Sermon Notes of Pastor Craig Kuhlman's Sermon on September 23, 2018:

Transcription

1 Sermon Notes of Pastor Craig Kuhlman's Sermon on September 23, 2018: "When Death Died Is there any reason for doubt in death? (1 Corinthians 15:1-2; 50-58)" [In today's sermon, Pastor Craig Kuhlman shows from Scripture that there is no reason for doubt where we are headed after death and by whom we will be received.] Notes Introduction: Today is a special day it s a memorial to honor our sister, Amy Sneider, who has passed away. It also might be good to take a deeper look at the question, Is there any reason for doubt in death? Obviously, that implies, is there any reason to doubt the love of the Father, Son and Spirit? Or is there any reason to doubt what we will face on the other side of this life? And for those who aren t sure, pastor Craig will give you the quick, abbreviated answer No! Doctrinal review: It also might be good to do a doctrinal review, which is a little different than what pastor Craig normally speaks about. From time to time, it s always good to review doctrine of what our church believes. Now we have established that Scripture can be defined in two words: belief and response. And belief is not only our belief and trust in Jesus Christ, as our Savior, but also beliefs related to what we understand from Scripture and to establish our values and behaviors. Common Christian view of death: A popular Western theological Christian view of death Today is the only day of salvation. A few years ago, pastor Craig in his banking days, had an opportunity to sit down with a client, who was a foot and ankle surgeon, who was very much committed to his faith. He was also committed to a sense of urgency in reaching out in saving others, because he was motivated by the belief that if we die in this lifetime without accepting, trusting and having faith in Jesus Christ, then there was not a future opportunity for that person. Craig thought he was going over to this person s home to do a portfolio review of his 401K. But after about 5 minutes, the conversation switched to his understanding of salvation and his belief that if an individual has not come to a saving faith in this lifetime, then they were destined to eternal fire in hell for the rest of eternity.

2 And so for the next 2 ½ hours, they had an ongoing, back and forth discussion about his particular belief of salvation that God can only save people in this lifetime. Craig asked various clarifying questions about God s plan of salvation and what Jesus accomplished on the cross. At the conclusion of their lengthy discussion, he said, What you are telling me about your view of God and what He has accomplished beyond our limitations is so appealing and it s a message that people should hear, but I just can t get there. And it was left at that. Now today as we think about life beyond what we experience and whether we are a believer or an unbeliever, our understanding about life after death is amazingly comforting even to those who can t get there with this understanding. Our beliefs of the doctrine of death and our life beyond the grave: So what we re going to do today is take a look at 5 of our denomination s beliefs that essentially lay the foundation for our doctrine of death and our life beyond the grave. This comes from a relatively new resource from Grace Communion International website (GCI.org) We believe: exploring the core beliefs of our Christian faith. It s a 66 page PDF that asks and answers with Scripture 190 questions related to 16 key doctrines that our denomination and we, as members and participants, believe. This has been put together by Gary Deddo, Ted Johnston and Mike Morrison. Question 1 is from Section 14 and questions 2-5 are from section Will all people be saved? 2. What happens to people between death and the general resurrection? 3. What is the final judgment? 4. What happens to unbelievers in the final judgment? 5. What happens to believers in the final judgment? 1. Will all people be saved? All who call upon the Lord will be saved. o Now there s not one person, who calls upon the Lord, who will not be saved. o There are no hoops to jump through, there s no status to achieve, there s no prior knowledge that we first need to gain. o What Jesus finished on the cross was that He removed all barriers between us and our eternal Creator. o And so, there s not one reason why any of us should not, could not, would not, won t be saved, unless WE choose not to be. o It s all on our side of the table in terms of choice, acceptance and trust. o Now the Holy Spirit is continually working with those people, who initially choose not to be, to bring them to a new understanding of knowing who they are through what Jesus did through His birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension. o But we know that forced love is no love at all. o God will never force us to love Him. 2

