that I will be resurrected from the dead. I will ascend to the father. I will remember you. I will remember you when I come into heaven and paradise. And Jesus says that to you. When you say, Lord, remember me. Remember me in all my guilt. Remember me in all my shame. Remember me, Father. Remember me, dear Jesus. Touch my heart, O Holy Spirit. I feel convicted I must come to you.

Remember me, Jesus says. I accept you, my child. I’ll forgive you, my child. I’ll change your life, my child. You will be with me in paradise. You need not fear death because I have conquered the grave. 1 Corinthians 15:55

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus gives us victory over sin. Jesus gives us victory over the grave. Jesus gives us victory over death. 1 Thessalonians 4:16

the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. We which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Have you lost some loved one by death? Some father, some mother.  You still miss your dad and your mom? My father has passed away. My wife has died. Many others that I have loved are now dead. I long for that day that Jesus will come. Have you lost some husband or wife?  Some father or mother? Some sisters or brother? Some sons or daughter? They’re not lost. If they’re a believer in Christ, they are resting where they can never be lost. Their true life, the record of that life, their identity, is hid with Christ in God. They are resting from the pain, the heartache, the sorrow, the tears of life. They know no passage of time. Like that all day surgery I had years ago, the next thing they will know is the coming of Jesus Christ in the clouds of heaven. (Rev 1:7)  And as Jesus comes, that little baby will be put in Mom’s arms again. Mom will reach up and hug your face again. You can look into the eyes of that child one day once again. That son or daughter, lost by death, will be reunited with you. One day that father or mother will embrace you again. One day Jesus Christ will come. And one day the sorrow and heartache of earth will be over.

Would you like to connect with Jesus right now? Will you consider asking Jesus to be both your Savior and your Lord?  I’d like to say, Jesus, pass me not, O gentle Savior. Lord, I’m coming to you. Lord, I want to see my father again. I want to see my mother again. I want to see my son again, my daughter again. I want to see my spouse again. I want to be caught up in that glorious joy when Jesus comes and live forever with them through all eternity. Lord, I want to be in that resurrection so that I can see them again.

Here is the incredibly good news. Jesus will not pass you by. Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry. The thief on the cross, in his dying breath, said, Lord, remember me. Remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus gave the thief on that very day the assurance of eternal life. When the thief woke up that morning, he had no idea that his whole life would be changed that day. When he trudged up Golgotha’s hill with Christ, he had no idea that his life would be changed that day. When they drove nails through his hands and he writhed in agony, he had no idea that his life would be changed that day. But in that moment, under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, God spoke to him, and he accepted the gift of eternal life.

Right now, God is speaking to you. Right now, God is talking to your life. Maybe you had no idea that you would be reading this article now, but God’s Holy Educating Spirit is speaking to you just now. You can accept Christ right now. Through an act of your will, you can say “Jesus, I am yours.”

That choice changed the thief’s life. That choice will change your life right now as we pray.

Reading Time: 15 minutes

Immortality

Anyone who is among the living has hope—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!  For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even their name is forgotten. (Eccl 9:4-5, NIV)

Last week, in Living Lies About Death #1, we said that this week we will deal with what the Bible says about “immortality.”

To understand death, we really must understand this idea of immortality. Is the soul immortal, or is there a resurrection? If you have an immortal soul that wings its way to Heaven as soon as you die, why would you need a resurrection of the body?  We must look at what does the Bible teach about immortality? Do we have it now? Will we have it in the future? Do we have an “immortal soul?” Is this thing called the soul immortal? What is the soul? And what about the resurrection that the Bible teaches about? Where can we find answers?

The truth of the matter is that yes, we can find answers. We find answers deeply embedded in Scripture. We find answers in the Word of God. The Bible helps us to understand the mystery of death.

In Rev 1:18 we read: ” And behold, I’m alive for evermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of death.

Christ was alive, crucified on the cross, went into the grave, rested on the seventh-day Sabbath, and was resurrected from the dead, on Sunday, the first day of the week. It was at that point that Jesus said, I’m going to my father.

