Truth For Life

Bob Lapine: Do you find death an uncomfortable topic? I think most of us do, even if we have confidence about our destination after we die. There aren't a lot of details about the process. So when Jesus says there is a way to never see death, well, He has my attention. What did He mean? Alistair Begg walks us through Jesus' promise today on Truth For Life.

Alistair Begg: Jesus says, John chapter 8 and verse 51, "Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death."

Father, the reason we are here tonight is because of your love towards us that has created in our hearts a love for you and a love for your word. And it is because we want to keep your word that we want to learn what your word says, what it means, why it matters, how it applies, and how it impacts the living of our lives day by day.

And so we ask again for your help that beyond the voice of a mere man, we might have a great sense of the abiding presence of God the Holy Spirit bringing home to our lives all these various things that you know we need to hear—not the same thing for everyone necessarily—but Lord, fill the gaps in some of our thinking so that as we end in song, it might be with a deep sense of conviction and gladness of heart. And we ask all of this in Jesus' name. Amen.

We are studying the "truly, trulies" in John's Gospel and we set out to be tackled by the 51st verse of John chapter 8, which I've just read, acknowledging the fact that there is another "truly, truly" to which we're coming at the end of this.

I did not set out in my studying, not even when I was finally writing things up, to do what we're doing today. It's really a measure of incompetence, I suppose. If you've got something, you should be able to get through it, and if you've got a plan, you should execute it, but I didn't do it. So here we are.

And we set out on a long preamble, I admit, going through the beginning of John's Gospel, trying to get the big picture and get the drama before we arrived at this. And before we've even arrived at it, then we had a discourse on death itself, acknowledging the fact that death is unavoidable and that it is not natural, as contemporary society wants to suggest to us, and so on.

That was our first point. Our second point, to which we come now, was then to consider the difference that Jesus makes in relationship to all of life and particularly to death itself. And so we can essentially go back to Romans chapter 6 and verse 23, which if you, like me, were taught the Romans Road through the Bible to try and teach people the way of salvation, you know that you stopped at chapter 3 and verse 23 there.

"That all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," and then you moved on from there to chapter 6 and to verse 23 to make sure that people understood that "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

So sin pays wages. The wages are remitted to us in death—a death which is a physical death that comes to us all by our native sphere. It is a spiritual death, and if we were to die as those who are spiritually dead, then we would face death in terms of eternity, which the Bible refers to as hell. So it is a very important subject and we need to come to terms with it.

How is it that a man or a woman can be justified from sin? How is it that the wages of sin are going to be paid? Well, they're going to be paid one way or another because there is no way to escape the penalty of sin, which is death. That's why we say that sin is not natural; sin is actually penal.

Sin has crept in into humanity by dint of the evil one. And as a result of that, we are confronted by it and in an unavoidable way. But at the same time, we do know that there is one who has defeated death because he has come in order that he might bear sin's penalty.

The picture is used by Paul often in his letters and we can consider it very simply. We used to have a prison ministry in Scotland. We went up regularly on a Friday evening to a jail that was about 15 miles away from our church. And so we often had prisoners, once they were discharged, coming to worship with us.

And what a difference it was to see them on the outside from where they'd been on the inside. Because consider: a person commits a crime and is sentenced to prison. How then can they be justified? Only by serving the sentence; only by paying the penalty.

Once they have served their time, once they have paid the penalty, they are free to go and the demands of the law have been satisfied. They no longer need to be terrified or tyrannized in any way as a result of what was their previous experience because the term has been satisfied.

And the principle holds true in terms of death itself. And that's how it is applied in the writings of Paul. Jesus was sinless; Jesus had no sin. Therefore, Jesus did not need to die. And so anybody that's reading the Gospel accounts and someone says to their friend, "Why don't you read the Gospel of John? I've got a copy for you here. Why don't you take it and we could have some conversation about it?"

It's a wonderful thing to do. And the person will come back, if they're thinking at all, and say, "I just can't understand this, why it is that Jesus ends up on a cross. Why did Jesus have to die? If he was the sinless one, why does he die?" And of course, it is because he came deliberately and he came freely in order to die in the place of the sinner.

I was thinking just in an hour or so before we came here, I thought I remembered and I thought I could find it, but I couldn't find it, but I still think I remember it. What? Well, Derek Prime, I remember him using an illustration that came out of a real court case in the Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

And it went something along these lines: that the person was brought before the sheriff, the judge, and the crime was admitted to, and the sentence of a substantial fine was passed. The person had no resources in themselves, and so they were escorted then down into the cells.