3 3 o Now God will do everything to help us make that choice. o So, do not think that God, who created us and knows us, can t reach us where we re at, no matter what we re at. All who call upon the Lord will be saved. No one who seeks after God will be turned away. God s work of atonement was accomplished for the benefit of all. Jesus is Lord and Savior over all persons, though Scripture does not say that all people will necessarily receive the salvation that is theirs in Christ, o People have been given that choice to repudiate and reject this. or that none will irreversibly reject the ministry of the Holy Spirit to unite them to Christ. o But, pastor Craig also added that Scripture doesn t necessarily indicate that somehow, some way, at some point in time, that our loving Father, Son and Spirit, moving heaven and earth, cannot reach them in their darkest moment in their existence. o Now that s Craig s pastoral opinion. o God will never remove a person s choice, because in doing that is to take away our self-identity, which God doesn t do, because He loves us. Salvation is the fruit of a relationship with the triune God a gift that is complete in Jesus and that must, through the work of the Spirit, be personally received in order for its benefits, especially eternal life in eternal communion with God, to be fully enjoyed. 2. What happens to people between death and the general resurrection? When we die, our bodies of flesh and bones decay, but by the will of God, our spirit, which returns to God, lives on awaiting the general resurrection at Jesus return when we will be given glorified bodies. o Pastor Craig can say without a doubt and share with Amy s mother, Bonnie, that Amy s spirit, right now, is in God s hands. So there is no need to worry. o Amy s dehumanizing disease that she fought for so many years is gone, because when her spirit was raised and met her Creator, her disease was left back here on earth. o Amy is a new person now, and we can praise God for that. 3. What is the final judgment? Having been raised to a new kind of bodily life in the general resurrection, all humans will be judged in what Scripture calls the final judgment. The Judge will be Jesus, who will judge all people as those belonging to God through him. o So, as an unbeliever, we re going to face our Judge, who is Jesus Christ, who came and gave up His life so that the whole world would be saved and that all sin would be taken away from the whole world.

4 4 o What Scripture tells us and what our doctrine proclaims is that, as unbelievers, will have an opportunity to face that loving Judge in a way that He will only welcome us with open arms IF we choose. o Now, as believers, all we re going to hear from Jesus is, Well done, good and faithful servant. o That s because of our acceptance of our redemption and reconciliation and of our experience with the Holy Spirit, all that has been locked in. o As an unbeliever, even though our redemption has been locked in, we have to accept it and believe it and live forward with that knowledge. This means that all humans, in spite of themselves, are loved, forgiven, and are intended by God through Jesus Christ to enter into his eternal kingdom. o See, that s the plan that the Judge has, that s the plan that the Judge carried out through His incarnation and through His love for all humanity. o His intention is that we live in eternity in love with Him. o That s His plan absolutely, we can praise God for that. All who call upon the name of the Lord, acknowledging Jesus Christ as their only Lord and Savior, and who willingly submit to his lordship and desire to live in and under his eternal rule and reign will enter into his kingdom. God s judgment in Jesus Christ will bring about the ultimate end of evil and the renewal of the earth and all creation. Evil will have no place in the fullness of the kingdom of God. o When we see Amy again, it s going to be a whole new world. o No more sickness, no more ill-health, no more pain, no more dying and death. o It s going to be like Disneyland 24-7, even if you don t now like Disneyland. 4. What happens to unbelievers in the final judgment? God s love will never cease or diminish even for those who, at the final judgment, refuse his love and the truth of who they are because of Jesus. o God s love doesn t stop for anyone. o This reminded pastor Craig that when he was a teenager, he got ticked off with his dad, and he didn t want to have to do anything with him. o But his dad would grab him with his big arms and Craig was trying to push himself away, but his dad wouldn t let Craig go. o Sooner or later, Craig realized that his dad was a whole lot smarter than he was. o And Jesus love for us is like that. o Now if one persists in pushing themselves away from Jesus, they may perceive His love for them as wrath. o But, in reality, it s Jesus love that wants to embrace His child. However, by their repudiation of grace and refusal to repent and receive forgiveness, they consign themselves to a condition of self-imposed torment that sometimes is called hell.

