Three Questions About Death

We have just gotten into a new year, although it's just about enough of it as past and not be able to say that anymore But we have just finished one year and entered another one and I don't know how you reflect on a year or The coming year, but one of the things That always I I think about is the people who were with us this time last year who are no longer with us Now that that may sound morbid that may sound pessimistic. I certainly don't intend it that way I like what the book of Ecclesiastes says in Ecclesiastes chapter 7 and that's not our text for tonight So hang on we'll be in Job tonight, but Ecclesiastes where is that the Old Testament? Yeah Pleasiesti's seventh and verse four Errstu it is better to go to a house of mourning than to a house of feasting For death is the destiny of everyone the living should take this to heart Though there is a lot of wisdom in facing the realities of life and that this life here on this earth is Not permanent. It's only temporary We're not going to be here forever. This world is not our home. It really isn't and So to face that is not morbid or pessimistic. It's realistic and to face it with a sense of confidence and hope knowing that we will be with the Lord is the best way to live and So I that's what I want us to do this evening. I want us to think about the realistic Outlook and view on life that recognizes this life is not all there is in fact it is just a very small fragment of the life you will live somewhere in eternity The book of Job is where we're going to be tonight the man who lived two thousand years before Christ Raised three questions about death Questions that all of us need to ask ourselves and we need to answer and we need to be able to answer them confidently with the confidence of the Bible and with confidence of faith in Christ You know the story of Job Job Went through tremendous trials and his life. Job was a man who was in a sense An example that God made for us of what it means to suffer in faith Job had much of this world's blessings and God allowed Satan to take all of those away from him except for his life Took even his health even the support of his wife His children his possessions his means of living everything taken away from him and you remember how Job Initially responded the Lord gives the Lord takes away blessed be the name of the Lord He says I will praise the Lord there in chapters one and two But it begins to wear on Job as it would any of us as it would the best of believers And if you've read the whole book if you've read beyond those first two chapters which most people don't if you've read beyond that You know that Job asks some pretty tough questions about what God was doing In fact even accused God at times of being out after him and trying to shoot him with arrows like he was hunting down prey There were some pretty tough things in this book But in about the middle of the book We'll begin with chapter 14 tonight Job begins to ask some questions He's facing the real issues of life and death. He has to he believes he's going to die And he he is facing the real issues of life and death So he raises some questions their realistic their honest their heartfelt That he doesn't know the answer to We do know the answer to these questions today Because we have the complete revelation of God Job did not Job lived before any of scripture was recorded It would be five it would be almost 600 years before Moses would write the first books of the Bible And whether or not Job actually wrote his book or it was recorded later We don't know but Job's experiences happened at about the same time Abraham was living on planet earth And there was no recorded scripture at that time and so Job had nothing really to base a strong belief system on He had a lot of questions that he could not answer We have the answers now and so I want us to keep that in mind as we look at his questions If you wonder how could a man who the Bible said there was no one as righteous as him and all the earth in his time How could a man like that ask these kind of questions The answer is because he did not have the full revelation of God like we have today So keep that in mind as you as you think about Job As we stand on on the threshold of a new year as we are into this new year I want us to think about What death really means and are we prepared for death We're in Job 14 is where we'll start tonight and Job asks this question in verse 14 if someone dies will they live again? Now the question that Job asks is a question of is there life after death Now that's really the first question that anybody needs to ask is Is there life after death? Well what are the words what happens when we die? Is is there such a thing as life after death? Obviously, it's a very basic question now. I want you to see that this question comes out of Job's doubt Look back at verse 7 By this point in the book he is doubting everything And in verse 7 he says at least there is hope for a tree If it is cut down it will sprout again and its new shoots will not fail Its roots may grow old in the ground and it stumps die in the soil yet at the scent of water It will bud and will put and put forth shoots like a plant but a man dies And is laid low he breeds his last And is no more We'll come back to that verse in a little bit Verse 11 as the water of a lake dries up or a riverbed becomes parched and dry So he lies down and does not rise till the heavens are no more people will not awake or be roused from their sleep So it's in that context that Job asks this question if someone dies will they live again? In his mind the answer is no He does not have the confidence that