From His Heart

Announcer: What's going to happen to you when you die? Discover the answer today on From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Schreve.

Dr. Jeff Schreve: No matter how much money you have, you can't escape the grim reaper. Death is coming for you, and it's coming for me if Jesus delays his return.

Now, we don't know when the time to die is, but when is not the important question when you think of death. The important question when you think of death is this: What is going to happen after I die?

And to make it very, very personal, I want you to think not just what is going to happen after death, but what is going to happen after your death?

Announcer: Thank you for joining us today on From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Schreve. And this month, he's been concentrating on providing God's answers to life's big questions.

And we've discovered the undeniable answers to questions like: Does God really exist? Why am I here? Why should I believe the Bible? Is true happiness really possible? And how could a good God allow so much suffering?

And today, we come to the last in this series and perhaps the most critical question: What lies beyond the grave? We'll find out today and tomorrow on the broadcast.

If you miss any of these important lessons from today or tomorrow, or any from the series, you can listen again online at fromhisheart.org and click the listen link. You can also download a free MP3 of any broadcast, along with Pastor Jeff's sermon outlines and notes. Just go to fromhisheart.org and click the listen tab.

First though, open your Bible to Acts chapter 24, and let's listen as Pastor Jeff begins to answer this ultimate question: What lies beyond the grave?

Dr. Jeff Schreve: How many have been to a cemetery in the last year? You know what you see at cemeteries, you see lots of tombstones. They just line the landscape of a cemetery. Very important, because it's kind of like a last little testimony about this person's life.

Now, some are just very straightforward. They give the name and they give the dates. But some tombstones are humorous. They go out of their way to try and give a message that would be funny for people who pass by. Rodney Dangerfield, the great comedian, has on his tombstone, "There goes the neighborhood."

That sounds like Rodney Dangerfield, who could never get any respect. How about this one, Sue Wrangle? "I told you I was sick." She probably told them for years.

And then here is Charlotte Eves. "Here lies Charlotte Eves, died October 27th, 1881. She lived each day as if it were her last, especially this one."

And then, you know, sometimes you can see bitterness come out on the tombstone. As a man named Mr. Wallace, when he did the tombstone for his wife, it said this: "The children of Israel wanted bread, and the Lord sent them manna. Old Clerk Wallace wanted a wife, and the devil sent him Anna."

I think there was a little in parentheses, "RIP, darling." It's amazing. But you know, the thing about a graveyard, the thing about tombstones, headstones, they just remind us that death comes to everyone. Death comes to everyone.

I believe it was Mark Twain who said that death is the great leveler. No matter how much money you have, you can't escape the grim reaper. Death is coming for you, and it's coming for me if Jesus delays his return.

Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, said this: "There's an appointed time for everything, and there's a time for every event under heaven. A time to give birth and a time to die."

Now, we don't know when the time to die is, but when is not the important question when you think of death. The important question when you think of death is this: What? What is going to happen after I die?

And to make it very, very personal, I want you to think, not just what is going to happen after death, but what is going to happen after your death? Ravi Zacharias, the great Christian apologist, he goes around the world and speaks on many college campuses. He presents a Christian worldview and debates atheists in his presentation of a Christian worldview.

He said this: A coherent worldview has to answer four questions. It has to answer the question of origin. It has to answer the question of meaning. It has to answer the question of morality. And it has to answer the question of destiny. Destiny, what happens in the end? What happens when I die?

Well, I want us to look at three discoveries to the question, what happens to you, what happens to me after we die? Because really, that is the critical question.

Discovery number one: Most religions teach of a life after death. Most religions do. The big ones teach of a life after death. Judaism teaches of a life after death. Christianity obviously teaches of a life after death. Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, all teach of a life after death.

Now, I ran across a story this week about a Canadian scientist. His name was G.B. Hardy. And he was seeking after truth and trying to find where he could find spiritual truth from which religion. So many different religions. And he said, "I only have two questions as I engage in this search." He said, "My first question is this: Has anyone ever conquered death?" And my second question is, "Can I get in on that victory over death?"

He said, "Everything else doesn't really matter to me, but has anyone ever conquered death? And can I get in on that victory over death?" Will you mark it down? There's only been one who has conquered death, and his name is Jesus.

The tomb of Confucius is occupied. The tomb of Gautama Buddha is occupied. The tomb of Muhammad is occupied. But there's an empty tomb in Jerusalem that says Jesus Christ has conquered death, hell, and the grave. And he is the only one that has ever done that.

That's why you can't say that Christianity is just one religion among all other religions. Christianity is different from everything else. Why? Because the founder said he was going to die and rise again. And then he died and rose again, and was seen by all sorts of people. At one event, he was seen by 500 at one time.

He appeared to John on the island of Patmos in Revelation chapter one, and he said this. John was scared to death when he saw Jesus in all of his glory. And Jesus said, "Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last, and the living one, and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades." Only Jesus conquered death.

So, what was the Canadian scientist, G.B. Hardy, what was his question? "Who has conquered death? Has anyone conquered death yet?" Jesus conquered death. And then he asked the second question, "Is that victory something that I can get in on?" See, only Jesus conquered death, and only Jesus offers true victory over death.

Now, other religions say, "Well, you know, if you follow this way, you'll have an afterlife and you will get to be with God." But those are false. That is something promised by a guy who didn't conquer death. The one who conquered death, the only one, Jesus, he offers life to every person who will trust him.

Jesus said in John chapter 14, verse 19, "Because I live, you shall live also." "Because I live, you shall live also." He said to Martha at the tomb of Lazarus, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even if he dies. And everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." You never really die when you put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. He offers true victory over death.

And this Jesus, he is the one who is going to judge every single person. See, we think that, well, you know, God is the judge. People have tattooed on their skin, "No one can judge me except God." Well, the God that's going to judge every person is Jesus.

Jesus said in John chapter 5, "The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son even as they honor the Father." When Paul preached on Mars Hill, he was preaching to the sophisticates and all these philosophers who thought they were so smart, and he was talking to them about the God of creation, and he told them this at the end of his message in Acts chapter 17.

He said, "Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because he has fixed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom he has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising him from the dead."

What was Paul's message? You need to repent. God is declaring to all men, you must repent. You must turn from sin and turn from self and turn to the Savior. Why? Because there is coming a day when the Lord will judge you, the Lord Jesus Christ.

See, some people think, "Well, I don't believe in the resurrection. I don't believe that there's anything after life. There's just life and then death, and then that's it." Well, I don't care if you believe in it or not. The test of truth is not, "Do you believe it?" The test of truth is, "Is it true?" That's the test.

And so the scripture says, "Hey, you can't hide from God." And the proof that one day the Lord is going to raise you up, and you're going to be judged by the God who created you, is that he raised Jesus from the dead. "Having furnished proof to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead."

Sometimes people say, "Well, you know, I just don't believe that, Jeff." Okay. Well, you know, if you go to the top of the Empire State Building and you say, "I can, I don't believe in this thing called gravity. And so I can step off the Empire State Building, and I don't believe anything's going to happen to me, because I don't believe in gravity." Well, let me tell you something, gravity believes in you, and you will drop like a rock.

So you say, "Well, I don't believe in God. I don't believe in judgment. I don't believe in any kind of resurrection." Well, all of that is true, and that is going to happen. And Paul said in Acts 24, verse 15, "There shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked."

It's a certainty. You can mark it down, there is going to be a resurrection of the righteous and the wicked, of the just and the unjust, of the believer and the non-believer, of the saved and the lost. See, that's how the Bible categorizes people, saved and lost.

You know, when the Titanic went down, you had people of all classifications on the ship called the Titanic. But when that thing went down, you only had two classifications of people: the saved and the lost. And that's the way God looks at it. You have believers and unbelievers, saved and lost, Christian and non-Christian.

So Paul said there will certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. So let's look at discovery number two, the resurrection of the righteous. What happens when you die depends on what camp you're in, whether you're in the righteous or the wicked, whether you're in the saved or the lost, whether you're in the believing category or the unbelieving category. So let's talk about the righteous.

When a Christian dies (discovery number two), he or she goes to heaven. That's what happens to a Christian. You go to heaven. And the translation from earth to heaven is immediate. You breathe your last in this life and your first in the next with the Lord.

You say, "Where do you get that from?" Second Corinthians chapter 5, verse 8. The Bible says, "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord."

Now, remember this about death for a Christian. When you die, your body dies. Your spirit and soul leave your body. When Jesus raised Jairus's little daughter from the dead, the scripture says her spirit returned to her. The body without the spirit is dead. So when you die, your spirit and your soul goes to be, as a Christian, goes to be with the Lord. Your body goes into the earth, whether you're buried or whether you're cremated or whether you're thrown over at sea, whatever. The earth receives your body. So death has the body, but the soul and spirit go to be with God, and that is instantaneous and immediate.

There is no thing called purgatory in the scripture. See, I grew up in a denomination where we taught purgatory. It's like, "Well, you know, because it's all based on works. And so it said, "Well, you know, nobody's really good enough to get to heaven." So when you die, most of us have to go to purgatory. What do we do in purgatory? Well, you're just going to get purged of your sins there in purgatory. You're going to suffer a little bit there in purgatory until you're kind of cleaned up enough to go to heaven.

Well, that's not in the scripture at all. You don't need a purgatory. Why? Because we have a Calvary, and the blood of Jesus washes white as snow. You put your faith and trust in Jesus, and you're washed white as snow, and your sins are forgiven: past, present, and future.

So the translation from earth to heaven is immediate. But the scripture says that there's going to be a resurrection of the righteous. A resurrection of the righteous. Now, here's where it gets a little technical. But for the believer, there are three different resurrections.

The resurrection that we're waiting for right now for Christians is called the rapture of the church. What happens at the rapture of the church? "The dead in Christ shall rise first, and we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air."

It says in Philippians chapter 3, verse 24, "Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we eagerly wait for a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of his glory, through the exertion of the power that he has even to subject all things to himself."

So one day we are going to get a body that's like Jesus's. Now, if you die today and you're a Christian, your soul goes to be with the Lord, but your body goes into the ground. And it doesn't come up again until Jesus comes at the rapture. And when he comes at the rapture, you come up and you're given a brand new body.

You know, some people say, "Well, I get a body in this resurrection?" Yeah. You say, "I don't want my body back. I mean, it's not worth for wear." You know, "I don't want it back." Well, you're going to like the new body that you get because it's going to be a body just like Jesus. A body without limitations, a body without pain, a body that doesn't ever get sick or diseased or anything like that. That's the body we get.

Now, that's the first resurrection that the scripture talks about. But what about Old Testament saints? What about those who died before Jesus came, but they put their faith and trust in Jesus? What about guys like Abraham and Isaac and Jacob? They're resurrected at the second coming of Christ. Now, they're in heaven with the Lord. And they're in some kind of a state. Their spirit and soul are with the Lord, but the body is there in the ground.

And so they're going to be raised up. They're going to be given a new body. That happens at the second coming of Christ when he actually comes to this earth to fight the battle of Armageddon. And then there's a third resurrection of the righteous, and that is the resurrection of those who died during the tribulation for their faith in Christ.

You know, during the seven years of tribulation, there are going to be millions and millions and millions and millions and millions of Christians who are going to be slaughtered and killed by the Antichrist. And those martyred saints are going to be raised up at the beginning of the 1,000-year reign of Jesus. And all those things are called the first resurrection. It's three parts of the first resurrection.

"Blessed and holy," the Bible says in Revelation chapter 20, "are those who have a part in the first resurrection. Over them, the second death has no power." So the translation is immediate, and the resurrection, a resurrected body, that comes depending on where you are on God's timetable.

But now here is the truth for every believer. The judgment seat of Christ awaits every believer. There's a judgment coming for every Christian, for every believer, Old Testament, New Testament, every believer. We're going to have to stand before the Lord Jesus Christ and give an account of our lives.

The scripture says in Second Corinthians chapter 5, verse 10, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."

As a believer, you're going to stand before the Lord one day and give an account of your life. Now, this isn't a judgment that where the Lord is going to determine whether you go to heaven or hell. No, that is determined in this life when you choose to receive Christ as Savior and Lord, or if you reject Christ, then you're not going to be at the judgment seat of Christ. The judgment seat of Christ is only for Christians.

But every Christian is going to have to give an account. Parable of the talents is a good parable that kind of gives us an idea of what's going to happen at the judgment seat of Christ. Remember the parable of the talents? The master gave one man five talents, one man two talents, one man one talent. He said in effect to those guys, "Do business with this until I return." And then he returned, and they had to give an accounting of what did you do with what I gave you?

What is the judgment seat of Christ? It's a judgment of rewards. It's not a judgment of whether you go to heaven or hell. You wouldn't be at the judgment seat of Christ unless you're going to heaven. But it's a judgment of rewards. And you have to stand before the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and give an account of your life.

What did I do with what he gave me? What did I do with the salvation that he gave me? What did I do with the Holy Spirit of God that he placed within my heart? What did I do with the gifts and talents that he gave me? What did I do with the resources and the time that he entrusted me with? You're going to have to give an account of that. What did you do with what the Lord gave you?

Now, for some people, like the guy with five talents and made five more, he's excited about the judgment seat of Christ. "I'm excited to meet the Lord to tell him, 'Look, master, you entrusted me with five talents, I made five more.'" What did the Lord say to that guy? "Well done, my good and faithful servant. You were faithful in a few things. I'll put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master."

The guy with two talents, what did he say? Did he moan and groan and whine and gripe because he said, "I don't have as much as that other guy?" No. He said, "Master, you entrusted me with two talents. I've made two more." And the Lord said to him the same thing as he said to the guy that had five and made five more. He said, "Well done, thy good and faithful servant. You were faithful in a few things. I'll put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master."

But the guy with one talent, he buried it in the ground. He didn't use anything that the Lord had given him, that his master had given him. He said, "I was afraid of you. You're an exacting man." And so I just buried it in the ground. "Here, you have what is yours." And the Lord said to that guy, "You wicked, lazy slave."