Sermon: Sunday, 21st July, 2024
Speaker: Geoff Murray
Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
How do we respond to death? We need to know because death comes to us all. In the last 6 months we have mourned the passing of Charlie and Rachel’s dear baby, Andrew Kwiatkowski and Bill Croall. Indeed, we’re aware that for some in our midst death is approaching. This has been and is an incredibly hard time for the congregation; many tears have flowed for people we love.
Grief isn’t forbidden, we aren’t told not to grieve. It’s expected we will grieve. One Bible commentator said this: If Jesus wept at the graveside of his beloved Lazarus, his disciples are surely at liberty to do the same.
Death is a part of life and its a part of life which we hate. Death grips every one of us. Death is a part of every one of our stories. We have all lost someone and for those who are younger who maybe haven’t lost someone, you will lose someone. Death is a dark shadow which hangs over each one of us. Indeed, we grieve the loss of those around us but we also recognise we too will one day face death.
So death does indeed come to us all. How do we approach death?
‘Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.’ (1 Thessalonians 4:13)
This is very much the heart of this message. I don’t want you to be ill-informed about what happens to those who sleep in death, those who have passed away so that we may grieve with hope but also eagerly anticipate our future with the Lord.
1. The grounds of our hope
What grounds do we have for hope when someone dies? Is it possible to have hope? Do we simply pacify our fears and concerns with the idea that, ‘Of course they’re going to heaven cause they were a good person.’ Well, how do we know they were good enough? Are there grounds for real hope?
‘For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.’ (1 Thessalonians 4:14)
This truly is the ground of our hope, this is why we can grieve as those with hope. Yes we grieve the loss of baby Ross, we grieve Andy, we grieve Bill but intermingled with that grief is hope. Hope for those who belong to Jesus but have passed away.
Now, by hope, I am not simply referring to an empty wish ‘hit and hope’, nor am I presuming that we all get to heaven. We have hope as Christians, but what informs this hope? Paul draws a connection here between Jesus’ death and resurrection to our death and resurrection.
‘We believe Jesus died and rose so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.’
The author of Hebrews makes it more explicit: ‘Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.’ (Hebrews 2:14-15)
Death was something to be feared and indeed is something to be feared if your trust is not in Jesus. On the cross, he, of course, takes the punishment for the sins of his people who trust in him so that eternal judgement is not our end. And, in effect, we swap places. He doesn’t simply take our sin, he also gives us the righteousness we lack, he gives us his perfect righteousness so that we can be declared righteous in God’s sight.
Furthermore, we do not worship a dead deity, we worship a risen and exalted saviour. He rose from the grave, defeating the power of death, giving us all the hope of resurrection in the life to come.
All of this means of course that for those of us whose faith is in Jesus Christ, death is no longer something to fear. Death is something which ought not give us fear. We might fear for those left behind, we might fear the questions of ‘what if’ with regrets about how we spent our lives, but if our faith is in Jesus’ death in our place to pay for our sins, we needn’t fear our own death of what will be on the other side of death. Why? Because Jesus died and rose again, we too can be assured of newness of life.
We don’t just have the testimony of the Apostle Paul here though to convince us this is true and this is what happens. We have the words of Jesus to the thief on the cross who said to Jesus, ‘Remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ And Jesus replies, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.’ (Luke 23:43)
There is a certainty to this hope that Jesus gives. He isn’t vague, he says it clearly, ‘Today, you will be with me in paradise.’ That just as there is life beyond the grave for Jesus, so too for us whose hope is in him there is life beyond the grave. For those who place their faith in Jesus, his death means our fear of death is taken away, for those whose faith is in Jesus death does not mean the end but only the beginning. The beginning of life in glory.
That is the grounds of our hope. This is why we can have hope for all who belong to Jesus when they pass on from this life is because of Jesus’ words… ‘because I live, you also shall live.’ (John 14:19)
2. The reality of our hope
What happens when we die? Where is Bill Croall now? Where is Andy Kwiatkowski now?
Westminster Shorter Catechism.
Q38: What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death?
A: The souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united in Christ, do rest in their graves, till the resurrection.
Let’s go from summary in the Catechism to basing it on the biblical text. Paul teaches here to the Thessalonians that those who are believers who have died have ‘fallen asleep in him’.
What exactly does that mean? Well, we can deduce from it what we are able but then also look to parts of scripture that are more clear.
Certainly, ‘fallen asleep in him’ denotes rest. People who believe in Jesus and die enter into that eternal rest.
Rest: From sin & temptation, from their suffering, rest with Jesus.
Note, the idea of falling asleep at death is very common in many cultures and its what Paul means here. The reason I know this is what Paul means is because of what Paul says in Philippians 1 and what Jesus says to the thief on the cross.
Going back to Jesus’ words to the thief on the cross, ‘Today you will be with me in paradise.’
And to Paul’s words to the church in Philippi; ‘My desire is to depart and be with Christ.’ (Philippians 1:23)
So between those two, we see there is an immediacy about this state of rest. Jesus says, ‘Today you will be with me in paradise.’ Paul’s words in Philippians 1 give no sense of there being a delay to entering into this rest. There is an immediacy to it. That immediately upon passing, believers go to enter their eternal rest.
And Jesus says you will not simply be going to float about in the clouds, Jesus says, ‘You will be with me.’ Paul says the same he wishes to depart, why? So he can be with Christ! The Christ we behold by faith is one day going to be a Christ we behold by sight.
Where is Bill right now? Where is Andy? They are at their eternal rest with Jesus. They are with Jesus right now! The one we know and love and enjoy imperfectly by faith, they know, love and enjoy perfectly by sight. And it will be utterly glorious, it is utterly glorious for them!