there is any life after death Now again, let me remind you he does not have God's word He does not have God's revelation to us of the afterlife of what lies beyond the grave He doesn't know that doesn't have any way of knowing that except maybe through oral tradition which by the time of Job Has has a lot of mixture of truth and error So that's part of the reason for this But part of the reason for his questioning is their life after death is the tremendous burden that he's under And especially severe trial I doubt that there is anyone in this room that has ever faced as deep as your trials may have been I doubt there's anyone in this room that's faced The depth and the complexity and the multitude of tragedies that Job did But all of us probably have had times in our lives when we have said things that in better days we would not say We have thought things that in our clearer moments we would not think And I think that's part of why Job is doing this. I mean just look through the Bible and you'll find Most everybody does this at some time David in Psalm 55 And verse 6 will say to the Lord all that I had the wings of a of a dove and could fly away Now that sounds like a very beautiful peaceful thing But that's not at all what David means if you read the context He's talking about the severe suffering and the enemies that are fighting against him and he wants to escape He wants to get away from it all He wants to be away from all the pressure and the stress He wants to get away. That's what he's really saying You know there are three preachers in the Old Testament that prayed for God to kill them You know that Moses In the book of numbers When the people had complained One more time and it was the straw that broke the camel's back Moses said Lord I can't handle this anymore. It would be better for you to take my life Elijah prayed that prayer in in first Kings chapter 9 After Jezebel chased him away And he's so discouraged over the apparent failure of the revival on Mount Carmel He prayed that God would take his life. He says I'm no better than my ancestors take my life and Jonah prayed the same prayer His his is more out of self pity and anger He doesn't have quite as good a reason as maybe Elijah or Moses did But there's three three preachers. I probably told you this before I heard Adrian Rodgers one time years ago At Moody Bible Institute preach the sermon on three Monday morning prayers from three preachers And he would preach on those three prayers he preached on discouragement In in the ministry and it was a powerful sermon But there there are good people Moses David Elijah Jonah who at times said and even prayed things that they wouldn't have otherwise did you know what Jeremiah said Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet Jeremiah Got so discouraged he wanted to quit the ministry and in chapter 9 verse 2 of Jeremiah's book He says all that I had in the desert a lodging place for travelers So that I might leave my people and go away from them for they are all the adulterers a crowd of unfaithful people Jeremiah had it he was gonna throw in the towel And you know what he's saying? They're saying literally I wish I could run a motel out in the desert somewhere rather than do what I'm doing And you know what God said to him because God sometimes kind of hits us back when we complain too much A little bit later God will say to him to Jeremiah if If well, let me let me get the right words. So let me just look it up here in in chapter 12 of Jeremiah I believe it is he says to him this If you have raced with men on foot and they have warned you out how can you compete with horses If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan? I don't bring him up short Sometimes when we complain God basically says come on toughen up You're having trouble now wait till I get you in the thickets of the Jordan You can't keep up on foot wait till you try to run with the horses you haven't seen anything yet Jeremiah and so Sometimes we need to be rebuked by the Lord in those times But I think that's part of what Job is thinking and facing there are times in our lives when we all succumb to the pressure And we complain against God and Job's question comes out of utter despair This is not like Job one and two where Job is triumphantly saying the Lord gives the Lord takes away Blessed be the name of the Lord we love singing that song, but we don't love singing this one Man dies is laid low he lies down does not rise people will not awake someone dies will they live again the answer is no We don't like to sing that hymn But at times we do And so Job asked this question out of despair But even in the midst of that despair there is a glimmer of hope There is just a small fraction of a desire that Job senses in in his heart And it's in the second part of verse 14 all the days of my hard service. I will wait for my renewal to come The Hebrew work can be translated release to come Even though it is difficult even though I've given up even though I don't believe there's life after death I'm still going to wait for God to release me So there is that little bit of desire even in the midst of tremendous doubt But Job asks a question that everybody needs to face is their life after death Again, I say that Job did not have all the The information available to answer that question confidently He had a spark of desire and hope in his heart, but he could not really answer it confidently But we know the answer to that question don't we we know the answer to the question is their life after death is yes There is life after death and we know that for three reasons Number one the Bible teaches that we are created in