Mary tried to cling to his feet and Jesus said,

“Touch me not, I’m ascending to the father.” (John 20:17)

So now we have the basic and Biblical idea idea of death, rest in the tomb over Sabbath, resurrection, Jesus ascending to heaven. But notice what Jesus says.

“I have the keys of Hades and death. Hades, the grave.” (Rev 1:18)

This is incredibly good news.  Death is not some locked up tomb or prison in the earth. Jesus said, I have the keys. You need not fear death.  Jesus already experienced death.  And Jesus already conquered the grave. Death is a defeated foe. Every time Jesus faced death, Jesus won, and death lost. Every time Christ faced the grave, he came out victorious. And he demonstrated his power over the grave by raising from the dead many who had died in those days.

Christ has conquered the grave. Jesus went into the grave and came out. And because Jesus has the keys to the grave, death is an unlocked mystery through Jesus. The Bible teaches that one day Jesus will come again. One day the dead in Christ will be resurrected. Check out 1 Thessalonians 4:16. It talks about the coming of Jesus.

“The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trumpet of God. The dead in Christ will rise first.” If the dead in Christ “rise first” then how can it be possible that we go to Heaven as soon as we die?

We are told to not fear death because Jesus is coming again. (Rev 1:7) We can see our loved ones again!

When my late wife died of cancer in my arms, she had this hope. I read that passage to her daily in the days preceding her death.

What does the Bible teach about the idea of the immortal soul?  Does the Bible teach that the soul is immortal? Let’s go back to the book of Genesis because if we understand how God created humanity in the beginning, we can also understand about what happens when we die.

Gen 2:7 informs us that there is no such thing as people having a soul. Having an immortal soul. And note what the Bible does not say. The Bible does not say that God put an immortal soul in human beings when they were created.

God formed us. God fashioned us. God shaped us out of what? The dust of the earth. “And man became a living soul.”  God breathed his life-giving breath into man. We do not “have a soul.” We are a soul! God formed Adam out of the dust of the Earth and then God breathed into Adam’s nostrils the “breath of life.” And it was right after this that the Bible tells us “Man became a living soul.” We do not have a soul. We are a soul.

We could look at it this way.

Dust, that is, the dust of the earth is what God created mankind from, and God’s Spirit breathed into man “the breath of life” and thus created “a living soul.” In the Bible the soul is not something put into a human being that is immortal. A human being is a living soul. A mortal. Body plus “breath of life” = “living soul.” (Gen 2:7) The body plus the breath equals a living soul. In the Bible, when the word soul is used, it is used as something we are. I am the product of body and breath. I am a living soul, a living being, a living personality. A living soul means a living being or a living personality. In Scripture, a living being, a living soul, means a living person. We don’t “have a soul.” It is our whole being that is collectively called “a living soul” by God Himself. A living soul means an individual who’s thinking, functioning, and breathing.

Is the soul immortal? Can the soul ever die?

“Behold, all souls are mine. The soul of the Father as well as the soul of the Son is mine. The soul who sins shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:5)

The soul that sins shall what?

“DIE.”

How else could we read that passage? The same way we read Genesis 2:7 The person, the living being that sins is going to die. So, let’s go back to Genesis again. It tells us that God created man out of the dust of the ground, breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. And only then “Man became a living” what? A living soul or being or personality. A person. The soul who sins. What’s going to happen to them? They’re going to die. The word soul simply put can mean in the Bible

“a living being.”

An entire, or complete being. Not a separate entity of any kind.

Another name for soul in the Bible is person or life. Two-thirds of the time, the Bible uses the term soul. It’s for life. One-third is for person. Sometimes the Bible talks about the soul as something we are, the product of body and breath. Sometimes the Bible uses the term soul as something we have, two-thirds of the time, in fact. But it never once says that we have an immortal soul. We have life. Mortal life. because the soul that sins will die. No two ways about it. We have life. But in our current, mortal state we can lose it. The only way to attain unto immortality in this, our current state is the resurrection.

The Bible says in Matthew 16:25-26

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

Whoever desires to save their what? Whoever desires to save their life, will lose it. But whoever loses their life for my sake will do what? They will find it. Then he goes on to say, Mat 16:26 “For what profit is it to anyone if they gain the whole world and lose their own what? Soul. Or what will a person give in exchange for their soul?