When the morning's business was completed, the sheriff went down into the cells and paid the penalty, the fine that was due to that individual, thereby allowing them to go free. It was an act of gratuitous generosity.

And Derek was helping me and helping us as a congregation to understand that that is exactly what Jesus has done. Because we owe a debt that we cannot pay, he comes to pay a debt that he doesn't owe. That's why we sang "Jesus Paid It All."

And that's why the hymn writer puts it so perfectly, gives us a picture of it. What is happening up on the cross? And he writes, "Bearing shame and scoffing rude, in my place condemned he stood, and sealed my pardon with his blood; Hallelujah! What a Savior!" You see, that is why Jesus is the only one qualified to do this.

When people stumble over the exclusive claims of Jesus, we have to be prepared to stand firm on these things. Jesus is the only Savior because he is the only one qualified to save. He is the only sinless one who is both God and man. He is the only one who walked through the valley of the shadow of death and came out as a resurrected Lord and King.

And so we have to make sure we get that. Only Jesus is able to say what he says here to these people in his audience: "Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death."

But what does that mean? What does it mean he will never see death? They reply and they change it up a little bit. They say, "I don't see why it is that you say if anyone believes your word they will never taste death." I don't think there's any real significance in the transfer in that way because the fact is Jesus is making a very clear statement.

But he is clearly not suggesting that his followers will never experience physical dissolution. He is not saying that those who are his disciples, those who hold to his word, those who believe in him, will not ever face the reality that we spoke about this morning: conception, birth, growth, decline, decay, death, dissolution. He's not saying that.

He's not saying that you will escape death as a reality, but rather that in Christ you will never have to confront death in its power—the power of death to condemn as the occasion of final separation from God.

So physical death is a reality. But the wages of sin is death, and Christ comes and bears that penalty for us so that as Augustus Toplady puts it—and I think he wrote "Rock of Ages." In the hymn by Toplady, which I can't remember the first line of it for the moment, but this is what he says: "The terrors of law and of God."

The terrors of law and of God. The terror of standing before a sinless, almighty, pure God. The terrors of law and of God, which is a realistic terror. "With me," he writes, "shall have nothing to do. My Savior's obedience and blood hide all my transgressions from view."

That's the difference, you see. Because the fearful thing is the terror of standing before God with nothing to say by way of our defense. Jesus is the only shelter. He's the only shelter that God has provided for sinners.

And so when Jesus is speaking in this way, there is, if you like, in his heart and in his tone, there is an appeal to the people that he's speaking to. "If you reject the shelter that is found in me," he says to them essentially, "there's no other shelter. If you reject the shelter that is provided by my work on the cross, it will mean the ruin of your soul."

So the question, what difference does Jesus make to death? He makes every difference in the world. Every difference in the world.

That's why by the time you get to chapter 11, Jesus says in the context of the death of Lazarus and in the listening of the girls, his sisters, "I am the resurrection and the life. And whoever believes in me, even though he die... if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed... even though he die, yet shall he live."

How will he live? Well, he lives in me. That's the great significance of baptism: buried with him in baptism and raised with him to newness of life. Not that baptism provides that reality, but that it pictures that reality.

So that's why when people are baptized, they go down under the water as a symbol of them being buried in Christ and being raised to a new life. And it is that new life which is completely unassailable.

I mentioned my mother's death this morning. I don't mention it very often, but it's a recurring thought, I'm sure it is for many of you with loved ones you have lost. And people ask me, "When did you finally get a very strong conviction about theology and biblical things and all that kind of stuff?" I said, "Well, I'll tell you what. I believed it until I stood at my mother's open grave."

And then I decided I better ask myself, "Do I really believe it?" Because we sang unaccompanied: "Death cannot keep its prey, Jesus my Savior; He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord! Up from the grave He arose, with a mighty triumph o'er His foes; He arose a victor from the dark domain, and He lives forever with His saints to reign. He arose! He arose!"

Some of you have perhaps sung that at a loved one's grave. You find your voice breaks. You find yourself saying, "I really want to believe this deep, deep, deep inside of myself." Do you?

That's why Jesus, after he does that great statement in John 11, he asks a question: "Do you believe this? Do you believe it? Are you prepared to fly the instruments all the way through life and into death solely on the basis of the promise of Christ himself?"

