Life and Death

 

John 14:19 “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also.”

 

The late Pastor James Kennedy states that the volumes on homiletics (the study of the composition and delivery of a religious message) declare that one form of a sermon is what is called the problem-solution sermon—one that has only two points. Today I would like to use such an outline because, you see, we have a problem. I don’t mean just any problem, because we all have many problems. I mean the “biggie,” the great problem that you have and I have and the whole world has, and that is the problem of our own mortality. That is the problem—death! It is a problem which, indeed, haunts many people most of their lives. In fact, the Scripture says that Satan has kept the whole world in bondage throughout their lifetime through the fear of death. Are you afraid to die? Are we afraid of death? 

 

How do we normally deal with that problem? Samuel Johnson, who gave us the first dictionary, said that most men spend all of their lives going from one diversion to another simply trying to forget their own mortality. We try to put it out of our mind and forget that God has said that in the day that you sin, you shall surely die. We have preferred to believe the lie of the devil who said, “You shalt not surely die.” And so we blot it out of our thoughts. Many turn to all kinds of other religions looking for a solution. Ah, but alas, my friend, they find none—for there is none. Christianity is unique! Christ alone has risen from the dead and burst the bands of the grave. This is the only answer we have to the greatest problem the world has ever seen. 

 

Yes, we have a problem. But I have the solution. The Scripture says of Christ, “I am he that lives, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore” (Revelation 1:18). Because I live, you  [that trust in me] shall live also” (John 14:19). That death people so much fear has been banished by Him. That death that robs life of so much of its joy hangs like a gray cloud, ominously on the horizon of our future. It rains on everybody’s parade someday. It snatches away all you have hoarded and gathered. It empties your closets and leaves you nothing but a shroud and a winding sheet. Yes, it takes all of your mightiest accomplishments and dumps them into a narrow hole in the ground. It translates your greatest achievements into two simple short words: hic jacit: “Here lies!” And that’s it! Born this date. Died that date. That’s it, folks. That’s life. Ah, but not for a Christian. For a Christian it’s just the vestibule of eternity, and for us there is much more. 

 

Many people over time looked down into the dark depths of a grave and wondered and wondered: Is there anything more beyond this? Then Christ came—that One who was dead, that Conqueror of the grave—and He said, “I am alive forevermore.” Now the Christian emblem emblazed upon the hearts of every believer is plus ultra. There is vastly more beyond the grave. 

 

Easter is all about that great, blessed, eternal future that Christ offers to us. God has placed eternity into the hearts of men. Everyone yearns for it. Nothing else can fill this need. Put all of your toys, put all of your accomplishments into your heart and they won’t fill it. “The heart is a God-shaped blank,” said Augustine, “and only God can fill it.” Only Christ can fulfill the hopes and aspirations of mankind which He hath placed into the hearts of men. 

 

Christ is the greatest person who ever lived. Why? For one reason: He solved the greatest problem man has ever had—the problem of his own mortality. He alone could solve that. He is risen from the dead. Christ alone is alive from the tomb, and the evidence is overwhelming. Christ solved that problem, and He brought life and immortality to light for all of those who will trust in Him. Christ opened the way to paradise. Do you know the way? It is amazing how many people believe in Heaven but don’t know how to get there. Jesus told us in the Scriptures: “I am the way” (John 14:6). Christ is the way. Come to Him who invites us all to take His yoke upon ourselves and to learn of Him, and as we place our trust in Him, our eyes are opened, our hearts are changed. We become new creatures in Christ. Christ brings that new life that—that transforming life. 

Pastor Kennedy asks: Has that happened to you? Have you been born anew into the kingdom of God? Whenever your time comes, may you rejoice in the assurance that you belong to Him, that He has lived in your heart all these many years. He has changed you and made you a new person. Has He done it to you? He is inviting you to come. He will take you to be with Him forever in paradise. Hallelujah! Amen