In the earlier verse, it talks about losing your life. Then this verse, it talks about losing your soul. It talks about preserving your life or preserving your soul. When the Bible talks about soul, it can be talking about life. About our mortal state.

When we die, our life is no more. The Bible never talks about soul in the sense of immortal soul. In fact, the Bible uses the term soul 1,600 times. Never once does it put the word immortal with the word soul. Never once does it link those two things together. Wouldn’t you think if human beings had an immortal soul, that at least it would be linked once together in Scripture? In the Bible, it is never linked together. Only God is immortal currently. Mortal means subject to death. Immortal means imperishable. The Bible never uses the terms immortal soul or the immortality of the soul. The Bible does, however, speak about Jesus as the One who alone, is immortal.

Now to the King Eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. (1 Tim 1:17)

Immortality is something that God has. Something that God is. Not us. At least, not yet.

Shall mortal man be more just than his maker? (Job 4:17)

We are mortal. Our impermanence is acutely felt every time a loved one dies. Jesus Himself died and was resurrected. Why wouldn’t the same happen to us? We seek for immortality. But we do not have it now in our current state. The Bible tells us when it will happen:

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. (1 Cor 15:51-52)

We put on immortality when Christ comes. At His second coming. Because we are mortal. The Bible says clearly that “death is the LAST enemy to be destroyed.” (1 Cor 15:26)

As Humans. As mortals, we do seek for immortality. The Bible says that we put on immortality when Jesus comes again. We put it on when Christ comes. Currently, God alone has immortality.

Let’s look now at something in 1 Tim 6

In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. (1 Tim 6:13-16)

Christians who know their Bible look for the day that we’ll be clothed with immortality when Jesus comes. According to the Bible, God alone is the only One that has immortality now.

The ancient Greeks believed that the soul was immortal and that it would leave the body at death. Also, this idea of the immortality of the soul can be traced back to the Babylonians, it can be traced back to the Egyptian culture. Many pagan cultures had this idea. But the Bible always teaches that the soul was not/is not something that was/is immortal.

Mortality. It’s something we are, the product of body and breath. All our parts and pieces, including our character, collectively are “a living soul.” God created humans out of the dust of the ground, breathed into their nostrils the breath of the spirit of life. We become a living being, a living soul. The soul represents our life. We die, we no longer breathe, that life is over. The Scriptures teach that death is but a rest, a sleep, until the resurrection, and that there is nothing like the immortality of the soul found in the Bible.

What Does New Age/Spiritualism Say?

Spiritualism teaches that the soul is immortal. If you accept the idea of the immortality of the soul, then that leaves you very open, very vulnerable to spiritualism. If we believe the first lie that when we die, we don’t really die, we lay ourselves wide open for the last day deceptions of the devil and his demons who will either impersonate dead loved ones or even impersonate Christ at His second coming. (2 Cor 11:14)

The Bible speaks of spiritualistic delusions in the last days of earth’s history. The devil is preparing men and women through a false understanding or a misunderstanding of death. The devil is preparing men and women through that very first lie in Eden about death with the idea of the immortal soul. The devil will use that specific idea about death to deceive us. The devil can use wrong ideas about death to lead us down the pathway of destruction.

The Bible says

“As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, so they who go down to the grave do not come up. (Job 7:9)

You see, spiritualism says that there’s an immortal soul that leaves the body at death, and that under the right conditions, that this supposed immortal soul, this being that has died, didn’t really die and can still communicate with the living. But the Bible says death is a sleep until the resurrection. Just like the cloud disappears and vanishes, so too, the person who goes down to the grave is not going to come up again until the second coming and the resurrection.

“The dead know not anything.” (Eccl 9:5)

If you are someone who has seen a loved one and talked to them after they have died, you must follow the examples of others who have had to say to these spirit visitants:

“I know you’re not my loved one. I know you’re a demon. In the name of Jesus Christ, be gone.”

As we understand what the Bible really teaches about death, as we understand what the Bible teaches about the immortal soul, God will protect us in the spiritual crises and deceptions of the ages that is almost upon us now. That’s why it’s so vital to understand these truths from the Bible.