They don’t have the fight against their own sin, they don’t have the dark cloud of suffering, for them the clouds have parted and the sun shines. They don’t have questions ‘Is God with me?’ Because he is right there! Jesus is never felt to be distant, Jesus is known to be right there. Jesus whom we can worship and adore, whom we can hug and bow down before. That is their experience right now.
Sure, their bodies remain in the ground, the resurrection as we will see hasn’t happened yet, but at their passing their souls pass immediately into glory.
Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, that for all who believe in him would not perish but have everlasting life. That for all who believe in him, death would not be the end, but death gives way to victory. That even as the body wastes away right now, the soul departs and is with the saviour Jesus. That is the reality we confess, the hope we have. That our dear siblings in Christ who have passed on, where are they? They are really with Jesus. It is not a glib thing we say to try and comfort ourselves, it is reality.
3. The fulfilment of our hope
For us left on earth, that hope isn’t realised fully yet and so there is a lot of waiting for us.
‘For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever.’ (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17)
This will be a universal event:
• Every eye will see him – Revelation 1:7
• Every knee will bow before him – Philippians 2:10
• Every tongue will confess him Lord of all Philippians 2:11
This will be a transformative event:
• Death, mourning, crying and pain will be no more – Revelation 21:4
• Sin will be locked out – Revelation 21:27
• We will be transformed – 1 Corinthians 15:51-52
And on that day, all will be made new. What is true of the saints in glory now will be true of every believer. We will be with Jesus forever. We will be in his presence forever, where his glory fills the place, we will rejoice in his presence with a joy inexpressible indeed our joy will be complete. Where the one whom our hearts adore will be before us. Our saviour, our Lord, our King, our friend and companion.
The passage ends in verse 18: ‘Therefore encourage one another with these words.’
And really for us as believers there are two encouragements from this passage:
We do not have to grieve hopelessly for those who have passed
We need not live hopelessly today
We grieve, we mourn, we cry and weep, we miss and long to see again our friends who have passed but because Jesus died and rose again we do not do any of these things hopelessly. That means we aren’t going for a comfortless, vague, wishy washy hope based on nothing when a brother or sister in the Lord passes. That offers zero hope.
That means we aren’t grieving when a brother or sister dies because ‘Well, that’s that.’ and they are no more as if they die and that is all that comes of them in the end.
That means that we grieve hard, we feel deeply the loss of our loved brothers and sisters but we grieve with hope. Because Jesus died and rose again, we know from this passage and others, they who trusted in Jesus in this life are currently with him and for them it is far better. They are in his presence, basking in his glory, delighting in him, worshipping him with their joy complete at eternal rest from their fight against sin and their experience of suffering and now exactly where they need to be, right with Jesus.
This has been, and continues to be, a challenging and painful time in our fellowship, but mingled with the pain and sadness is hope and relief that God, who never goes back on his word, says to us today that they who trusted in him in this life are safe with him in the next right now.
We need not live hopelessly today
How easy it is to be hopeless in this world. The economy is shot, world tensions are high, poor mental health is through the roof, often times there are relational challenges with our family members. How can you live with hope in a world of decay? Because if your faith is in Jesus, these things are promised for you too.
Whether Jesus comes again first or whether you die first, the end is the same, you will be with Jesus. The same joy that is complete for Bill right now will be complete for you too one day. That we are assured that just as Jesus died and rose again so we too will experience new life after death. A life free from pain, sorrow, suffering, sin, and a life full of lasting joy, perfect peace in the presence of our saviour.
So do not be so miserable with the sufferings of this life that you cannot see any hope. We have hope and hope is found in Jesus Christ. Our citizenship is not for this world but our citizenship is in heaven. Have hope amidst your grief, have hope amidst the financial pressures you face, have hope amidst the relational difficulties you face, have hope amidst the darkness of depression for we are told that one day for every believer the darkness will give way to an everlasting life.
Think deeply about, meditate on, pray over this everlasting hope we have. Otherwise how easy it could be to grieve like those without hope. How easy it could be to lament this and that as if that was where our hope was found. How easy it could be to build treasures on earth. How easy it could be to seek hope in whatever political party is in charge, how easy it could be to seek peace in how much money or possessions you have, how simple it could be to forget God altogether and live for today.
Friends, in your daily living, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy where thieves do not break in and steal.
Build your whole life upon this living hope who is Jesus Christ, for an inheritance that never perishes, spoils or fades, that is kept in heaven for you until the revelation of Jesus Christ.
And if you’re with us and you don’t have this hope. You’re thinking, ‘Surely we all get to heaven.’ or maybe you’re realising that all your hopes are for this life, all your dreams are found in this life and you’ve never given a second thought to it.
Place your hope in Jesus Christ, the saviour of sinners, the rescuer for the lost, the one who reconciles us to God. Do not live for this world because one day, whether Jesus comes back again (which could be any moment) or whether you die first before he comes back, there will be a day when everything that you’ve been living for will go up in a cloud of smoke, it will amount to nothing. Build your life upon that which lasts, build your life on the Lord Jesus Christ. Put your faith in his death in your place to pay for your sins, confess your sins, seek his forgiveness and this hope can be your hope too.
As Paul says, Jesus will come like a thief in the night; we don’t know when it’s going to happen. Put your hope in him now, seek him now, and be found in him so that when he comes again, you will not be separated from him in eternal darkness but you will be with him in eternal light. Give yourself to him now and know peace with God and hope for eternity.