Category Life & Death

John 2:19-21  Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ Then said the Jews, ‘Forty-six years was this temple in building, and will You rear it up in three days?’

But He spoke of the temple of His body.

The depth of these two simple sentences cannot be exaggerated.

The temple – dwelling place – is the body. Christ, the fullness of God, dwelt in human flesh from conception.[1] His body was not God; God is not flesh, but spirit, yet He took up residence in an human body in order to bring us salvation.

Though men would “destroy” the body of Christ, they could never destroy Him personally. The eternal God can never die, having power over life and death...

The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the single-most important event in world history. Single, because His resurrection is completely dependant upon His crucifixion, yet without His resurrection, His death would have been futile.

Paul wrote that, “if we are planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall also be of His resurrection.” Romans 6:5 Yet he also wrote: “… if Christ is not raised, your faith is vain; you are yet in your sins.” 1 Corinthians 15:17

Through the death of Christ, forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God[1] is made available to men, and through His resurrection we receive eternal life. Without Christ’s death, there is no forgiveness; without His resurrection, we have no hope beyond this world...

“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God….” Romans 3:22 

“the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23 

“for God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life….He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the Name of the only begottenSon of God.” John 3:16,18 

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by Me.” John 14:6 

“He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:12 

“Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is no other name under heav...

When man chooses to refuse God, why does he then accuse God of abandoning him to the consequences of his independence? While demanding that God exercise no authoritative influence over his life, he continues to expect Him to exercise exceptional benefit in interfering with any negative influences that may cross his path.

When we meet other people who desire the kind of relationship with us, one in which they only desire our presence to improve some otherwise unpleasant reality in their life, we call those people “users”.

Somehow, men have come to believe that because God is abundantly able to affect any aspect of our material existence, that if He is a good God, He is also obligated to do so to our advantage...

9       For My name’s sake will I defer mine anger, and for My praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.

10      Behold,I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

11      For Mine own sake, even for Mine own sake, will I do it: for how should My name be polluted? and I will not give My glory unto another.

12      Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, My called; “I am He. I, the first, I also the last

13      Mine hand laid the foundation of the earth; My right hand has spanned the heavens. I call to them, they stand up together.

14      All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The LORD (YHWH) hath loved him: He will do His pleasure on Babylon, and Hi...

Even with the hurting Jesus spoke of sin, because without sin, the message of the gospel is meaningless. If we had no sin, we would not be enemies of God, we would not be under His judgment, we would not need reconciliation with God, nor salvation from His justice. 

Most people are not murderers, rapists, bank robbers, and child abusers. Most people’s sins are of the ‘milder’ sort: lying, gluttony, jealously, gossip, laziness, cowardice. We don’t see ourselves as ‘bad’ people because we don’t see our sins as ‘bad sins’. Consequently, most people expect God to freely allow them access to His glory on the basis of their being ‘good’ people, and do not see a need for Christ to save them...

John 3:3         Jesus … said unto [Nicodemus], “Truly, truly I say unto you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Jn 3:16           For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him will not perish but have everlasting life.

Jn 3:18-21      “He that believes on Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

And this is the condemnation: that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed...

Many atheists condemn God for the penalty of death for sin; they consider eternal punishment unjust. They and many others say that God is unjust to consign to hell eternally those who are unfaithful to Him. Their lack of understanding of death and hell result in wrongful accusations against God. 

God Himself is the Source of Life.[i] Separation from Him is death. Just as an offense in our human relationships creates a rift, so also sin, including unfaithfulness, separates us from God. Therefore, sin brings death upon us.[ii] 

This is beautifully illustrated by the account of the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve first resided. In the garden grew two trees, referred to only as ‘the Tree of Life”, and “The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil”...

There is a tremendous misunderstanding among professing Christians about ‘eternity’, resulting in the devaluing of it among liberals and emergents, and a misapplication of it among many evangelicals.

Eternity is the condition of existence beyond time. Only God is eternal respective to the beginning of time: “In the beginning, God….” However, the Bible is clear that men and angels – created beings – will inhabit eternity after the end of time.

It is important to remember that the ability for created beings to inhabit eternity requires our presence during time. When we are promised ‘eternal life’, it is not something that begins when we depart time upon death...

For thus saith the Lord YHWH ; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. 

As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out My sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. 

Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. 

And I will set up one Shepherd over them, and He shall feed them, even My servant David; he shall feed them, and He shall be their Shepherd. And I YHWH will be their God, and My servant David a Prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.   Ezekiel 34 

Then said Jesus unto them again, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep...