Tag: death

Easter Sunrise Homily: The Last Enemy

1 Corinthians 15:21-26 is a timeline of the entire Bible.

21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

The timeline is as simple as it is glorious.

Death came through the sin of Adam. Life comes through the sin-bearing of Christ on the cross and resurrection. Jesus is the firstfruits. His resurrection is the down payment, it’s the earnest money guaranteeing our resurrection. And when he returns two things happen: we will be raised, and he will deliver the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule.

So, what is Jesus doing today? Paul says he is reigning at the right hand of the Father and subduing his enemies. 

Jesus subdues his enemies through the preaching of the gospel: while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.”

Jesus subdues the enemies of lies and deceit:we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God

And Jesus is even subduing demonic authorities:through the church the manifold wisdom of God [is being made known] to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

And notice how Jesus subdues his enemies: He is doing it through his body, the church. The church preaching, the church teaching, the church worshipping. We are just the latest to join the ranks of a 2,000-year-old army. Our battlefield is the world, the mind, the heart, and the heavens. Our weapons are the Word of God, the Waters of Baptism, the Keys of the Kingdom, and the Lord’s Table. In a word: our weapons are worship. 

The last enemy to be destroyed is death. But notice, that for the church death is no longer deadly. That enemy has already been partially subdued for us. As Calvin said, “the sword of death which could penetrate into our hearts has been blunted. It wounds, but without danger. We die, but by dying we enter into life.” Death may dwell in our mortal bodies, but it does not reign. Thanks be to God, that there will come a day when even death will die; when the executioner will be beheaded. 

At dawn, every Easter, we celebrate that Jesus rose and began his ascent into the heavenly places, taking us with him. And just as sure as dawn is the promise that midday is coming, the resurrection of Jesus is the guarantee that life will not be denied and death will not be the victor. Today we celebrate the firstfruits, the down payment. And we look forward with eager expectation to the midday of his reign.What is that midday? 

Revelation 21:23–25: And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there.

Christian, 

Your King, who for a time was made low—even unto the grave, has risen again. The resurrection of Jesus is the first in a series of upward moves. Having come infinitely down from heaven, having taken the form of a man, and having been humiliated to the death of a sin-bearing sacrifice Jesus began to ascend. That ascension begins with his resurrection from the grave, but it doesn’t stop there. He ascends to the right hand of his Father as King & Lord. And when he returns, he’ll put death under his feet.

He is Risen. He is Risen indeed.

What Do I Say When Someone Has Died?

This morning I responded to an email from a church member who is in a unique position to do gospel ministry. In our area this past month a young boy took his own life. Now people close to the situation are approaching this church member asking searching questions about life and death. She emailed me asking how she should respond. Below is a slightly altered version of my email response. It isn’t perfect. It isn’t everything that needs to be said. But, I think it’s a good starting point for a gospel witness in times of tragedy. I hope it helps you think better and more “Christianly” about death.

I will be praying that God gives you both the opportunities and the courage to demonstrate his love. When it comes to talking about a tragedy such as suicide there isn’t a formula. Rather, when I have to opportunity to talk with hurting/questioning people I just try to guide my conversation by a set of principles. Here they are:

1. People need to hear that I’m sorry for what they are going through.

2. People need to hear that I love them. 

When Chelsea and I lost a pregnancy a few years back people responded in so many different ways. Some people tried to tell us it wasn’t a big deal because “this happens to a lot of people.” Well, it was a huge deal for us because we had lost a child. Other’s tried to give cheap Christian sounding explanations like, “Well, God just needed another angel in heaven.” Aside from being incorrect, that statement wasn’t comforting at all. I learned through that time that I only really wanted to hear people say 2 things to us: “I’m so sorry this has happened. I love you.” Anything beyond that just felt like they were trying too hard. If I wanted answers to questions I would have asked. If I didn’t ask, then giving me answers just infuriated me. That would be the first thing I would consider. Let these people know you are sorry and that you love/care for them.

Second, if they ask questions that open the opportunity for witness I would really want them to know these few things:
1. God hates death. Too many Christians speak as if death is one of God’s ways of getting back at people who reject or disobey him. But, God hates death. It wasn’t apart of his original creation. Death is the awful result of human’s rejecting a relationship with God and we should never speak of death as, “just apart of life.” It may be apart of our current existence, but it is an evil consequence of our own choosing. We chose death. We chose exile from God’s presence. God hates death so much that he was willing to die. Christ died in order to kill death. Here’s what that means for us and our Christian witness. We should hate death too. And we should hate it all the more because we know it’s source and it’s ultimate defeat. I would impress that fact on anyone who asks you why something tragic has happened. Let them know that you hate death and God hates it too.
2. Don’t be afraid to tell someone you don’t know why this tragedy has occurred. The truth is that even if you did know the reason why things like this happen the answer wouldn’t satisfy anyway. The scriptures never tell us to always be prepared to give a reason as to why evil happens. Rather, we are to always be ready to give a reason for our hope in spite of evil. Why, in the face of such a tragedy, do we hope? What reason do we have for endurance and joy? It is because death is not the end. Christ has risen from the dead. Paul tell us that Christ disarmed all of the rulers who held judgement over us and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in the cross. Here’s our hope: when hope had all but faded and death was closing in, Christ came at the right time and took our death. He was exiled so that we could be brought back in to God’s family. He lost his face before God so that we could have God’s presence. Our hope is that our death has been exchanged for life.