Several people I have talked to have said it something like this:

“There is no death in the graveyard. I have frequent talks with the dead. I cannot doubt that people live after death, for I frequently talk with them.”

From the popular, modern magazine called Psychic Powers, page 93 we read:

“The world of mediumship offers a tantalizing promise: the ability to act as a conduit between the living and the deceased. The ability to relay conversations from beyond the grave suggests that life doesn’t truly end with death, a notion that provides many people with comfort. Mediums claim that spirits can provide many people with comfort. Mediums claim that spirits can provide information about their lives, death, and the afterlife, messages that the medium can then relay to their client.

There is no scientific evidence to support the existence of an ability to channel the dead, but we do have insight as to why hearing words from the spirit world presents itself as a true phenomenon that people would want to fervently embrace. It allows us to contemplate a reality where the bond we share with our loved ones can be a magical conduit for communication, which provides comfort and affirmation that love, and life continue beyond death’s door.”

Spiritualism is repeating the first lie in these last days and this very same first lie will be the last lie by which many are deceived in these end times that we are living in now.

Spiritualism is dependent on the idea of the immortal soul. The Bible warns us against spiritualism for several good reasons.

“Do not go to mediums or wizards for advice—they will only make you unclean. I am the LORD your God. (Lev 19:31)

The people will say, “Go to the fortune-tellers and wizards who mumble and chirp like birds. Ask them what to do.” But I say, “Shouldn’t people go to their God for help? Why go to the dead to get help for the living?   You should follow the teachings and the agreement. I swear, if you follow those other things, there is no future for you. (Isa 8:19-20)

The Spirit clearly says that in the last times some will turn away from what we believe. They will obey spirits that tell lies. And they will follow the teachings of demons. (1 Tim 4:1)

Contrary to the teaching of the Bible, many people deny the bodily resurrection of Jesus. They reject the idea that for believers, death was being asleep until the second coming of Christ.

The Bible reveals the plans of God. The Bible unmasks the plans of Satan. The Bible teaches that death is like a sleep. The believer who dies is as secure as if they were sleeping in the arms of Jesus Christ. Safe in the arms of Jesus. That’s the message that Jesus gives to us in the Bible. More than 53 times in the Bible, death is mentioned as a sleep. 1 Corinthians 15: 51-52 says

Behold, I tell you a mystery. Jesus, through the apostle Paul, is going to tell us the mystery of death. He’s going to solve that mystery. We shall not all what? Sleep. But we shall be changed when? In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound. If it was true that we just go to heaven right away when we die, then why on earth would we need a resurrection? Why would Jesus drag us down for a resurrection if we were already in heaven? Who would want to leave heaven if they were already there?

When we die, it’s just as secure as sleeping in the arms of Jesus. We die and we just rest. There’s no pain, there’s no suffering, and notice there’s no passing of time. It says, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. When you fall asleep, what’s the next thing that you know? You wake up. You see Jesus, (Rev 1:7)

I once had a 13 1/2-hour surgery. When they put me to sleep, I lay on that operating table all day having all kinds of things happen to me and around me. But I was unaware of all of it. When I woke up it seemed as though only a few minutes had passed. I fell asleep and the next thing I knew, I was awake. That’s all death is. Nothing to be feared. If you’re a believer, we simply fall asleep and we rest. The next moment, the next instant, the next conscious thinking moment, we will see Christ coming. (Rev 1:7, Mark 14:62, Job 19:26-27)

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. We are changed in a moment, in an instant. Changed from mortality to immortality, to receive these glorious new bodies in Christ. But this only happens at the second coming. On that resurrection morning.

When God created Adam, He placed his breath within him, not within an immortal soul. (Gen 2:7). The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Notice what God is breathing into him. It’s the breath of life. Adam was not immortal” before this. Man becomes a living soul. What is this breath that God breathes into him? You see, death is creation in reverse. Death is nothing more than creation in reverse.

“Then the dust will return to the earth when we die as it was and the spirit will return to God who gave it. (Eccl 12:7)

Notice how it doesn’t say the SOUL will return to God who gave it. This is where many people make a big mistake. They think the soul and the spirit are the same thing. They are not. They are two different words that mean two different things. The spirit is nothing more than the breath that God breathed into us initially. The Old Testament word for spirit is ruach, and it means breath. So, God breathes his breath or His spirit, His life force into us.

What goes back to God?

The power of God that he has given us to sustain life.

The spirit and the soul are two different things in the Bible. The soul is something that we are. We are the product of body and breath combined. Not separate entities. The soul has to do with our life. The spirit is the breath of God that sustains or gives us that life. Only when God breathed into it, we lived. When he breathed into that body, we lived. If he wouldn’t have breathed his life into it, we would not have lived. So, the breath of life, the spirit of life, the life-giving force, energy that God puts in us enables us to live. Every breath we take is dependent on the very life that God gives us. It is His breath of life, not our’s.

When we die, we go back to the earth. “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” The breath/spirit goes back to Him, and we await in sleep that resurrection day. The spirit or breath of life, the power of life, goes back to God. The Bible teaches that the breath and the spirit are the very same thing. They are one in Scripture. But the “soul” is something quite different.

The Bible teaches in Job 27:3 that often there’s something called in Hebrew parallelism. God says something in the first verse. He explains it in the latter part of that verse.

if I have life within me, the breath of God is in my nostrils, (Job 27:3)

Notice, all the while my breath is where? In me. And the spirit of God is where? In my nostrils. Its the same thing. Breath equals spirit, in this case.

Let’s suppose that the light bulb represents our body. So, this represents our body, or we’re created out of the dust of the ground. Let’s suppose the electricity represents the spirit or the breath. So, somebody turn on the light. Throw the switch. There we go. Thank you very much. Okay, so when the power comes through the power cord, representing the breath or spirit, to the light bulb, what happens? There is illumination. So, to have illumination, what do you need? Do you need just power and the cord? No. You need what? A light bulb. Do you have a light bulb? Do you have illumination? No. You need power. The spirit represents the power. The light bulb is represented by the body. Now, if you turn off the power, please turn off the power. Thank you. Okay, if you turn off the power, what happens? The electricity is back to the powerhouse. What happens to the bulb? It no longer has illumination.

When a person dies, the spirit goes to God, the body, represented by the light bulb, is buried in the earth, and the person’s true life is hidden with Christ in God. They no longer exist as a living soul. They no longer exist as a living being. As a “living soul.” That which goes back to God is not something that thinks. It’s not something that feels. It’s not something that we can call some conscious entity. Since the power to create life is with God, his spirit, which gave life, returns to God. Is there any consciousness in death? Any thought processes going on in death?

The Bible says, Psalm 146:4

When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.

If there was some kind of immortal soul that went back to God, which the Bible doesn’t teach,  what would happen to the thought processes? They would continue. But the Bible says the thought processes do what?

“His thoughts perish.”

Ecclesiastes, chapter 9:5-6 makes it so plain. Notice what it says. “Anyone who is among the living has hope—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion! For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even their name is forgotten. Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun.” (Eccl 9:4-6)

How much do the dead know? (nothing). The Bible says the dead know not anything. Their love, their hatred, their envy has now perished. If a person went immediately to heaven, they would have to have love to love God. They would, notice, if they went immediately to hell, they would have hatred or envy. But the Bible says the living know that they shall die. And that the dead knows how much? The dead don’t know anything. Every emotion is ceased. Why? Because they’re resting. Resting until Jesus comes. Resting until they receive their final reward. Resting until the resurrection of the righteous or the resurrection of the unrighteous. (Dan 12:2, Mat 25:46, Acts 24:15)

Death is asleep until Christ’s coming. The Bible writers mention this already over 50 different times. Let me give you some examples. Psalm 13:3,

Consider and hear me, David says, O Lord my God, enlighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death. What did David believe about death? He believed that it was asleep. King David believed that it was a rest until the coming of Christ. And we find this same idea throughout the entire Old and New Testaments.

Next week, In Living Lies About Death #3 we will examine what the Bible calls “A Covenant with Death,” and a few other favorite arguments from people who say “we shall not surely die.”

“It is appointed to everyone to die once,” and for those who are loyal to Jesus and only what His Word says, they will rise again. On the resurrection morning.