God's image We bear his image We have an immaterial part of soul a spirit that will live forever We are different from the animals the animal breeds out his last breath and he does turn to dust And there is no hope for life after death for the animal. We're not animals We're not animals. We are image bearers of God And so we are created with that breath of life in us a soul a spirit that will never die God breathed that into us So we know it for that reason secondly we know it because of the resurrection of Christ First prince 15 says he is the first fruits of them that believe or omens 8 11 says if the spirit of Of God who raised up Christ dwells in you then you will be raised up He will make you alive by the spirit of God who dwells in you So we know that because of the resurrection of Christ there is life after death particularly in that context for all of us who know Jesus And then the third reason we can answer this question with confidence is if someone dies will they live again the answer is yes Third reason we can answer that confidently is because of the clear statements of the word of God My hope your hope all of our hope should be in this book in the word of God and so because the Bible teaches clearly there is life after death We can confidently answer the question yes there is and the Bible does describe life after death doesn't it one example Luke 16 you remember the story the rich man and Lazarus they die they both go out into eternity But they're both still alive they're in two different places that we'll look at in a moment But they are both still alive there is life after death Have you heard of folks who are afraid of being buried alive? I've heard of some folks like that maybe even some of you have that kind of phobia and I've heard of folks who actually Do not want to be put in a coffin because they're afraid they would be buried alive I read about two guys that had that particular fear and one of them Had this done stipulated it in writing before he died. I want an eight inch window In in my coffin. I want a buzzer that will be connected to a light in my nearest relative's home So that if I wake up I can let them know hey, I'm still around come on come get me seriously. It's what the guy did There was another person who was so afraid to be put in a casket so afraid to be buried alive That he requested in writing and I don't think they actually did this he requested in writing Before you actually put me in the casket or put me in the ground pierce my heart to make sure I really am dead And and just in case I would survive that don't nail the coffin don't close it tight Hey, let me let you in on something Everybody who's ever been buried has been buried alive You know that We are we're all buried alive Because when you die you're still alive There's life after death they put your body in the ground, but you're still alive You know you're in one place or the other and we'll look at that in a moment But you're still alive you do not cease to exist at death So everyone who's ever been buried has been buried alive you will be buried alive Now for those of you who have that phobia I really messed things up for you didn't I Hopefully it ought to take it away Because we're not really here. It's just the old shell that we lived in that's being put in the ground Is there life after death? Yes Yes, there is we can answer that question confidently The second question Job asks is this Where does man go after death Okay, is there life after death? Yes. Well, okay if there is then where does man go after death Look back at verse 10 This is where that question is found Verse 10 But if a man dies but a man dies and is laid low he breathes his last and is no more you say what John you read the wrong verse I don't see a question there at all No, it's right verse You see the statement in the verse is no more That translation which the NIV has adopted is actually from the septuogen which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament Done a couple hundred years after the Old Testament was completed It probably carries the right meaning in the context Because Job is basically saying there is no hope For any life after death. He's he's saying there's hope for a tree But there's no hope for a man. He's laid low. He's gonna die and just like a water lake dries up Um lies down does not rise verse 12 so in the context I can understand their reason for translating it that way But the Hebrew literally says where is he So let's read it that way verse 10, but a man dies and is laid low. He breathes his last and where is he now? Job did ask that question in the sense of He dies and where is it where is not to be found he just dies But he does raise a question that is legitimate for us to answer When a person dies Where do they go what happens to them If there is indeed life after death then if a person dies where is he where is he go Again the question is asked out of despair. There's no no confidence of any future life here on the part of Job But but a question is raised which is answered in the Bible and so because we do unlike Job Have the complete revelation of God We can answer that question But before we answer it It's interesting to see the various answers that man has come up with through the centuries Man has always been intrigued with this question When a man dies breathes his last Where is he The Egyptian pyramids the Indian mounds and so many other rituals and ceremonies of life and death and the afterlife Are all witness to this intense fascination of mankind for the centuries When a man dies where is he where does he go what happens to him? There's a tremendous interest in that and that