I declare unto you the gospel…By which also ye are saved…For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures (1 Cor 15:1-4)
Got life? Get life insurance!
Make no mistake about it: the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is our only means of salvation from sin. What is the gospel? The apostle Paul articulates such in the above passage: it is the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is NOT good works, church attendance, water baptism, sacraments, confession, pilgrimages, or anything else you can DO to earn God’s merit or favor.
While the gospel is simple in this regard, there are innumerable ways in which to explain your need for receiving the gospel. Trusting Christ is like putting on a parachute before jumping out of a plane; receiving the Lord Jesus has been compared to resting in a chair. But here we will appeal to your need for being saved to getting life insurance.
The Bible asks a sobering question: what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away (James 4:14). What is your life? Whether we are blessed with sixty, seventy, or even a hundred years, our lives are going to end. Doesn’t time seem to pass by so quickly? Didn’t it seem like you were in high school only yesterday? That your kids were born a moment ago? As the gray hairs multiply and those trips up the stairs become more daunting, time marches on to the drumbeat of our own funeral. We often ignore this. We live with this delusion that if we simply refuse to consider “the end of all men” we’ll be ok (Eccl 7:2). Doesn’t that seem a little bit crazy? Imagine putting on your best clothes and getting in your car. Your passenger turns to you and asks, “Where are you going?” To which you reply, “I have no idea!” Every day we schedule our time, plan our vacations, map out every destination. And yet, every day these same people walk in denial of the only sure thing that is bound to happen, sooner than later: You are going to die.
Have you ever wondered why that is? Why, despite the never-ending onslaught of medicine and the burning desire of the will, do ten out of ten people die? God wants us to consider this question, for he asks it of his people: Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die…? (Ez 33:11) God does not want us to die. God hates death. In fact, he calls death an “enemy” that he will soon destroy completely (1 Cor 15:26). The implication of the above verse is that our “evil ways” from which God asks us to “turn” are the reason for death. This confirms what the Holy Spirit writes throughout the Scriptures, that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Simply put, we die because of sin. This encompasses a sinful nature inherited from the first man Adam, as well as the transgressions we have made by breaking God’s holy law and living a life of unrighteousness. Look at how Paul puts it in the Book of Romans: Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned (Romans 5:12).
When God created the earth and placed man upon it, everything was “very good” (Gen 1:31). There was one condition, though, one law: And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die (Gen 2:16-17). When Adam and Eve disobeyed that command, thereby sinning against God, “sin entered into the world, and death by sin” (Romans 5:12). Death is the consequence of sin for “sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:15). Sin was unleashed into the world by man, NOT by God. That’s why there are hospitals and cemeteries–not because God is cruel or unloving, but that man is rebellious and disobedient. You may object, “But God made them do it!” No, he didn’t. Adam and Eve were given a CHOICE to listen to God or not to listen to God: they were given FREE WILL. You may still retort, “But didn’t God know they would eat of the tree?” Of course, he did. He’s God. But God’s foreknowledge does NOT equate to God’s predestination. In other words, just because God knows someone’s actions does not mean he made them do it. Now, maybe you don’t like that truth because it rubs your rebellious spirit the wrong way. People are funny sometimes: they don’t want to become Christians for fear they would become some kind of automaton with no will of their own, but when confronted with the reality of man’s fall, that man has a free will from God to which he will be held accountable, they get upset.
So, “by man came death” (1 Cor 15:21). But, lest you think you were simply taking the fall for Adam, the verse above goes on to say, “and so death passed upon all men, for that ALL HAVE SINNED” (Romans 5:12). The sins YOU committed are also the reason why you will die: Have you ever told a lie? How many do you think you’ve told? Ever stolen something, even something small? Taken God’s name in vain? Disobeyed your parents? Looked at someone with lust? Harbored hatred in your heart? Coveted your neighbor’s stuff? Worshipped idols or graven images? And failed to put God first in all you do, think, or feel? Well, then join the club: you’re a sinner. And you’re going to die.
Do you want to die? If the death we are speaking of here were only physical, then we might as well just eat, drink, and be merry! But the Bible speaks of another death, a second death. While the physical body faces death when the soul departs the body and the house of clay returns to the dust (Gen 35:18, Phil 1:23) , so too does the spiritual body face a separation from God. Try to envision the scene depicted here by the Apostle John…
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire (Rev 20:11-15). Notice that the people here standing before God are already DEAD. This means that when God speaks of death he does not stop with the loss of someone’s physical life. No, the Lord Jesus Christ reminds us that “God is a spirit” (John 4:24). As such, God Almighty is far more concerned with the spiritual death depicted here. True, our physical lives are precious and losing that life seems like the most tragic event imaginable. But in light of eternity, losing one’s soul in a lake of fire makes a casket look like a lounge chair. In what is commonly referred to as the “White Throne Judgment” recounted in the above verses, God is judging those who died in their sins, without Jesus Christ. These damned souls, who have faced the physical separation from their bodies or the first death, must now be separated from God forever in a lake of fire, a spiritual, lasting “second death”. These are they who decided that their works were good enough to earn God’s favor and so it is by their works that they are judged and thereby condemned. The Bible says, “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them” (Gal 3:10). It doesn’t matter that you told the truth six days a week but lied on Saturday. You’re a liar. It doesn’t matter that you gave millions to the poor if you stole that piece of candy from the store. You’re a thief. It doesn’t matter that you’ve been faithful to your spouse for thirty years if you eye that other person up and down with impure, sexual thoughts. You’re an adulterer at heart.
Do you see now how holy God is? Do you see how thorough and swift his judgment is going to be? If you have not continued in ALL his law, then you’re guilty. If you’ve committed even one sin, you’re a sinner. And God warns us, “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Rev 21:8).
Maybe you’ve dodged the law. Maybe you’ve done plenty wrong and gotten away with, so you figure God is just the same. Don’t kid yourself. Speaking of God’s all-holy gaze upon your life, the prophet Habakkuk declared, “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity” (Hab 1:13). Solomon warns us that “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Prov 15:3). And the book of Job reminds us of the sobering reality that God’s “eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings. There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves” (Job 34:21-22). Think of it: God has seen everything you’ve done, thought, said, or felt, and, if you die without Jesus Christ, you will be judged according to those works. Do you really think you can escape that? Do you really think that wishing it all weren’t true makes it so? That if you hide behind a few five-dollar words or sprinkle your life with some semblance of religiosity you’ll get a free pass at that judgment? Do you really believe you can escape death?
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment (Heb 9:27). For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil (Eccl 12:14).
Does that concern you?
Jesus Is Ur Saviour 