Reading Time: 8 minutes

All Things Are of God

And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation; (2 Cor 5:18)

O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who first gave to Him, and it will be repaid to him? For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things; to Him be glory forever! Amen. (Rom 11:33-36)

God brings us back to himself (reconciles us) by blotting out our sins (see also Eph 2:13-18) and making us right with him. When we trust in Christ, we are no longer God’s enemies, or strangers or foreigners to him. Because we have been reconciled to God, we have the privilege of encouraging others to do the same, and thus we are those who have the “task of reconciling people to him.”

But now in Christ Jesus you who were once afar off are made near by the blood of Christ. For He is our peace, He making us both one, and He has broken down the middle wall of partition between us, having abolished in His flesh the enmity (the Law of commandments contained in ordinances) so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, making peace between them; and so that He might reconcile both to God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity in Himself. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off, and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. (Eph 2:13-18)

All things in providence are of God. ‘We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose’ (Rom 8:28). ‘For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever’ (Rom 11:36). Every event of providence is ordered and ruled according to the sovereign will of our God. The thoughts of men and the actions of men, good and bad, angels and demons, the path of every grain of dust on a windy day and the path of the whirlwind — everything in this universe is absolutely under the control and direction of God’s sovereign providence. Nothing happens by accident. Our great God, in his sovereign majesty, rules everything with as much case as if there were nothing to rule.

With undisturbed serenity, God rules! Because God rules all things, we know that all things will be so ruled of God as to bring about the spiritual and eternal good of all who trust him and all things will be to the praise of his glory, ‘According to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will’ (Eph 1:11). Because God is totally, absolutely, universally sovereign in providence, we know that his purpose will be accomplished and his promises will all be fulfilled. Anything less than a totally sovereign God cannot be confidently trusted.

All things are of God in salvation. ‘Salvation is of the Lord’ John 2:9). ‘By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God’ (Eph 2:8). ‘Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord’ (1 Cor 1:30-31).

Grace, redemption, regeneration, sanctification, preservation, resurrection and glorification are works of God alone. God gave us life. God gave us faith. God gave us a new heart and a new will by revealing Christ in us. We ‘are kept by the power of God’ (1 Pet 1:5).

We worship and trust and love the one true and living God, who is sovereign in creation, sovereign in providence and sovereign in salvation.

In the contemplation of Christ we linger on the shore of a love that is measureless. We endeavor to tell of this love, and language fails us. We consider His life on earth, His sacrifice for us, His work in heaven as our advocate, and the mansions He is preparing for those who love Him, and we can only exclaim, O the height and depth of the love of Christ! “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” 1John 4:10; 1John 3:1. {AA 333.3}

In every true disciple this love, like sacred fire, burns on the altar of the heart. It was on the earth that the love of God was revealed through Christ. It is on the earth that His children are to reflect this love through blameless lives. Thus sinners will be led to the cross to behold the Lamb of God. {AA 334.1}

God brings us back to himself (reconciles us) by blotting out our sins (see also Eph 2:13-18) and making us right with him. When we trust in Christ, we are no longer God’s enemies, or strangers or foreigners to him. Because we have been reconciled to God, we have the privilege of encouraging others to do the same, and thus we are those who have the “task of reconciling people to him.”

For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. (Rom 5:10

The love that caused Christ to die is the same love that sends the Holy Spirit to live in us and guide us every day. The power that raised Christ from the dead is the same power that saved you and is available to you in your daily life. Be assured that, having begun a life with Christ, you have a reserve of power and love to call on each day for help to meet every challenge or trial. You can pray for God’s power and love as you need it.

Some have learned to see in the lowly Nazarene whom their forefathers rejected and crucified, the true Messiah of Israel. As their minds have grasped the significance of the familiar prophecies so long obscured by tradition and misinterpretation, their hearts have been filled with gratitude to God for the unspeakable gift He bestows upon every human being who chooses to accept Christ as a personal Saviour. {AA 379.3}

It is to this class that Isaiah referred in his prophecy,

“A remnant shall be saved.”

From Paul’s day to the present time, God by His Holy Spirit has been calling after the Jew as well as the Gentile.

“There is no respect of persons with God,” declared Paul.