John pictures it in Revelation: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, because the old heaven and the old earth had passed away," and so on. "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.'"

And then listen to this: "He will dwell with them, and they will be his people," which is, of course, what he planned from the very beginning. To choose a people that are his very own. "Abraham, come here. You're going to have a son, and through your lineage all the nations of the earth will be blessed." Where are all these nations? Where will they all finally end up? They'll end up right here.

"And he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." There's nothing like this in all of the world. There's nothing like this in all of comparative religion. There is nobody else says this, because no one else can.

Don't put "RIP" on your tombstone—"Rest In Peace." Put "CAD"—"Christ Abolished Death." Don't look in there for that person because, as we're about to see, they've moved on.

We could say more but we won't. The third point that I was going to make this morning is that there are only two ways to die—only two ways to die. Or, as probably the proper English would be, there are only two ways in which to die.

Because in Jesus' death, the last enemy is destroyed. That's 1 Corinthians 15:26. "For Jesus must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet, and the last enemy to be destroyed is death." So death is a defeated enemy.

However, without a Savior, men and women will die in their sins. Now, you can turn back to John 8. In the earlier part of the discussion, Jesus says to the group that are pushing in on him—verse 21 of John 8.

"So he said to them again, 'I'm going away and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I'm going, you cannot come.'" So the Jews said, "Will he kill himself since he says, 'Where I'm going, you cannot come'?"

He said to them, "You're from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins." Death is not terminal. Death is not terminal.

This afternoon, I was reading the Times and I came on an article about a Scottish politician who had been diagnosed with a brain tumor, but the headline was essentially, "I'm not afraid to die."

Now, I read the article carefully because I thought he was going to say because I know that Jesus is the answer to death, he has triumphed over death. He didn't say that at all. Apparently, the man believes that when you're dead, it's all over. That that's all death is. You just come to a crushing halt, you'll never know anything more about it, you don't need to worry about it at all.

Now, if you're a Christian and if you're a Bible-believing Christian, somehow or another, if you end up in conversation with somebody like that discussing these immense matters, you're going to have to say, "Well, you know, Jesus actually doesn't speak in those terms. You ought to be afraid."

The great consequence, says Jesus... People don't understand the consequences of their unbelief. They think, "Well, I can believe or not believe. I know you're very excited about it at church and so on, and you do all this stuff, but I don't really care. It doesn't really matter."

Well, then we have to press on them. It matters. It matters not only for now, but it matters for eternity. Because unless you believe, unless you trust in Christ, you will die in your sins.

The separation of the soul and the body in death is temporary; it is not eternal. Because there will be a reunion of our body and our soul that will be permanent. But at this point, no.

The human body disintegrates for a time; the human soul does not. The Westminster Confession in Section 32 is very helpful in this regard and let me just quote it to you. Chapter 32 of the Westminster Confession and point one: "After death, the bodies of men decay and return to dust. But their souls, which neither die nor sleep, having an immortal existence, return immediately to God who gave them."

Bob Lapine: You're listening to Truth For Life with Alistair Begg. We'll hear more about what the Bible has to say about death tomorrow. It's tempting to skip over some of the difficult passages we find in scripture, but our mission at Truth For Life is to teach God's word, and that means all of it, even the parts that are challenging.

All of the parts you hear on Truth For Life you can trust to be true and as the Bible says, to make you wise for salvation. It's never too early to start training the next generation along these lines in the classroom and at home. So whether you're a parent or a grandparent, a teacher or a ministry leader, let me encourage you to check out today's recommended resource.

It's called *How to Teach Kids Theology*. This book provides the principles and practices needed to teach scripture in a way that's understandable for children of all ages. Not only will this give you a framework for how to share the core beliefs of our faith, but the discussion prompts and activities are designed so that those who are going through this book will be able to embrace the deep truths of the Bible and make the Christian faith their own.

This book is yours when you request it as you make a donation to Truth For Life. You can give online at truthforlife.org/donate. And of course, our offices are closed today in observance of Memorial Day. We are honoring those who gave the ultimate price of their lives serving in the US military and defending our freedom.

On behalf of the Truth For Life staff, we want to say a heartfelt thank you to all who have courageously served and offer our deepest sympathies to those who have lost a loved one serving our nation. I'm Bob Lapine. Thanks for listening. If you ever wondered what will happen to your soul after you die, tomorrow we'll look at what the Bible tells us. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth For Life, where the learning is for living.