interest still carries on today Books like life after life Written by the medical doctor Kubla Ross who began the some of the first experiments medical experiments into near death experiences And what happens to people in those near death experiences the world of spiritism and the occult Fascinated with where people are when they die where do they go Can we bring them back can we communicate with them can we find out where they are can we get messages from them? And out of that intense curiosity there have been many many ideas that have arisen as to where people go Some people say well when people die they just cease to exist. We're just like the animals We just cease to exist. We've already seen that's not true Not biblically the Bible teaches there is life after death Other people have said well, there's this spirit world where everybody just goes out together in some spirit world out there Others have said well, there's a we actually can come back. We are reincarnated And so many Eastern religions Buddhism for instance Believes in reincarnation that you come back Time and time again and depending on how you've lived you either come back as a higher life form or a lower life form That's a scary thought isn't it? It's also a totally unbiblical worldview But there are those who believe in reincarnation There are others who believe in some kind of purgatory That when you die you go to a place of punishment No matter what your Your faith has been in this life you go to some some form of fire punishment until you are purged from your sins and you eventually get to heaven So there've been lots of ideas as to where does where do people go when they die But the Bible makes it clear there are only two places One is heaven the other is hell Heaven for those who have been declared right with God who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ as their savior their sins have been forgiven And they go at deaths Moment at the moment of death they go into the presence of the Lord As Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 5 to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord He said in Philippians 1 I'm in a straight betwix 2 having a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better Nevertheless to abide in the flesh remain in the flesh is more needful for you So he came to the conclusion God still had work for him to do on this earth But he knew that if he was gonna die if he would die he would go immediately into the presence of the Lord And so the Bible teaches that if you know Christ is your savior At the moment of death you immediately go into the presence of Christ you're in heaven with him And the biblical descriptions of heaven are amazing It is a place of rest from the toil of this life and the hardship of this life It is a place of worship. It is a place of service a place of great activity a place of fellowship with saints and with God himself Revelation 22 where a revolution 21 where God says my people will be with me and I will be their God I will be with them fellowship with God himself an amazing wonderful place that is beyond even our imagination And then there is that other place hell Place of terrible suffering It's described in Luke 16 the rich man who died without Christ Is in hell It is a place of physical suffering a place of mental suffering a place of eternal suffering a place of eternal sorrow and separation from God It is a place that exists for eternity Actually hell is transferred eventually into the lake of fire Which is the eternal place of suffering just like hell The Bible teaches one of two places you go when you die heaven or hell So questions about death is their life after death? Yes, there is How do we know because of what the Bible says Not because of some book that somebody wrote Who experienced it supposedly Did you read I just saw in the online edition of Christianity today this week that There have been two very popular books of little boys who supposedly died and went to heaven And the first one of those not that the burpo story heaven is for real But the one before that I can't remove the title the book, but it was also made into a movie Young man's now teenager There was a split up of his family because it was the father who had driven that story and the little boys were candid the whole thing It never happened never happened Don't ever put your confidence in a book that somebody's written we know there's life after death because of what the Bible teaches That's our Source our authority for what we believe so is there life after death? Yes, there is where do we go after death? Either heaven or hell Heaven for those who know Christ Hell for those who don't Okay, given these the answers to those two questions Then what is the burning question that remains? How can I know for sure I'm going to heaven? I mean if there's life after death and there is Well, if if I'm going to go to one of two places heaven or hell then how can I know for sure that I'm going to heaven and Job in a sense asks that question to back in chapter 9 Verse 2 First one says then Job replied He's replying to one of his friends and we'll get to that in a moment Indeed, I know that this is true, but how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God? Or this can also be translated how can mere mortals be righteous before God? How can mere mortals be right with God that's the idea We'll see in a moment the job is talking about standing before God and pleading your case for being a righteous person How can you do that? How can a mere mortal stand before God and plead before God to be considered righteous? Now again Job is asking a question that he is not sure he can