The apostle regarded himself as “debtor both to the Greeks, and to the barbarians,” as well as to the Jews; but he never lost sight of the decided advantages possessed by the Jews over others, “chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.” “The gospel,” he declared, “is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”

It is of this gospel of Christ, equally efficacious for Jew and Gentile, that Paul in his epistle to the Romans declared he was not ashamed. {AA 380.1}

Timothy once stated

I charge you before God (who makes all things alive) and in the sight of Christ Jesus (who witnessed the good confession to Pontius Pilate), that you keep the commandment without spot and without blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Tim 6:13-14)

In the immediate context, Paul was exhorting Timothy to avoid empty religious argumentation (1 Tim 6:3-5) and the greed of materialism (1 Tim 6:6-10). Timothy was to remain faithful to Christ until He appeared again. Thus, Paul was encouraging Timothy to focus on the return of Christ, not on temporal gain. The imminent return of Christ should be a motive for godly living (2 Pet 3:10-16; 1 John 2:28).

This “good confession” made by Christ in front of Pilate was equivalent to the “good profession” (1Tim 6:12—same Greek word) made by Timothy before many hostile witnesses. So with our own profession of faith (compare Mat 10:32; Rom 10:9; 1 John 4:15).

This is why Jesus said

Then everyone who shall confess Me before other people, I will confess them before My Father who is in Heaven.(Mat 10:32)

In the closing proclamation of the gospel, when special work is to be done for classes of people hitherto neglected, God expects His messengers to take particular interest in the Jewish people whom they find in all parts of the earth. As the Old Testament Scriptures are blended with the New in an explanation of Jehovah’s eternal purpose, this will be to many of the Jews as the dawn of a new creation, the resurrection of the soul. As they see the Christ of the gospel dispensation portrayed in the pages of the Old Testament Scriptures, and perceive how clearly the New Testament explains the Old, their slumbering faculties will be aroused, and they will recognize Christ as the Savior of the world. Many will by faith receive Christ as their Redeemer. To them will be fulfilled the words, “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” John 1:12. {AA 381.1}

A patchwork religion is not of the least value with God. He requires the whole heart. No part of it is to be reserved for the development of hereditary or cultivated tendencies to evil. To be harsh, to be severe, too self-important, selfish, to look out for one’s own selfish interest and yet be zealous that others shall deal unselfishly is a religion which is an abomination to God. Many have just such an experience daily, but it is a misrepresentation of the character of Christ {6BC 1101.6}

Before I knew Jesus I had suffered serious burns to 50% of my body. I became an addict, and I felt lost and alone and crippled from the burns and other injuries. One night I was lying in my hospital bed, crying loudly. I was afraid. Everyone thought I was going to die. Most of the nurses could not handle coming around me because I was a handful and I guess I looked like Frankenstein. But at shift change a different nurse came into my room and when she saw what was going on she just took my hand and said “David, I am going to stay right here with you until you are not afraid.” And I was asleep in just a few minutes.

That nurse had an amazing quality of goodness and compassion to her character that really stood out from all the other staff. She did not say a word about Bible, church, or any other such things. Over a period of years after that night, I would sometimes meet people who had a similar quality to their character as did that nurse. I remember saying to myself “I don’t know what these kind of people have, but whatever it is I want that too.” At one point I met some Adventists in Calgary, and again they had a similar character of hopefulness and compassion as did that precious nurse so many years ago and so I eventually gave my heart to Jesus and asked Him to be both Savior and Lord.

Some 25 years later I found myself back in the small Ontario town where I was burned and I decided to see if there was an Adventist Church there. Sure enough there was. Can you guess who was greeting visitors there that day as they entered the sanctuary? YES! It was that nurse! We both just burst out crying and after a bit, she said

“Oh David, are you a Christian now or did you just walk in off the street?”

And all I could say was BOTH! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Pure religion is an imitation of Christ. A religion that is built on self-confidence and selfishness is worthless. The true Christian is a follower of Christ. This following means walking in the light. The heart must be opened to receive the heavenly guest. As long as the heart is closed against His entrance, there can be in it no abiding peace. No sunshine can flood the chambers of the soul temple, breaking through the mist and cloud. {6BC 1101.2}