5 5 In that condition, rather than enjoying the fruit of God s salvation, hating God s goodness and holy love, they will experience God s love as wrath. Remaining in themselves rebellious and unrepentant, demanding their own will and way, they will refuse to enter the kingdom of God. Blaspheming the Holy Spirit, they will cut themselves off from the truth and reality of who God is and what he has done for them in Jesus, and so experience the unavoidable consequences, which Scripture refers to as hell or Gehenna. However, their rejection does not change God s purpose, mind and love enacted towards them in Jesus Christ who is their Judge and Redeemer. Jesus remains, in truth and reality, their Lord and Savior though they deny it. o Even if one rejects God s love, He will continue to share and promote His love for them, even though they may not see it that way. o But remember, IF that happens that Jesus is not able to reach someone with His love, it s totally their choice 5. What happens to believers in the final judgment? Those who in the final judgment bow in reverence to Jesus as Lord will receive a never-ending life of joyful communion with our triune God and with other resurrected believers, as they praise and serve God together in the new heaven and the new earth a world of unending life and love. In this life together with the triune God and one another, they will experience face to face what they now glimpse only partially their deepest, truest delights in this life being only a dim foreshadowing of the delights that await them in the fullness of the kingdom of God. By the grace of the triune God they will freely, willingly and gladly enter God s kingdom extended to them in Jesus Christ and by the Holy Spirit. There they will enjoy forever all its benefits stored up for them in Jesus Christ who is Lord and Savior of all. o That is truly what we will face. That s so wonderful and amazing. o Now, a cynic would define life by saying, it s simply exchanging one set of problems for another set. o But, in reality, knowing who we are, knowing whose we are, and knowing where we re headed for eternity filled with incredible joy, gives us hope in this life. o Now, 70 of the worst years that we could ever face in this lifetime problems, pains, headaches, etc. when you divide that by infinity, that s like a drop of water in the ocean. o Here s how the apostle Paul summed all of this up in 1 Corinthians Corinthians 15:1(Mirror Bible), Brothers and sisters, herewith a summary of the good news that I endorse; I announced to you with glad confidence how greatly advantaged you are in Christ;

6 6 Can we let those words sink in for a moment? Do we realize how greatly advantaged we are in Jesus? 1b) you immediately associated yourselves with this message in which you are now firmly established. 2) In this gospel you realized your salvation; the words I spoke echoed in your hearts; I now desire to reinforce your faith in order to erase any possible grounds for doubt. When Paul said, the words I spoke echoed in your hearts, that s the Holy Spirit working with us, if we re not at that point, by reaching out to us and telling us that a relationship with God is ours also and is inviting us into that relationship to become a believer. 50) Flesh and blood has a sell-by date; the bodies you live in now will not last forever. 51) Ponder this mystery, I want to show you something that you have never seen before: no one will sleep; we will all experience exactly the same change. 52) This will happen in an instant, in a blink of the eye: the final trumpet will sound, then the dead shall be raised and we, who are still alive, shall be changed into a different kind of body. 53) For this corruptible must be clothed with incorruption and this mortal must be clothed with immortality. 54) What was spoken in Isaiah 25:8 is finally realized even in our physical death: Death is swallowed up in victory! Yes, Jesus victory swallowed up death and therefore, there is no reason for doubt today, where we are headed and to whom we are headed. 55) O death where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory? 56) The sting of death is sin; the strength of sin is the law. 57) Your victory is not a maybe; because of the magnanimous doing of Jesus Christ, it is a given! Yes, it is a given! Amen!! 58) For this reason you can afford to be absolutely settled and rock-solid in faith s persuasion and always ready to go beyond where you would have gone before. Concluding comments: Is there any reason for doubt in death? We answered that question right up front with a No. After having read and heard what Paul wrote as well as what GCI s position is, the answer to this question should be a resounding No to all of us. What the Father, Son and Spirit has done for each of us in this lifetime, has changed us forever. That s the message we have to share with others that s Good News! And others need to hear this Good News. And it s our role to share that Good News with those who are willing to listen. God loves us more than we could ever imagine and that will never ever change. There is no reason for doubt, not even in death. Closing prayer