answer There are clearer moments in his book where he does Come very close to the New Testament answer to this question But in raising the question Job forces us to face Three things about this question. How can I know for sure? I'm going to heaven the first that that Job raises is the importance of being right with God Now the great struggle in this book is over why God has allowed these things to happen to Job Why is a righteous man one who at least to everyone's appearance was the most righteous man that lived and God actually gave that testimony of him? But how is it possible for such a man like that to suffer as he did? That's the question Job's friends Try to answer and they all give wrong answers But Job himself is confused about it But in all of this questioning back and forth they're debating the single most important issue You can ever ask yourself and that is the importance of being right with God Job faces us with that The importance of being right with God you see when you die It is how you stand before God is the only thing that matters That outweighs everything else It does not matter how you stand before others It does not matter what others thought of you It does not matter how you appeared before others The only question that really matters at death is how do you stand before God? Are you a righteous person before God? So Job faces us with that when he asks this question How can mere mortals prove their innocence before God? That is the burning question That's the only question that really matters at death How can I know that I'm right with God? So Job faces with that secondly He faces us with the admission of sinfulness and that's a very important part of this question The fact that we must admit that we are sinners Now here's where we get to the context where the context is important Job's friends are all giving their reasonings as to why Job is suffering and his friend Friend in quotation marks I should add Build that has just spoken in chapter 8 And build that speech basically is one of the first ones that comes to this conclusion Nobody suffers Unless they've sinned There's got to be some sin in your life Job where you wouldn't suffer like this If it's not apparent it must be secret it must be hidden People God is righteous God is just So God God being a righteous and just God would not punish someone unless they are unrighteous I'm just sinners. So Job the answer is you must be a sinner. You must be sinful That's the reason why you're suffering and to that Job responds In verse two of chapter 9 indeed. I know that this is true. I know I'm a sinner You don't have to try to convince me of that. I know I'm a sinner My question is how can mere mortals all of whom are sinners is the implication? How can mere mortals Prove their innocence before God. How can they be right with God? And that is a critical part of this question God is holy God is absolutely righteous God is perfectly just Job agrees with that but the question is The contrast between sinful man mere mortals and this righteous holy God How can that gap be bridged How can a sinful creature ever get to heaven ever be righteous before God? That's Job's burning dilemma here So he faces us with the idea it is absolutely important To be right with God. That's the only question that matters But the problem is you've got this great gap between sinful man and Job says I agree with you billed that I'm a sinner But how does a sinner get to a holy God? How do you bridge this great gap? And the third thing he faces us with that's an important part of this question How can I get to heaven is this it is impossible to bridge that gap on your own Absolutely impossible and Job says that look again verse two Indeed, I know that this is true In other words God's righteous and I'm a sinner But how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God and I look at verse three Though they wish to dispute with him they could not answer him one time out of a thousand You you feel the despair there What Job is saying literally is God could accuse me of a thousand things he would be right and I wouldn't have one answer I would not be able to refute any of his charges A thousand things he could ring up against me and and I would not be able to answer any of them on my own Now Job is left somewhat in despair about that although he will come and rise to great Heights of hope especially in chapter 19 when he realizes that his hope is in God alone And in in God rescuing him through resurrection that he has some hope there but at this point he's absolutely in despair But again, I say he has raised the important issues That bring us to the answer to this question. How can I get to heaven if there is life after death And if there's only two places you can go one is heaven one is hell then how can I be sure I'm going to heaven Job prepares the way for us to answer that question by helping us to see it's the only question that matters being right with God But there's this great gap between mere mortals and a holy righteous God and I can't bridge that gap I would I would have a thousand wrong answers to God's charges. I would score a zero on the test I could not get there on my own I That is exactly where everybody needs to come before they can answer this question How do I get to heaven you've got to realize first of all that you are a center And the gap between you and God is too great and you cannot bridge that gap on your own Everybody has to come to the same point Job came to The beauty of this is that we do have the full answer in the New Testament Job did not have it fully at that time although he again would later express his hope and trust in the