#Bible #Lesson Timeless Truths. What Christians Believe About the Resurrection



3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas,[b] and then to the Twelve ... 
12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. ...
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. ...
“Where, O death, is your victory?
    Where, O death, is your sting?”[i]
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15: 3-4, 1-14, 17-18, 55-58
What Scripture says about the afterlife should shape this life.
Scripture is clear about an afterlife.

Old Testament: Sheol/Hades

  • This is a place for the dead.
  • It wasn't hell.


There was no life in Sheol.

  • The Old Testament lacks "eternal" references because all that history occurred before Jesus' resurrection.
  • Hebrews hoped that descendants would inhabit the LAND.

New Testament 
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1 Corinthians 15 is composed of 58 verses on resurrection. 
  • Verses 3-4: Jesus was raised from the dead.
  • Verses 12-14: Resurrection is for everyone.
  • Verses 17-18: Resurrection is the essential hope for our faith.
  • Verse 58: Afterlife is coming, so make sure that you live like there IS A TOMORROW. It takes more than faith.

Saving faith is faith that works through love.

Matthew 25:31-46 

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
This parable makes it clear that there is an afterlife.
  • How you will spend the afterlife, depends on your life on Earth.
  • True faith is recognized by the love it produces; you either love or you don't.
  • Goats are separated NOT by sin committed, but by the righteous acts they did not do.
  • Neither sheep nor goats were aware of doing or not-doing.
  • Righteous people simply did what came naturally because of their faith-relationship with Jesus.

Luke 16:19-31 - This is the story of the rich man and Lazarus.

22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
Jesus did not give names to characters in his parables. Therefore, this is probably not a parable. This is Jesus describing the afterlife.
  • Lazarus sat outside the rich man's gate. Every day, the rich man passed Lazarus.
  • The rich man knew the prophets, but he didn't do what should have been done by one who knew Scripture.
  • All of life matters here today. What you do today influences what the next life looks like for you.
  • The instincts of your heart need to be servant-oriented.

How are your instincts?

If they are not like the sheep in Matthew, stop now and ask God to cover you with His saving grace, cleanse your heart from sin, and fill you with His Holy Spirit.

Thanks to Pastor Beverly Cook for the primary teachings in this post.

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