Lord But he did not have the full answer the full answers in the New Testament and you know what it is Don't you it's the substitutionary work of Christ on the cross Yes, we are all mere mortal sinners before a righteous God who could charge us with a thousand offenses We would not have one answer to his charges We're all hopelessly lost in sin unless Someone who is perfect and has never sinned Loves me enough to say I'll take your place I'll take your punishment for you all those charges that God could rightly have against you. I'll answer them I'll take them I'll bear God's wrath and punishment for them. I'll take them on me That's the New Testament gospel, isn't it? What Paul says when he says in 2 Corinthians 5 21 for he God have made him Christ to be sin For us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him you see the transaction that takes place there He has made him to be sin for us all of our sin is placed on him so that we might be made the righteousness of God in him So that all his righteousness can be placed on our account in heaven So a transaction must take place that is not a transaction of justice It is a transaction of mercy and grace And motivated by love Where God says I don't want you to spend eternity in hell I want you to be with me in heaven and Jesus says I will take their sin I will bear their punishment and he does on the cross And so when all of his sin is all of our sin is placed on him He bears the punishment for it And all we need to do is accept and receive him as our Savior trust him as our Savior And all of his righteousness is placed on our account in heaven and it is that beautiful transaction Which enables us to answer this question how can I go to heaven Job begins the answer by basically saying you can't on your own No way it's impossible the New Testament completes the answer by saying but wait a second Jesus can do it for you Christ can do it for you he took your place He bore your sin so that his righteousness might become yours and that is how you go to heaven Is there life after heaven a life after death? Yes Where does man go when he dies? Either heaven or hell then how can I be sure I'm going to heaven Not through your own efforts you'll never make it that way But through Christ who took your place There is a funeral director in the city of Washington DC who who signs all his correspondence eventually yours No, not so with me and not so with you if you've trusted Jesus See he's not going to get me and no other funeral director is going to get me Eventually I'm his Not yours I'm his So you'll get my body to tidy it up and make it as good as is possible to look When I'm gone you'll get that but you won't get me Because I have the confidence through the word of God because of faith in Christ At the moment I die The me I Will be with Christ in heaven. I'm eventually he is and I hope you are too We're here on a Sunday night and for people to come out on a Sunday night especially in the middle of winter You would guess we got a group of believers here tonight People who really love the Lord And I certainly hope that's true with all of us But I never want to take that for granted. It's possible for people to sit in church a lifetime and not really know the gospel Not really understand what it means to trust Jesus And so I think it's wise for all of us to ask ourselves that question if for no other reason to reaffirm The fact that yes I know I can answer these with confidence not because of myself But because of Jesus is there life after death? Yes, Job there is When a man dies where does he go? Job it's either heaven or hell Well, how can I know I'm going to heaven? Job You're right Not through your own efforts you never make it that way But it is through Christ through Christ our Savior When Cornelius Vanderbilt was on his deathbed he asked a faithful servant To come in and vice-bedside and sing the old gospel hymn Come ye sinners Poor and needy And that dear African-American man sang this song Come ye sinners poor and needy We can wound it sick and sore Jesus ready stands to save you Full of mercy, love and power Let not conscience make you linger Nor a fitness fondly dream All the fitness he requires is to feel your need of him The conclusion of that hymn By that dear African-American servant Vanderbilt Forgetting his millions and millions of dollars Said this I'm a poor and needy center It's where all of us have to come before we can answer these questions I'm a poor and needy center If you know Christ you can answer those questions with confidence Let's pray together Father thank you that we can look death square in the face And answer with confidence We know there is life after death We know there are only two places where we go may go after death And we can know for sure that we are headed to heaven Thank you Lord that we can answer those questions confidently not because of any self confidence Not because of any confidence in ourselves but because we've gotten rid of that because we have said with Job There's no way I can answer God's charges against me. No way I can be righteous on my own But we know we can answer confidently because of your love for us and the gift of your son Jesus Who died for us on the cross Thank you father for that love gift And I pray that each of us will recognize we can only answer these questions with confidence if we know Jesus But help us not just to be satisfied with answering them ourselves help us to realize there are people All around us who are still asking these questions And they don't know the answers yet So help us to reach out to them in love And help them to see the biblical answers In Jesus name we pray amen